2002 4.6l valve cover grommets

[wdntulk2no]

Hey guys I didn’t see anything about this so posing looking for some answers. I have leaky valve covers on both sides. When I went to change valve cover gaskets I also ordered the grommets as well. The old grommets have a metal core but the new ones do not. I have not been able to determine if this core is needed or if it was designed out. None of the sets seem to come with the core. Any advice is helpful. I really don’t want to have to do this again.

 

[S20Workstation4]

Are the new grommets Ford OEM?
If their OEM, the metal core missing is likely the result of a re-design. They should be OK to install.

 

[wdntulk2no]

Ok so after digging and finally finding a 20+ year ford mechanic I was told to dig the core out of the old rubber and install into the new rubber. Let me tell you that is a job in itself. I used a little dielectric on the core and a screwdriver that fit perfectly in the metal core. Once they were all outfitted with the core the rubber looked way closer to the original units that had split and cracked. My best guess is this is the Windsor engine version based on ford documentation. Side note you can buy these from ford they are 16$ each total of 22 in this valve cover set.