1985 F150 Valve Cover Leak
 

Ok y'all, So I just purchased a 1985 Ford F150 4x4 V8 with manual transmission that is fuel injected. There was a bad leak on the drivers side valve cover. So I took off the fuel injector setup off the top of the engine, removed all the necessary vaccuum hoses and electrical hookups and got the valve covers off. I put on new valve cover gaskets and hooked them into the cover with the tabs. my problem is that I get mixed info about using a sealant of sorts to seal the gasket to the valve cover before I bolt it back down. So this time I didnt use any I just slapped everything back together. I now have more then one leak from the valve cover gaskets. I tightened them down evenly, tightened them till they were snug and then went another 1/4 turn. Please help me stop this leak. Oh just so you all know. I am mechanically smart enough to follow directions and install stuff but I am not up on the technical terms or proper enginge part names.

If you buy a cork or rubber gasket you NEED to use some RTV silicone on both sides. Preferably clean the valve cover and clean and sand or polish the sealing side of the cover. Put an 1/8 inch bead of silicone on the cover and put the gasket on the cover and let it tack. then put silicone on the other side and bolt it up. that's it