Posted by Keith in Washington [108.162.246.14] on Monday, May 11, 2020 at 16:04:13 :
In Reply to: PTO Covers posted by Scott In Georgetown [172.69.68.182] on Monday, May 11, 2020 at 14:18:59 :
I never use blue or any silicone as a gasket or gasket sealer. I use to, but I learned it’s not any good. It always ends up moving and always comes loose. Just ask me about leaking valve covers. Use a good non-silicon gasket sealer/glue. Glue gasket to one side by coating both surfaces and letting it sit for a bit then put the gasket on that surface. Then coat the exposed site of the gasket and the other surface and let it sit a bit then install and torque bots to spec. I rarely have any gasket leaks doing it this way.
Put a tread sealant on the bolts. Not a locktite unless it is called for. Buy it at your local auto parts store.
You can use the yellow Teflon tape on your drain plug as it is petroleum resistant.
The reason I really dislike silicon sealants on any gasket is that it fails too often. People use it to fill in irregular surfaces when they should fix the problem. When you have silicon on as a bead then spread it out you often get too much on the surface. When you tighten the valve cover or oil pan or what ever your doing it will squeeze out. That’s fine on the outer edge as you can take it off. But the problem is that just as much goes inside and will often break off as bits and strings when then will circulate in the engine or what ever and cause blockages or other problems. That is not good. Gaskets glued in with silicon can walk when your tighten up on the bolts. Again not a good thing.
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