StockF150

1995 F150 4.9L EFI I6 w/ Cali Emissions
E4OD Tranny
152,000 miles
Original Owner
Totally Stock


Hi guys,
Great opinions on the site. I'm about to break open an engine for the first time and wanted some pointers on what to look for. The valve cover gasket is shot on my 4.9L and needs to be replaced. I get the impression I'm going to have to replace the upper intake manifold gasket as part of the process but anything else I should be looking for? My main goal is to reduce the amount of oil I'm having to clean off the exterior of the engine.

Never been inside this engine. I helped rebuild a Lycoming aricraft engine (think VW bug engine) but was under the direction of a mechanic. Should I plan on cleaning out the inside of the valve cover once its off? What should I use?

Plenty of experience working on body, suspension, electrical just never opened up the engine before. Thanks in advance.

"Dutch"

bjafeman

Welcome to the site.

Since you're going to be pulling the upper intake manifold I would suggest replacing it and the throttle body gasket with a fel pro (or other high quality) gasket. Both factory gaskets have a not-uncommon habit being sources of trouble.

Also a common source of oil on the engine is the metal cover on the driver's side of the engine. Pretty sure it's the push rod cover. It's got a cork gasket that can get leaky. Don't overtighten it though; it's a thin plate.

--edit--
The chrome plate between the head and the distributor on this image is what I was talking about.

Honest Don

just a suggestion. use rubber gaskets when ever avaiable in place of cork. they're reusable, and never leak. A little more money, but worth every penny when you only have to do it once!

StockF150

WOW! The push rod cover bolts were loose...all of them. I backed each one out by hand. I ended up replacing valve cover, push rod cover, and oil pan gaskets. All three were leaking and starting to rot. Still leaking from the main rear seal but its minor enough that I can live with it for a little while. The push rod cover gasket set from AutoZone (Fel Pro?) had the wrong grommets and I ended up having to buy another set from NAPA (only place that had the right ones).

Easier than I thought it was going to be but I almost made a big boo-boo. Misread the torque as ft/lbs not in/lbs for the valve cover bolts. Luckily I double checked before starting to put it back together.

Thanks for the input guys.

oldblue78

Greetings folks,

I have a 78 F150 that I am replacing the valve gasket on and was wondering if anyone has any idea as to what torque the bolts are to be at?

Thanks,

1996 Redneck F150

post that in this section

https://www.f150forum.com/f13/