Hello all,

According to the Haynes manual, there are only two spots that require RTV on the valve cover gaskets. The only other engine that I've replaced valve cover gaskets on was an old VW bus, and those typically got a bead of RTV between the gasket and the valve cover.

Does anyone use RTV around the entire gasket? How do you keep the gasket on the valve cover while lowering it onto the head?

Kanute

 

The gaskets will stay in place when you intstall. (The cover is groved) I would not recomend running a RTV bead along the gasket, the covers will not sit right and you could end up with a leak.

 

Thanks nighthawk!

 

The only places I've ever seen that absolutely needed RTV, was at the end of the camshaft, where the braket comes up. Or if there are plugs in the end of the block.

 

93Nighthawk is 100% correct, and right on the money. Even with Transmission gaskets, just a dab of Vasoline, or clear lithium grease will hold and position the gasket perfectly. Gaskets, themselves are much better than the crappy stuff we used in the 70s, 80s. Remember the horrific cork valve cover gaskets, and trans pan gaskets? After about a year of high heat conditions, they'd become brittle, crack, and leak. The cork transmission pan gaskets were the worse. They were always folded, with a rubber band around it. No matter how hard you tried, they never seemed to smooth out right, even when new. Terrible! Ed

 

I hope I'm not too late Just got back from Salt Lake City. When you install the valve cover gasket, there are two places you need to clean up really well and put in a dab of RTV. That's where the head and the intake manifold meet. There intake manifol gasket is wedged in between there and you can see it. if you don't have RTV there to fill up the imperfections where the head and the intake manifold meet, you'll have a small leak throughout the life of the van.

However, the RTV does not go on the gasket. It goes on the joint between the head and the manifold.