valley pan installation on a 292

[alhillier]

I can not find any reference in the shop manual on how tight (foot pounds of torque) the valley pan bolts should be. Someone had tightened it too much and slightly bent one corner up that had to be straightened to eliminate a small gap and potential oil leak. Now that I am ready to reinstall it, I don't want to bend it again.

Your help would be appreciated.

[55Greg&Amy]

The torque is listed in the manual as "Valve Pushrod Chamber Cover" and the torque value is 12-15 inch pounds for a 223 and 2.0-2.5 foot pounds for a 272 engine. I torqued mine to 20 inch pounds with perfect results. Over tightening of the 2 bolts will bent the cover and cause leaks. I torqued the draft tube to 20 inch pounds as well.

[alhillier]

Thanks Greg! The Forum is really helpful.
Al

[bobioknight]

In my shop manual it's called: Push rod chamber cover. 12 to 15 inch pounds. On a 1957 312.

I found two options for gaskets, rubber or cork.

[bobioknight]

I pulled the bolts today, but the heads make the gap too narrow, so the cover does not lift straight out. is it necessary to force it out, or do you have to pull the water pump and slide it forward?

[55Greg&Amy]

Try lifting one long side before the other and it should come out with a little wiggling. Mine came out a little hard but went in much easier. After I removed mine, I cut a large rectangle hole into a piece of 1" particle board so I could lay the valley pan on it with the gasket and check it for flatness. I spanned a board across the bottom side with some spacers so I could even put the bolts through and torque them so I could check for gaps with a feeler gauge.

[bobioknight]

Nice job Greg, did you use rtv to seal the rubber gasket as well when you installed?

[55Greg&Amy]

I glued the rubber gasket to the block with permatex high tack gasket sealant and let it set up then put the valley pan on with no other sealant.

[bobioknight]

The idiots at FedEx are finally delivering my parts tomorrow. Going to take the day off and begin the valley gaskets and intake gasket installation, I did get my valley pan off, was easier than I expected. The gasket was no where close to being sealed but you can see they tried to silicone it in place somewhat. Can't say I am not nervous since I have been going round and round with all this stuff. If I have learned anything from you guys and recent failed attempts is to clean the crap out of everything and follow good advice. Wish me luck.

[bobioknight]

I glued the rubber gasket to the block with permatex high tack gasket sealant and let it set up then put the valley pan on with no other sealant.

No sealant between cover and rubber? how do you choose the right sealant? I was going to use red RTV but heard it takes too long to setup and could slip out of position, seems like everyone has their own favorite. I am wondering if it isn't so important to use the correct sealant (since they seam to be mostly the same) but more importantly, clean, straighten and allow drying time (be patient) with what ever product you choose.

[jamit793]

Just an observation here: In the 1956 FORD Shop manual I found on page 362 the table titled "Torque limits (Foot-Pounds)". In that table for Push Rod Chamber Cover it states the following:

292 and 312 cu inch engines torque 2.0-2.5 (Foot-Pounds based on the note in the table title) this equals to 24-30 inch pounds

[paul2748]

Always follow the directions for the sealant being used. I use the orange high temp Permatex RTV for most of my sealant cases. Always had good luck with it. Gasket usually comes of easy (or easier) with this. It's color is close to the engine color.

[ICON 1956]

When I changed my Oil pan I used Permatex Ultra Black, and cork gasket, I followed the Shop manual on the torque requirements. I don't have any leaks. Also I changed the tranny filter follow the Shop manual for torque requirements do not over tighten !