Been doing the valves on my 3.0vze @ 232,000 miles. 5 valves were out of spec, and all but 2 were at the minimum clearance. I am planning on just re-shimming them all for maximum clearance while Im in there. The #4 and #6 exhaust valves were at 0.005in vs the minimum of 0.009in, so an adjustment was definitely due. A few of the vacuum lines connecting to the plenum were so hard that I had to cut them off, so will likely be refreshing some of those as well.

My valve covers were leaking slightly pretty much all the way around. Lower edge was leaking the worst, of course. FIPG was only on the corners as suggested by the FSM. The mating surfaces do have some nicks and scratches, some deep enough to catch with my fingernail. Im wondering if more leaks will develop in those spots over time. I have heard some guys use FIPG all the way around instead of only at the corners, but seems pretty messy to me. Any strong opinions one way or the other?

 

I like to put a thin layer of Right Stuff on anything that needs to be sealed. I coat gaskets with it, or put it on bare mating surfaces. I actually built part of a turbo charge pipe with it once when I didn't have the proper coupler. The stuff is amazing, been using it for a good decade now. Just clean your surfaces first, or your results may not be as good.

 

You're going to have a really tough time trying to lift the valve cover if you put any sort of sealant "all the way around."

 

The cheaper knock-off gaskets are made from inferior elastomers that quickly harden from heat when in service.
When hardened, they leak.
Best to buy high quality gaskets, as OEM, Ishino, or similar.

 

Yes, they took some convincing as is.

I have a set of Victor Reinz gaskets from Yotashop, we'll see how they do.