Hey all, as part of my Spring freshening I want to replace the rocker cover gasket on my 4104, it's got a 4 valve head with the old style steel rocker cover. Seems like not many places carry the right type of gasket for these, and the ones that do are asking a fair bit ($50+ when shipping is included).
Looks like I could pick up a newer style aluminum rocker cover for about four times that, is this a worthwhile upgrade? Seems I'd have to do it regardless if I ever want to put jakes on, and it sounds like the aluminum covers are a bit less prone to leaks. Would be nice not having to worry about finding a replacement gasket in the future either.
Supposing I go that route, is there more to it than just swapping out the covers and gaskets?
It would be if it is the tall one for Jake clearance and it has any needed vent holes to match yours. Wonder if it will clear the thermostat housing.
Tall cast valve covers are rare for the 6L-71 and sell for a premium when you do find one
Looks like the aluminum option I'm currently reviewing is probably not the taller variant; still a worthy upgrade if that's the case, or not worth the hassle? It'd be nice to be jake-brake ready, but realistically I'm not looking to add them anytime in the near future.
FWIW on our 671 we have the regular stamped steel rocker cover and have used several different gasket designs (cork, thick paper, rubber) & never had an issue with leaks. A suggestion is to install your cover without a gasket to dry fit it so it seats fully all the way around - if it doesn't sometimes the stamped steel covers get bent or out of shape so if you see or know it's not fully seating dry fit for a full seat then do the same with a gasket. Don't over tighten - start the required hand tight if there's any seepage bear down a little at a time to stop it. BTDT.
The cast covers do seal better you cannot over tighten one and the gasket is reuseable,the 2 piece stamped covers for Jakes seem to always seep