71 Series Rocker Covers

[Nova Eona]

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?

[chessie4905]

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.

[luvrbus]

Tall cast valve covers are rare for the 6L-71 and sell for a premium when you do find one   

[Nova Eona]

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.

[dtcerrato]

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.

[luvrbus]

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