Good movie! I especially like Scott Glenn's depiction of Alan Shepard....

Oh, gasket sealant? The only 2 products I use....

One.

Two, and only in 3 places... #5 main bearing cap to block parting line, intake gasket to cork end rail joint, front cover to oil pan to block parting line.

 

1. Clean is a personal call that varies according to circumstances. If you don't think it's clean, it's not. Rarely do resort to putting parts on sandpaper and a piece of plate glass to flatten them, but I do. Mostly I'm concerned with old pieces of gaskets. Discoloration wouldn't concern me at all. Pitting can, but that's also a judgement call. New gaskets or RTV (notice I said OR) can handle quite a bit of imperfections. For most gasket installation some oil or coolant on the surfaces during assembly doesn't affect the final seal. For RTV to seal it all HAS to be clean and dry.
2. Pretty sure mine are just sawed off bolts. I've had them for like 30 years.
3. I want my RTV as wet as possible during assembly. I've heard others want to let it set up or "skin over" before assembling. I quite frankly find that illogical.
4. I torque according to the manual or what it says in "How to rebuild your small block Ford". I work on a lot more stuff than old Ford engines and am not one of those guys with a bunch of memorized specs. Books and a PC.

6. There's no oil pressure under the intake. There is however a bunch of oil splashing like you wouldn't believe from the lifters jumping up and down and such. Keeping oil from oozing/creeping out of a gap is a different job from holding back 60-80 PSi of pressurized oil. Like a cold engine sends to the bearings.

 

Okay, that has answered my questions for now. Thanks again for the detailed input, you're really helping me through this rebuild!

 

Another forum member wrote up the best how-to on intake installation ever. However, I don't know where it is right off. Someone else will, I bet.

I can post my personal summary though. RTV does NOT stick to oil. Surfaces must be super clean and dry. I do a final wipe with alcohol or lacquer thinner. Take out the intake gasket kit. The end pieces might be simple strips of cork or formed pieces of silicone. Either way I do not care, despise those oil leaking POS's equally, and toss them straight in the trash. I have a set of four trimmed off bolts, one in each corner, that allow me to "plop" an intake straight down on top of the engine. It's a common practice. They are really nice to have but not essential.

Everything clean and ready. Aviation sealer on the water port and place the side gaskets. I flip the intake over and "paint" a coat of RTV where the end seals would go. Just enough to add solid color, like paint primer. Then lay down the fat RTV beads on the engine. Plop the intake down as straight as possible and as soon as possible. Make sure the side gaskets didn't move and add some bolts. Remove my installation studs and put in the rest of the bolts. Torque the bolts and abandon ship for at least the next 12 hours or more. If possible. Thick beads of RTV may appear to be cured and firm on the outside but they really need to cure all the way through. I have pulled some assembles apart hours later and found such big beads to still be totally liquid at their core. You can put the engine back into service sooner as the RTV beads don't have to seal against any pressure, it's just good practice.

 

Thank you for the detailed writeup. I'll do some digging for the thread you mentioned. A few comments/questions on what you said:

1. I've wondering this before and I'll take the chance to ask now. How clean is clean? I've gotten things like the front cover smooth, but there is still discoloring from who knows what. When preparing these surfaces, do I need to actually SAND or FILE it down until it is perfectly "raw"?

2. I think I've seen these. Aren't they literally just bolts with the hex head sawed off? They screw into the four holes and serve as a guide for getting the intake manifold on straight?

3. The RTV does not need to set or become tacky before you drop the intake down?

4. Do you torque in two stages? Like, 13-15 first and then 23-25 lbs? I've heard to do this somewhere and I would like to get a second opinion.

5. Oh, it's possible. The engine is not in the car :grin2:

6. What do you mean by this? Can you elaborate?

Thanks again for the detailed information, and for taking the time to write these lengthy responses.

