general gasket technique... loctite "glue-sticks" perhaps?

sizemoremk

Registered User
So I am about to start assembling the motor, i've had a afew problems with gaskets in my truck leaking after I overhauled the engine few year sack, so I must not be doing something right:eek:

My main problem is with the rubber ones. I've tried using nothing, RTV of some kind, and I still seem to develop leaks on rubber gaskets.

Back in high school I used to slop on the silicone, sealant, or whatever, I would trace me a line around the perimiter and bolt-r-down, and obviously that didn't work so well...

Then I started kinda rubbing the entire gasket surface front and back to kinda rub the sealant into the gasket. That worked a little better...

Now I pretty much rub it onto the metal surface and try and wait for it to get tacky enougg for the gasket to stick, but usually it comes off...

A coupla years ago I bagan to use the copper spray for a few things, more for the tack'n things to the surface...

I recently seen a loctite hi-tack dressing "stick" at the autozone, and am wondering if that works well???


So anyways, what are your preferred methods for composite, cork, rubber, etc, etc???

What can I NOT put the copper spray on??? If it was up to me, I'd coat all the gaskets in copper:D
 
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one of the biggest things is surface prep. if you leave grease, dirt behind, even a little can seriously effect how well a gasket seals and how long the seal lasts. i use a rolok (sp?) wheel on a little 1/4 angle grinder/drill thingie. it works like a charm on decks, heads, valve covers, etc. it uses a scotchbrite like pad at high speed to remove everything and leave a nice shiny surface for you to use. now iv enever had problems with rubber gaskets with the metal standoffs to keep you from overtightening the gasket and these work well. a little rtv in the corners of an oil pan gasket never hurt either. but all other gaskets, if theyre flat (unlike the oil pan gasket) i leave them dry. cork gaskets suck ~~~ and i try to avoid them. if i HAVE to use them i use a little black rtv on both sides, not enough to pooch out AT ALL after tightening. high quality permatex black rtv seems to work better than others, and im not sure why, but when you buy the big caulk gun refill it seems like better rtv... not sure why
 
This is true, make sure you prep everything before you rtv it. Everything that needs RTV I usually take some coarse emery cloth and rub it down to get the surface rough so it holds the RTV better. I also use coarse emery cloth on the deck, but you have to put oil on the emery cloth to make sure it catches the grits if they fall off. Whenever you clean them off use brake cleaner (since it flashes off quickly and cuts grease better) and wipe it off then spray it again with brake cleaner, but let it dry itself. After you clean it DO NOT touch the surface at all or even breathe on it.

Whatever gaskets that you can get in cork then get those. They seal best. Whatever you put RTV on (except for the oil pan, because gaskets are not made for our motors) just rub on a real thin layer just to glue it on. The oil pickup gasket, just rub a thin layer of RTV on both sides just to glue it on, that is all it needs. The reason I say a really thin layer is to make sure whennever you tighten it down, the RTV does bulge into the oil passage and it is just a restriction and could break off and go through your oil pump.

With the oil pan, lay a bead all the way around the rails, around each bolt hole. Whenever you put the oil pan on make sure you put it on to where the bolt holes are line up or close. You don't really want to slide the pan around whenever it is in contact with the RTV.

With the timing cover gasket use and thin layer, on the backside where it meets the block, on the coolant and oil passages only. The timing cover gasket I got was a black one with a built in silicone sealer line, so that is the reasone for puttin silicone on the backside only. Where the timing cover meets the pan there is not a gasket made for that either. Lay an actual bead across the whole surface of the timing cover, not on the pan, but do it as you are ready to install the timing cover to be bolted on and left.
 
So you do put a bead all the way aroud the oil-pan? What do you do for the holes? A bead around the holes, or do you smooth it out over the holes?
 
sizemoremk said:
So you do put a bead all the way aroud the oil-pan? What do you do for the holes? A bead around the holes, or do you smooth it out over the holes?
Yes, but don't make it a huge bead, but one big enough to cover the whole surface area of the pan rails whenever you tighten it down.

Once again, make sure all dirt and oil is off of the pan and the rails.
 
The other thing I do with parts that use gaskets between, especially rubber/silicone etc is to follow the torque specs etc then once its done I let it sit for about 10 minutes then check the torque again..... you'd be surprised how loose the bolts are. For example with my intake bolts, it took 8 times of going through the torque sequence (10 minutes between each session so to speak) till the bolts actually stayed at torque :eek:

I have never had a leak over the years with following this practice.

Frit
 
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