Originally Posted by shaverj

My .02:

Don't over do it on the sealant. Just enough to fill the notch with a slight contour is more than sufficient. If you notice an excess of sealant squeezed out from under the cover when tightening (a little is ok) then you may have too much.

In my experiences with engine teardowns reveal that it is very commonplace for people to overuse these types of sealants, and excess sealant can plug all kinds of important oil passageways, although if its just used on the valve cover's "cover" I don't think theres any need to worry.

I second the comments regarding prepping the surfaces and adhering to the specific sealant guidelines. The sealant I used (I believe it was the Ultra Black) specified additional torqing of the bolts after the 1st hour, this is very important, with full curing taking 24 hrs. I would recommend against some of the fast drying stuff, Permatex now offers an aerosol product that boasts 1hr full curing time. Avoid using any type of metallic bristed brush if possible, especially if they tend to "shed".

For what its worth I replaced the valve cover gaskets and resealed the additional covers with sealant and haven't had any issues this far, I also used box store's metric fasteners as the previous owner or dealer stripped the bolts while torqing previously.