Using a sealer on new gaskets

FarmerHR

Member
We are doing an update on our well used NAA. We are ready to paint the engine when the weather warms here in Michigan. Then it will be time to put all the accessories ( ie vale cover, oil pah, timing cover,rocker arm cover, etc) back on. I would appreciate any thoughts on if it is a good idea to use something like gasket shellac on the gaskets when we put it back together. I would appreciate the plus and the minuses.
We ask the question because when we were growing up, anything that was repaired from the lawnmower, tractor, car, or truck always got all the gaskets coated with gasket shellac when put back together ( think dad used Monkey brand gasket shellac).
Thank you in advance for any help you can give us.
 
You will likely get as many opinions as you get responses to your question.

Myself, I am not a believer in goop, and use gasket sealer of any type on in exception cases.

Dean
 
I have had good luck with the red sticky stuff in a spry can. You spray it on the gasket, let it get tacky. It just hold the gasket in place while you fasten whatever in place.
 
I agree that sealant should not be needed on flat clean surfaces. Cork gaskets however are an exception in my opinion, I usually brush on some #3 Permatex (aviation sealant) onto those joints. Guaranteed not to leak. Pity the poor SOB who has to pull it back apart though - he will be literally ripping the gasket in half to get the cover back off.
 
As others have said, if it's flat and clean, you shouldn't need to use sealer. But.... I do put a thin coat of Never Seize on all my gaskets. Valve cover, push rod cover, oil pan and even the oil drain bolt gasket. Makes it certain to come off cleanly when removed even years down the road. Picked this habit up from an old machinist back in my industrial compressor overhaul days and it's never failed me. Makes life easier down the road for you.
 

You can search around on that topic. I recently asked either at the tractor or IH forum for my rebuild. A lot of people use grease. Machine shop who did most of mine uses black rtv sealant on gaskets to avoid the leak callbacks. Some use the aviation sealer, which I learned to use from my airplane since you don't want an oil leak at 10,000 feet. I did my water pump which has gaskets on both sides of the middle plate with aviation form a gasket on all sides since there was a gouge on the plate that I had to sand. Put red gun grease on the thermostat gasket as those can be a pain to scrape off. On cork gaskets for pan and valve cover remember you have to pull the valve cover off to check head bolt torque and valve adjustments. Leave the stickem if you use it to the pan sides and grease or black rtv on the other side or both sides. It is a pain to be under the engine scraping around the bottom of the engine. All kinds of theories on head gaskets from dry, grease, aluminum paint, copper coat, etc. When I do my manifold I will probably spray copper coat on both sides since I had a leak before which prompted my whole engine rebuild. Probably use grease on carb and other similar gaskets. When I took mine apart, they had used red rtv gasket maker and they were thick and reusable as I had both off before.

On bolts for mounts and manifold and all other parts on the tractor I use antiseize. Use red threadlocker on the flywheel bolts as they go into the oil jacket. Others use wd40, oil, and gun grease for bolts. I'm putting blue threadlocker on my fan bolts tomorrow just to be safe since they don't torque down very far. Water pump and all pan bolts will get grease. If there is any water pump bolt that goes directly into the water jacket then use a silicone sealant. None of mine were. There is a difference of opinion on plugs but I'm using antiseize. Don't think anyone puts anything on the head bolts since they need to be torqued down just right. Pipe plugs, etc. can be done with teflon tape or pipe dope.
 
Many thanks for the geat thoughful responses. I sincerly appreciate your efforts. You gave me some great ideas as usual.
Best Wishes
 


The last time I saw this come up it was notable to me that a lot of us use Permatex High Tack aerosol. That said, I don't usually use it, but there are certain situations where I do, mainly when installing larger gaskets such as the oil pan and valve cover. I use it only on the side of the gasket that is towards the cover or pan because it easier to remove it from the cover than the block or head next time I have it apart. Following the instructions and having the gasket "glued" to the pan or cover makes a successful install much more likely. When using High Tack this way there is no concern about getting a glob of some other type of sealer drawn into an oil passage.
 

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