Gasket and seal Questions

[DVolk]

I have a few questions that im not really shure is to more of why do you need it .



1. According to the Cummins and the Chiltons book it says to use lock tight on the out side of the seals

and if memory serves me correctly it calls for Locite 277, Why do we need to use this on the out side of the seals ? , Ive been asked this by a shop before after the 2nd messed up front cover seal that i got meesed up trying to install it .



2. Any one have any tried and perfected ways to install the seals with out issues ?



3. It also says in the Cummins book to use " Copper Kote " for the gaskets .



What is the issues with light coat of RTV ???

 

[Ncostello]

I've never used anything on the crank seals. Isn't that green coating (or whichever color you end up with) a sealant already? Never had a leak from one. And I've installed about 5. As far as the gaskets go... I've used bare gaskets with no leak. I've used Cummins triple bond RTV alone with no leaks. I've used RTV smeared gaskets with no leaks. And I've used Copper Kote spray on a gasket.



My preference is Copper Kote spray on a gasket. It's a thin coating, makes it a little tacky, and it seals great. Otherwise I'd use RTV alone with no gasket. I choose Cummins RTV, which I think is a Valco product. Or else Valco brand silver RTV.



I can't see the purpose of using RTV on a gasket, as both are designed to seal on their own. I've done it true... but after holding the RTV covered gasket in my hands (making a huge mess everywhere) I started asking myself "why am I doing this?".



And if you use RTV... a nice uniform 1/8" bead is plenty, maybe even more, than you need to smash out into a nice gasket. I've seen people really goop this stuff on. When it squishes out... . remember it's squishing in as well. And if it comes off inside, where is it going?

 

[DVolk]

Thanks that is kind of what my thought has been , i never seen the copper kote spray
I got the RTV spray if it still works , amazeing how spray can quit for now reason at all even when brand new

 

[Ncostello]

I also have a can of Permatex black RTV in an aerosol can... with the dispenser tip. It works great and is easy to lay out a perfect, uniform bead for things like differential covers. But for the ultimate in sealing... I've always found Valco products to be superb. I use a dispenser gun for their tubes of RTV.



While I'm somewhat new to using Copper Kote spray... but I love it for paper gaskets. Especially things like small block V8 water pump gaskets... and our timing cover gaskets. It doesn't really provide the seal on it's own (the gasket provides that)... but does a great job in bonding to the paper, then to the metal surface thus making the paper gaskets much less likely to seep. If you use it you'll see what I'm saying. Just spray each side like spray paint and let it dry a little.



Copper Kote also works great on cork gaskets but you have to apply it in two coats because it will soak in a little.



Of course... is you end up with a rubber gasket for a trans pan or oil pan... you won't need anything on those. Just clean surfaces and install dry. They are easy to work with and they don't leak.

 

[DVolk]

Any one of good seal installation tools ?