The valve cover is a component that sits on top of the cylinder head and seals it. This seal contains the oil in the valve train and keeps any debris or dirt from entering the cylinder head. The cover, if properly sealed, allows the vehicle's engine to stay lubricated and in excellent condition.
Valve cover principlesEarly engines did not have valve covers to protect the intake and exhaust valves from being contaminated. A valve cover is important to the vehicle like any other component and depending on the engine it can have up to two rocker covers for each bank of cylinders. While inline engines usually just have one rocker cover.
As engines continued to develop, you started to see the effect of the vehicle valve cover. The user went from oiling up the rocker arm constantly, to the oil being contained as well as dirt from accessing the components.
Common issues with a faulty valve coverA faulty valve cover can lead to the vehicle having oil leaks, an engine misfire, and the oil level decreasing.