basically what the title says.. I know some people like to use the copper head gasket spray on either side of their oil/water pump, thermostat housing, etc. paper gaskets, and other people use rtv type sealant on either side of the gasket. any ups or downs to one or the other? dressing up the block and head this coming week or weekend, after having put the freshly machined head back on the block today. arp studs with their moly lube at 20, 40, 60, 65 ft/lb. real motor on the left, mock up toast motor with turbo set up on the right

 

I prefer OEM non-paper gaskets....

Anything else gets ultra grey RTV(oil pump, oil pan, etc...).

 

Indian Head shellac. Only thing I've ever used, never any leaks. One bottle will last decades.

 

I use grey rtv on everything that sees oil or any fluid. It's not as messy as black.

 

i’m using all oem gaskets/seals on this engine.. the water pump, oil pump etc are all paper no? but yes those are what i’m referring to. napp motorsports uses copper spray, and ive seen supermiata use the grey rtv on them believe

 

OEM water pump pump to block and inlet mix manifold to pump has a "rubber" ish coating on it. IIRC the pump to block gasket is actually metal with the "rubber" coating on it. The mix manifold to pump was likely paper with the rubber coating on it. If you have straight paper gaskets for both they are what came with your pump. The ones that came with my gates pump are straight paper. The OE gaskets are definitely NOT straight paper gaskets. If you have "OE" gaskets for that that are straight paper, somebody screwed you. Then make sure you also replace the o-ring in the heater core to mix manifold pipe(the one that runs under the exhaust manifold).

The oil pump to block is straight ultra grey RTV, no gasket. Then you have the front crank seal on the front of the pump.

Oil pan is straight ultra grey RTV except for the two half moons and even those should get a bead of RTV.

 

For oil/gas/petroleum resistance, Permatex Aviation Form-A-Gasket No.3 is pretty good stuff (-65F/-54C to 400F/204C temp rating), but be warned the fumes it gives off smells like it will give you cancer. Definitely wear disposable gloves when handling, works great for gasket dressing. Permatex High Tack Spray-A-Gasket can be easier to work with and has anti-freeze resistance. These both work for enhancing pre-cut gaskets excluding headgaskets for obvious reasons.

RTV silicone should NOT be used as dressing for paper or pre-cut gaskets and especially should not be used to dress headgaskets. Gasket makers like RTV silicone "replace" pre-cut gaskets. Gasket dressing is a better application and designed for this exact use. While RTV as gasket dressing can work in some cases, most of the time it is not best practice in my experience. Permetex water pump & thermostat gasket maker works OK with gaskets...this stuff work pretty good with coolant, terrible gasoline/petroleum resistance.

I'm starting to like the "Right Stuff 90 Minute" RTV grey. The 1-minute right stuff dries too quick for me, but mechanics love it if you can assembly the part quick enough. You want to use RTV on parts that need flex and/or experience temperature differentials between the mating surfaces. A good example is oil pans, fantastic application. Anaerobic gasket maker (aka magic red gel) is what I just used last week to put a transmission case back together with. Unlike RTV, it is best used for rigid applications (works better than RTV) and can only cure in absence of oxygen. Expensive, but really good ****. I'm debating between anaerobic and grey 90-minute for a difficult to seal rear-main-seal plate on my 1.6L ecoboost...****** leaks with black RTV. 6-bolts to the block and then you form a gasket between the rear main plate and the oil pan. The "correct way" to do it is pull the oil pan off and re-seal the whole thing but I really don't want to do that.

From what I understand, headgaskets should be installed dry with the flat head surface, flat block surface, and gasket all ultra-clean and free of contamination of any kind. This applies to all modern engines, but old school stuff sometimes needed sealers on the headgasket. Not my area of expertise, don't ask me since it is before my time.

 

I used to use blue hylomar spray when was in Australia, think it was made by ACL, Haven't seen it since i've been in the US.

 

If you are referring to our Qmax reroute, it does not use nor require gaskets. We use Permatex sealant and it's proven 100% reliable when applied correctly.

 

Which one you used?