So, what's the consensus on best practice? If you are putting an engine together and are assembling intake manifolds, do you use a sealer on the gasket? Always? Sometimes? Never? What kind? Whatever the manual says? Something else?
Just curious. Sealer vs. RTV "gasket maker", etc. etc.
Thoughts?
depends.
I do a thin smear of rtv around the openings on both sides of the gasket and install
Old school paper or cork, yes. New o-ring style? No way.
An engine builder buddy of mine suggested a trick to RTV gaskets- for the applicator, cut a very small hole so that the amount of RTV that comes out is about 1mm- and use that to draw a line in the middle- circling the bolts, too. Assemble hand tight- let cure for a couple of hours, and then fully tighten.
We built an Alfa motor like that, and it didn't leak at all.
For valve cover gaskets, I put a very thin layer on the cover side, let it dry for 10 min or so, put a bit of oil on the head side. Torque on, drive a bit, check torque.
Generally: less is better.
If you have freshly machine surfaces, you really shouldn't need any.
Depends.
always ALWAYS on Fel-Pro fiber gaskets, have had too many of them leak coolant through the gasket itself. I do a smear of Right Stuff on the head around the coolant passages, lay the gasket down, then another smear, making sure there is a dam all the way around the opening.
Sometimes on GM plastic/rubber or aluminum/rubber gaskets, at the coolant passages, if the head or manifold are pitted. Which they usually are. Yeah, they say don't, but what is the alternative? "Sir your $800 intake gasket swap is going to be a $6000 engine replacement because the instructions said I can't use sealant." Not in the real world!
Always on the RX-7 around the intake ports because any vacuum leaks are unfiltered air, unfiltered air kills rotaries
Pete. (l33t FS) said:Always on the RX-7 around the intake ports because any vacuum leaks are unfiltered air, unfiltered air kills rotaries
And this is exactly my situation.
Question: Is the RTV good for those temperatures? I spent a crazy amount of time removing the burned on old gasket material. It simply did not want to let go of the aluminum. I'm hoping to never pull this engine apart again. Given the proximity of the intake manifold to the turbo and turbo manifold, is the RTV going to hold up or just burn up?
In reply to 1988RedT2 :
Note that I do compete in sometimes extremely dusty environments. I have developed an almost pathologically paranoid attitude regarding air filtration.
Right Stuff is rated to something like 650F. I use it on coolant seals where everything is pitted. It also works okay on exhaust manifold flanges, but not so much in the rest of the exhaust system.
The only RTV that I ever use is the high temp orange stuff, on exhaust flanges.
You will destroy gaskets when taking the engine apart, but how often do you plan om doing that?
Just looking around at what I have available and it pops into my head: What about Hylomar?
Edit: Well, based on my research, Hylomar Blue makes an ideal gasket dressing.
So, Hylomar it is.
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