Pro Form Mopar big block valve covers, not so good

Paul_G · May 14, 2020

I got a pair from Summit this week. The older cast bog block Mopar Performance valve covers are no longer produced which is a shame.

The bolt holes had to be opened up to fit. Had to move the lip out a bit in a few places to get over the gasket. Then after snugging it down I see this. The upper part of the cover warped so bad I can reach in and move the gasket around. That was about .070" of feeler gauge in there with room to spare. The other cover was not as bad, but still unusable.

68Moparmaniac · May 14, 2020

.070 clearance...wow that sucks balls. Major oil leak waiting to happen.
The Mopar Performance valve covers I have needed some work also. Since I needed to machine the holes for the grommets I figured I would set them up on a mill and run a endmill around the gasket track.. wound up taking about .015- .020 off to get it flat enough to use. China castings are not bitchen by any stretch...but .070 is a lot to clean up...
Good luck with that :thumbsup:

peabodyracin · May 14, 2020

I assume from your photo those are stamped parts, not cast ones. I'm at a loss as to what can be done to make them usable. Certainly machining on cast ones is workable, but yours appear to have a problem with the dies if the center is pulling up that much. I've always understood when stamping they have to push beyond the desired final shape some to get beyond the 'memory' of the material.

Paul_G · May 14, 2020

They are going back to Summit. Got to choose another pair. Any suggestions?

VANDAN · May 14, 2020

Look around for a good set of used BB covers, as there are usually a few sets posted here often...

33 IMP · May 14, 2020

I bought the summit brand (chinese) cast covers, back when they were available as-cast or polished. I bought the cast, now they are available polished only. They were flat enough to work, but I improved them, sanding them on a surface plate. I had to move the two holes on the intake side almost an eighth inch to be able to use studs,on either iron or aluminum heads.(Might have worked with bolts on either iron heads or aluminum, I don't remember which it might have worked. Iron and alum heads seam to use different bolt angles for valve cover hold down bolts.) Once I tuned them up, I like em.
If I were looking now, I might try the fabbed covers. I know with the fabbed covers, the rails can be sanded to make sure they are flat. If you have tf heads, I'd get the tf covers.

hunt2elk · May 14, 2020

I bought these Summit brand along with these gaskets and no leaks. I think the covers were around $100.

PRHeads · May 14, 2020

Do those Summit cast covers have baffles in them?

33 IMP · May 14, 2020

They have baffles for the holes in the covers that screw in from the bottom. If you are refering to oil director baffles for the valvetrain, no.

PRHeads · May 14, 2020

I just meant baffles under the breather/pcv holes.

hunt2elk · May 14, 2020

Yes, they have a baffle under both the pcv and breather holes. I added the black oil fill port on the passenger side.

PRND21 · May 14, 2020

I’d sell these Indy cast covers to you pretty cheap. They have Moroso baffles installed, PM me if you’d be interested.

coloradodave · May 15, 2020

I got mine from Todd at Marsh Performance ([email protected]). Very happy with the quality and sealing. Baffles are included. Like Elk, above, I installed an oil fill cap from Speedway.

moparedtn · May 15, 2020

When the time came, I searched for and found an original set of Mopar chrome steel valve covers - the
heavier gauge ones like those found on the '67 GTX. No warpage, not perfect and new (used) but worked
great with studs and decent gaskets - and of course, your factory breather and PCV grommets are
already in place w/baffles inside.
They're out there...

hunt2elk · May 17, 2020

Got to update my post. Put about 100 miles on the car yesterday. All of a sudden I had an oil leak on the rear passenger side valve cover. Just took it off and found this :BangHead:

.
Also here is a pic of the baffles in these covers.

hunt2elk · May 17, 2020

@coloradodave , what gaskets are you using?

beanhead · May 17, 2020

hunt2elk said:
Got to update my post. Put about 100 miles on the car yesterday. All of a sudden I had an oil leak on the rear passenger side valve cover. Just took it off and found this .
Also here is a pic of the baffles in these covers.

View attachment 951308 View attachment 951309 View attachment 951310

Ahh yes. The Moroso gaskets are great but they must be used with a flat surface and just snugged--not tightened much at all. I've torn them with what I thought was nowhere near enough torque on the bolts, but it just takes enough to just put a little squeeze on them and they'll seal fine. It looks like your covers have a flat rail so you should be good there.

(Oh, and :thumbsup:

for putting 100 miles on your car in a day!)

andyf · May 17, 2020

hunt2elk said:
Got to update my post. Put about 100 miles on the car yesterday. All of a sudden I had an oil leak on the rear passenger side valve cover. Just took it off and found this .
Also here is a pic of the baffles in these covers.

View attachment 951308 View attachment 951309 View attachment 951310

Yeah the Moroso gaskets will tear unless they are installed on perfectly smooth surfaces. Basically the only way they work is if you have aftermarket heads with a machined rail and cast covers with a smooth rail. Then they work pretty well. If you have cast iron heads you might want to stick with a fiber gasket like the Fel Pro thick black one. I don't use the Moroso gasket on anything anymore. For my "perfect" situations I use the Cometic gaskets. Zero leaks with the Cometic gaskets but they need a nice smooth valve cover rail to sit on.

hunt2elk · May 17, 2020

andyf said:
Yeah the Moroso gaskets will tear unless they are installed on perfectly smooth surfaces. Basically the only way they work is if you have aftermarket heads with a machined rail and cast covers with a smooth rail. Then they work pretty well. If you have cast iron heads you might want to stick with a fiber gasket like the Fel Pro thick black one. I don't use the Moroso gasket on anything anymore. For my "perfect" situations I use the Cometic gaskets. Zero leaks with the Cometic gaskets but they need a nice smooth valve cover rail to sit on.

I have Trick Flow 240 heads. Had the Cometic's on first and they leaked in the exact same spot. The engine builder called Summit and was told they recommend the Morosos with this combo. You think I should try another set on them?

andyf · May 17, 2020

I've never seen any problems with Trick Flow heads. You need to carefully inspect the valve covers for size as well as flatness. Turn the valve cover over and lay the gasket on it and see how it fits. Then do the same with the head and see how it fits. Those valve covers must not be the correct width if they are tearing the gasket on a Trick Flow head.
Which Cometic gasket did you use? They have a cheaper fiber gasket but the good gasket is the rubber molded on a steel core. I've never seen them leak on a Trick Flow head if the valve cover is the correct size and is flat. I have Cometic gaskets on the engine in my Duster and the valve covers have been on and off dozens of times over the years. Zero leaks even though the gaskets have been on the engine for several years.

Pro Form Mopar big block valve covers, not so good

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