[Schurkey]

I keep telling people that RTV Silicone is a gasket MAKER, not a gasket sealer.

RTV Silicone is used INSTEAD of a gasket, not applied TO a gasket. The exception to that rule is to seal the seam between two gaskets, or between a gasket and a rubber seal; in which case a "dot" of RTV at the seam is sufficient.

Fel-Pro claims their gaskets don't need sealers. Not sure I'm accepting that. There's a dozen perfectly-adequate gasket sealers. My current favorite is Gasgacinch, but I've used multiple others and they've all worked acceptably well.

RTV Silicone, and Weatherstrip Adhesive should not be used on gaskets. Silicone makes them slippery so they squeeze-out, distort, and/or tear when torqued. Weatherstrip Adhesive is a hateful mess to remove the next time you have the assembly apart.

[Dragncar]

When I put my Steffs pan on I used only The Right Stuff silicone, no gasket except for the cork gasket around the rear main. I used 2 of them, side by side. Contact cement between cap and the cork strips and more The Right Stuff on top of them and the corners.
The pan has crank scrappers on both sides so using a gasket was not going to work anyway.

[JSchmitz]

I use Ultra Black. It is listed as a gasket maker. But it is an adhesive RTV. It definitely does not make gasket slippery. I would agree that the blue garbage does. I put a very thin coating on both sides of most gasket. This is especially necessary when dealing with corroded surfaces such as water pump mating surfaces. I always clean mating surfaces with lacquer thinner or brake cleaner. Works like magic for me.

[burd]

Originally Posted by 78w72

as mentioned check the housing is flat & not cracked... i always use a very thin layer of ultra black gasket maker on both sides of the gasket to ensure no leaks. not a full bead or too thick as it can ooze into oil passages, just a thin amount smoothed out by your finger so it wont ooze but will fill any small imperfections. torque bolts to spec then let cure overnight. should stay bone dry for decades.

as with everything else gasketed on these engines, retorque after a few heat cycles then check/snug the bolts every couple years.

Neat

[78w72]

Originally Posted by Schurkey

I keep telling people that RTV Silicone is a gasket MAKER, not a gasket sealer.

RTV Silicone is used INSTEAD of a gasket, not applied TO a gasket. The exception to that rule is to seal the seam between two gaskets, or between a gasket and a rubber seal; in which case a "dot" of RTV at the seam is sufficient.

Fel-Pro claims their gaskets don't need sealers. Not sure I'm accepting that. There's a dozen perfectly-adequate gasket sealers. My current favorite is Gasgacinch, but I've used multiple others and they've all worked acceptably well.

RTV Silicone, and Weatherstrip Adhesive should not be used on gaskets. Silicone makes them slippery so they squeeze-out, distort, and/or tear when torqued. Weatherstrip Adhesive is a hateful mess to remove the next time you have the assembly apart.

apparently you havent read the INSTRUCTIONS on the tube. permatex ultra black can be used as a gasket dressing/sealer. myself & many others including mechanics use this & the ultra grey in many areas that have gaskets with excellent results.

"For assembly as a gasket dressing
1. Repeat steps 1 through 4 as in previous section.
2. Apply a thin film of silicone to one surface to be sealed.
3. Place the pre-cut gasket onto silicone film.
4. Apply a second thin film to pre-cut gasket surface.
5. Remove any excess and assemble parts immediately.
Note: Product is not recommended for use as a cylinder
head gasket or head gasket sealant."

https://www.permatex.com/wp-content/.../tds/22072.pdf

maybe youre referring to the old crappy blue rtv stuff, but modern rtv like ultra black/grey can & is used ON gaskets as per the instructions.. & it works acceptable well. i have used gasgasinch decades ago, it works as an adhesive but dries rock hard & is definitely a hateful mess to remove, ultra black comes off pretty easy by just rubbing with your thumb or a rag and final clean up with lacquer thinner or brake cleaner.

ultra black RTV is perfectly fine to use on gaskets, its also an adhesive, when used properly it doesnt make them slippery or distort at all when torqued if you read & follow instructions of how to use it. as mentioned, i thin it out to a very thin layer or "dressing" not a thick bead that can squeeze out into passages or big chunks breaking off inside the engine.

as with most things in this hobby, there is more than one way to do things. but when a product states it can be used for a particular purpose, its a safe bet that its OK to use it that way vs some guy on the internet claiming it cant be used how the the manufacturer intended.

[lust4speed]

Please go back and read post #2 again. The bolt holes in many blocks are quite shallow and using what appears to be a proper length bolt will bottom out and fail to pull up the adapter tight enough to the block.

FWIW I use a dedicated oil filter adapter when breaking in engines on the test stand, and simply put a little grease on the engine side of the gasket so it will come off without destroying the gasket when the run-in is complete. Never had the slightest bit of oil get by the gasket so I would say that all the silicone, Permatex, Ultra Black, or super glue is overkill. Just use shorter bolts or some fat washers and the leak will go away.

[i82much]

have you tried UV dye to see where the leak is coming from? can be very helpful.

also this stuff might be worth a shot, could save you a ton of work. fixed a hairline crack in my oil pan.

https://www.permatex.com/products/ad...k-repair-9-oz/