Back in the day, Permatex replaced every single gasket on a car with their products and ran it around Daytona or Talladega or somewhere for a gazillion miles just to show that they worked. Just make sure the surfaces are clean and oil-free.

 

I always wondered why, if that was so great, eliminating gaskets never caught on with the auto industry or NASCAR? Must be something else going on here. I mean, the gaskets alone would reduce cost on an industrial level, and the auto industry goes to some trouble to save $1 per car.

 

Use Gasgacinch Gasket Sealer. Edelbrock part no 9300 has their private label to, which is the same thing. Been around fo half a century and still being used by NASCAR engine builders.

It's very viscous, fills in the tiny imperfections where leaks get started.

 

I'm considering using "Permitex Ultra Copper High Temp Silicone Gasket Maker".
Why?
I used this product exclusively on the valve cover and its working great.
I see the top gasket is special with a vent so I wont do that one but the rest look normal.
Has anyone experienced leaks using regular gaskets?
No. Not when they are installed properly, with an "old school" lacquer-based sealant.

 

my mechanic swears by the stuff

i bought an engine that came with fel-pro gaskets one time... he hasn't shut up about how junk those gaskets are.

 

Maybe he was just careless. My 289HP is put together with Fel-Pro, about 25 years and so far, so good.

 

You can use RTV INSTEAD of gaskets in many applications but I would pick one or the other. RTV generally doesn't work well with gaskets. If you have gaskets I see no point in using anything else.
When I use RTV in transmission applications I prefer to use Ultra Gray for aluminum or Ultra Black. The neon orange of Ultra copper is pretty unattractive on anything but Chevy orange engine.
Any number of Dodges with triple pan transmissions came from the factory with no pan gaskets but RTV on all three pans. When such a transmission is serviced it's standard practice to use a gasket as ATF never seems to stop dripping and RTV does NOT adhere to oily surfaces. A rebuild kit for such a transmission (41TE) will not come with pan gaskets. With the standard cleaning done during a normal transmission rebuild it is assumed the gaskets surfaces will be clean and dry enough to use RTV like the factory did. Using gaskets is an option though. For enhanced serviceability many builders choose to use gaskets instead of RTV.

 

Fair warning: Sometimes the squished thickness of the gasket is engineered into the design. No gasket might mean diminished clearances.

 

The Fel-Pro of today is not the Fel-Pro of days gone by.
A lot of things changed when Federal Mogul acquired Fel-Pro in the late 90's.
Federal-Mogul - Investors - Press Release

NASCAR engine builders were particularly worried but their concerns were largely unfounded
because the gaskets they get are specific to their engine programs and as a result, the quality
remained unchanged.
AFA as the stuff the average Joe receives from Fel-Pro (and I have no actual data), one could
assume that the same material cost-cutting other F-M acquisitions went through, also can be
applied to Fel-Pro. (On the Human Resources side, I do know that the Fel-Pro of 1997 AFA
vacation accrual, retirements, pay, etc., was not the Fel-Pro of 1999 and later)

 

Gasket aside, leaks start with tiny fissures and imperfections in the mating surfaces.

Clean the surface and apply GASGACINCH. It fills in the fissures and imperfections better than the pasty crap.

 

I found aviation gasket maker by Permitex. It is super sticky, black and seems like a great product. Im planning to use it in place of the paper gaskets.

Any thoughts on this product?

 

I'm confused why anyone would stray so far away from a gasket on these engines. They were engineered with the intention of using gaskets.

Gasgacinch coats the gasket and metal surface, filling in any imperfections. Let the gasket do its job. The gasket sealer enhances the life and performance. It's a synthetic neoprene adhesive.

 

Just so there is no misunderstanding above, Gasgacinch is designed to be used ON gaskets NOT in replace of gaskets.

 

I have used aviation Permatex for years but generally only as a dressing for the thin paper gaskets. I also use the aviation Permatex for metal to metal seals like the timing cover seal and axle seals. I wouldn't put any dressing on the transmission filter screen gasket though. The transmission pan gaskets I use now are not paper or cork. They are metal core covered with rubber or silicone. I run the same type of gaskets for the valve covers and oil pan. These have replaced all the old stamped out cork gaskets that always cracked and leaked.

I also toss the cork end gaskets for the intake manifold and put a bead of red high temp rtv on the block for those.

 

I have used aviation Permatex for years but generally only as a dressing for the thin paper gaskets.

I got my hands on Indian Head Shellac Compound and Permatex Aviation Form-A-Gasket.

They are similar, I assume they are comparable to Gasgasince which was not on the shelf locally.

Both products appear to be very good but I favor Aviation as it seems more rubbery and the product instructions say it can be used on machined parts.

Im still undecided on weather to go with or without the paper gaskets, any opinion apriciated?

 

When I assemble transmissions, with paper gaskets, I don't use or think I need any sort of sealer. I think my grandfather used Indian Head shellac on his homemade gaskets for a Model A that he cut out of cereal boxes but I never had any use for it. Nor Gascacinch either. The Aviation gasket sealer is about the only stuff I use on the rare occasion I think I need to use something with a gasket. Often on antique motorcycles but not so much on car parts. It's good stuff though.
When sealing gasket surfaces on stuff that takes hypoid/90W type gear oil, you can pretty much use whatever you like with success. That type of oil is easy to seal. Almost the opposite of automatic transmission fluid which seems to be able to weep out of the tiniest pinhole.
Except for the very rare exception of stuff like intake manifold end seals, if I have good replacement gaskets I use them over any other solution.

 

Seems to me like gaskets would be easier to deal with if you ever needed to repair the engine/transmission. Even if you get bits of the gasket in the engine it probably won't be as damaging as bits of RTV/sealant/etc. Also as a hobbyist it takes longer to use these products - I have to make sure everything is ready for this part to be glued down. With a gasket I can unbolt it and start over, come back to it later, etc.

david

 

Ok I will use the paper gasket with a coat of Aviation form-A-gasket on each of the 4 surfaces.

I never knew about shellacking gaskets, This looks way better than using paper alone.