Edit: Pardon the disgusting and hard-to-read yellow. My apologies. Point 5 says, "Oh, it's possible. The engine is not in the car :grin2: "

 

Right Stuff to me is basically RTV that is a bit thicker in consistency than others and seems to set up "harder". I've had a pressure can of it for years and like it but basically never use it. My go-to is Permatex Ultra Gray. I find the regular tube a bit more intuitive to use I guess. I can control what I want out of it very precisely. I also like how the gray color hides VERY well around cast aluminum. It's what I've been using instead of intake cork end seals for years. It is oil proof when applied correctly. I have to slice it with a razor blade before attempting to remove an intake I've installed with it. A tube fits nicely in my drawer of other sealers and thread locks.

The actual intake gaskets are another thing. For years I've seen enough issues with the driver's side front water port. Even with the newer (well, sorta newish) gaskets with silicone imprinted on them. Every time I install these I put a thin coat of brushable Permatex Aircraft Gasket sealer around just that one port. An issue with this coolant port leaking seems to only rare its head in the very long term so most people don't see it. I find it interesting that not only are Ford's German-built "Cologne" engine prone to the exact same issue but also many iron block GM engines. All in the very long term.

Though I have more kinds of sealers and such than I'd care to list, I can happily do just about anything I want in the shop with just these two sealers. I consider Right Stuff and Ultra the same thing, just whichever dispenser style suits you more.

Oh, and RTV "rots". It sort of semi-congeals inside. You can tell it's done this by squeezing the tube. If it feels like it has little chunks in it then it has done this and is utterly useless. A sharp eyed person might catch me surreptiously squeezing the tube of RTV I am about to buy in the parts store. Most peopel say they've never seen this but after buying a couple of bum Versachem tubes it put me right off using that brand. I've had a tube of Permatex Ultra Copper do it but it was previously opened and in my sealer drawer I've no idea how long. I doubt Right Stuff in the pressure can has the rot issue but it does lose its charge over time, like any spray can. Thus the can I mentioned having on the shelf I've just found will not now dispense the product so I've no longer any way to use that half a can or better of not cheap sealer. I won't be buying another. I frankly don't do enough stuff to warrant buying the big caulking gun versions.

 

Wow, jackpot. This is a lot of information to take in.

It sounds like I should skip the cork on the intake manifold ends and go with a fat bead of The Right Stuff. Any advice or tips?

I think I've seen both types of dispenser mechanisms for each of those two products, just so you know @GypsyR !

Thanks all for pitching in. This is my first rebuild and all the sources I have don't go into nearly enough detail for me to feel comfortable and confident in my rebuild, because they either lack detail or seem to be a bit outdated.

 

The Right Stuff is the bomb when used in place of the intake end seals (when properly applied.) Oil does not affect it like it will some silicones and I always use it on my cars. The only issue is when you need to remove the intake in the future that you must remember to use a razor blade or carpet knife to slice through the whole length of Right Stuff before trying to pry the manifold up.


I would definitely NOT use it on thin metal items like valve covers or oil pans for fear of not being able to get them off in the future without destroying them in the process.

 

Thanks for the information, and for the warning. Sounds like this stuff is pretty heavy-duty. I will use a basic sealer in places with thin metal!

 

Works particularly well when you're under some POS, working against gravity and need to seal something up
with no one else available for "extra hands."

https://www.permatex.com/products/g.../gasketing/the-right-stuff-gasket-makers/permatex-the-right-stuff-gasket-maker/

ex-Global West GM
1991-1995

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000HBM6PE/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_image_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

Yep, I've got some here. I just need to know how to use it!

Works particularly well when you're under some POS, working against gravity and need to seal something up
with no one else available for "extra hands."

https://www.permatex.com/products/g.../gasketing/the-right-stuff-gasket-makers/permatex-the-right-stuff-gasket-maker/

ex-Global West GM
1991-1995

In regards to engine building, how should I use it?

 

Works awesome. Wouldn’t use anything else.

 

For the ends of the valley, no gasket, just a thick layer of Right Stuff.
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Does that mean the front and back of the intake manifold?

 

Where?

 

Thank you for identifying another one of my questions!

Where do I use this stuff?