4 cyl valve cover torque - 17 or 30 ft lbs?

[68Malibu]

Changed my hard gasket on my 99 4 cyl after noticing some drips on the floor each night. Bought a Fel-pro, installed it and torqued nuts to 17 ft lbs in baby steps (about 4 steps until 17). Washed engine and everything was good for about two weeks, then small drops began to appear again. I re-torqued to about 25 ft lbs and all was good for 2-3 weeks, now it drips a tiny bit again (about a dime sized drop each night).

Those who have successfully replaced the gasket and not used sealer (per Fel-pro), what torque value did you use?

[toyomoho]

Clean all sealing surfaces thoroughly then apply some kind of non-hardening gasket sealer. Torque up the nuts slowly until they hold 17ft-lbs consistently over time as the gasket seats.

[68Malibu]

Originally Posted by toyomoho

Clean all sealing surfaces thoroughly then apply some kind of non-hardening gasket sealer. Torque up the nuts slowly until they hold 17ft-lbs consistently over time as the gasket seats.

I have some very good sealer and would have used it here as I typically do on other cars but the Fel-pro instructions said not to in bold writing. Everything was very, very clean.

[alotawatts]

Buy a service manual. There are spots where you should/need to include sealer. Do a search you might find a pic here somewhere......

[ghettosled]

yeah, what alotawatts said. there are common leak points that even a new gasket has problems sealing. even though everything was very clean, did you use something like brake cleaner on the gasket mating surfaces?

[68Malibu]

Originally Posted by ghettosled

yeah, what alotawatts said. there are common leak points that even a new gasket has problems sealing. even though everything was very clean, did you use something like brake cleaner on the gasket mating surfaces?

Oh yes, I used brake cleaner and got it spotless. I've successfully built several engines in the past so I'm pretty versed on gaskets. I should have followed my instincts and used a dab of sealer at the cam cap corners. I may take it back off and add a little sealer.

Thanks for the replys.