Sealant question? opinions wanted...

[TINGLER]

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[Fat Hack]

Most likely, the coolant leaked out of your by-pass hose. (The smallish, 90 degree one that goes from the water pump to your thermostat housing).

On water pump gaskets, I smear a very THIN coat of blue silicone on them with my finger, if anything. Alot of times I just use a thin film of motor oil to seal gaskets!

[Fat Hack]

Four properties of motor oil:

1. Lubricates
2. Cools
3. Cleans
4. Seals!

I use the old motor oil trick on carb base gaskets mainly, but blue, black or red silicone (in very small doses) on coolant gaskets if the surfaces show any pitting.

Blue ROCKS, you homophobic hillbilly!! http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[Paul2748]

I agree with the guys re the by pass hose. Also check the upper radiator hose. Possible leak there.

[titus]

but if it turns out to be a gasket leak i always use permatex Form-A-Gasket #80019, it comes in a little bottle with a brush on the cap. The stuff is like the old indian head gasket sealer(a shelack goowey mixture). but dont use it on any rubber stuff. I swear by it cause its a mess to clean up amd a bitch to get things apart afterwards. but this is my opinion and have had luck with other stuff also.

[Pist-n-Broke]

That's a common place for coolant to set. usually it's the thermostat housing. It's a poor desighn for clamping pressuer. I've seen it often and here is what I do. Get out the pressuer pump and presurise the system and look for the leak. If your not lucky enough to have one most radieater shops will do it for you no cost. It's a lot easier than just tearing shit apart.Use R.T.V. in very limited supply and you will have a lot less problems. Let the gasket do it's job unless there is a surface problem and a light coat of grease on paper style gaskets is alwayse better then any kind of glue.
The Wizzard

[lgh1157]

This question is for you SBF guys. I have a 289 in my Fairlane. I took it out the other day and it was real cold out here, when I got back and was monky-ing around with the engine, I noticed some water on the timing chain cover. It was in that little valley area behind the waterpump....pooled up in there pretty good.

I am thinking the timing cover is leaking from the postion of water.

When I put it all together, I used the gasket that came with it and BLACK RTV sealant. The guys at the parts store were like, "Yeah buddy, I use that on EVERYTHING"......
Does that sound about right?

What would you use to re-seal that timing cover.....And I am re-sealing it even though it means that I have to pull the oil pan and re-seal that crap...
The timing cover on a 289 has both OIL and coolant running through it....NOT a place to mess around and leave a leak!

Opinions wanted on the BEST way to fix this leak....please.
(Best sealants?, gaskets? etc etc....)

Thanks
JT.

I've just dealt with this whole thing over the last few weeks.

I got the blue silicone from autozone, dudes was like " its the one i use ".
I also got a felpro gasket set of blue rubbery looking gaskets - do thse need sealer on them ?

I was looking at some other posts and a few were saying they are called perma-dry, or something like that ?

This is where i am at:

i changed the oil pan, timing cover, water pump, thermostat. i have some water in my oil and the front seal around the pan corners are leaking. After all this work i want a fuckin engine that doesn't leak :D.

I got the timing cover from autozone, i've read that some of them need to filed and re-surfaced - is this true ?

Am i not supposed to use sealer with the blue gaskets ?

What are my best options for sealing up the timing cover and water pump ??

L

[Flat Ernie]

My bet - T-stat housing and/or bypass hose. Very unlikely it's the timing chain cover since liquids usually leak down! :eek:

RTV - whatever color - is crap. If your surfaces are good & you have the correct gasket, grease (or oil) is all you need for a good seal. Never use any RTV where it will come in contact with gas (intake gaskets, carb gaskets, etc.) & even prolonged exposure to oil will deteriorate it. I will sometimes use a very, very light skim coating of RTV around water ports if the surface is corroded or pitted, but that's about it for RTV.

WAY overused.

[lgh1157]

My bet - T-stat housing and/or bypass hose. Very unlikely it's the timing chain cover since liquids usually leak down! :eek:
.

How would either of these leaking get water in the oil ?

This is on a SBF

L

[tchurch]

answer: "The Right Stuff" and never buy a gasket again!

[Paul2748]

289 front covers do not have oil running through it. The front cover can be pulled without taking off the pan-I have done it. You may need the very front of a pan gasket (the part right underneath the front cover) unless you are lucky when pulling the cover. Cut the piece to fit and use RTV for sealing. No biggie to replace - just use silicone sealant - I like the orange hi-temp stuff. Use it on the front cover and most every where else. Has never failed me.

Check the by pass hose first. A leaky one could put coolant where you say it was.

This question is for you SBF guys. I have a 289 in my Fairlane. I took it out the other day and it was real cold out here, when I got back and was monky-ing around with the engine, I noticed some water on the timing chain cover. It was in that little valley area behind the waterpump....pooled up in there pretty good.

I am thinking the timing cover is leaking from the postion of water.

When I put it all together, I used the gasket that came with it and BLACK RTV sealant. The guys at the parts store were like, "Yeah buddy, I use that on EVERYTHING"......
Does that sound about right?

What would you use to re-seal that timing cover.....And I am re-sealing it even though it means that I have to pull the oil pan and re-seal that crap...
The timing cover on a 289 has both OIL and coolant running through it....NOT a place to mess around and leave a leak!

Opinions wanted on the BEST way to fix this leak....please.
(Best sealants?, gaskets? etc etc....)

Thanks
JT.

[Flat Ernie]

How would either of these leaking get water in the oil ? This is on a SBF
RTFQ

And Tingler - enjoy your 3-years of experience! :D That's funny...:D

[lgh1157]

RTFQ

And Tingler - enjoy your 3-years of experience! :D That's funny...:D

RTFQ - I did "read the fuckin question" from 3 years ago, whatever, i was fuckin referring to my post #9 which is a different question that tingler had, thats why i bought this post back.

I have water in my oil and that cannot come from "T-stat housing and/or bypass hose" like you said, but can come from the timing cover gasket

L

[Flat Ernie]

RTFQ - I did "read the fuckin question" from 3 years ago, whatever, i was fuckin referring to my post #9 which is a different question that tingler had, thats why i bought this post back.

My apologies. I was not replying to your question, but Tingler's (3 year old one!).

Yep - if you've had your timing cover off/apart, you can get water in there from where it mates to the block. OR it could be coming from your intake manifold.

For your pan leaks, the big culprit is over-tightening the pan bolts. Another challenge is the timing cover positioning.

Here's how I do it. I don't use any sealant on most gaskets, but there are a few spots I do. I typically use grease on the gaskets. This seals small imperfections & allows the gaskets to move a little w/o tearing.

Run a fine file across the mating surfaces of the timing cover - you're just trying to find high-low spots, not take any material off. If you find a really low spot, I might consider sealer there, but would more likely be looking for a different cover. I put the timing cover on with the bolts finger tight. Then I put a straight-edge along the pan rail & across the bottom of the timing cover - use a rubber mallet to get the timing cover flush with the pan rail. For the rubber half-circle seal just below the crank, I do use a dab of Permatex #2 (non-hardening or Aviation) where the end of the rubber seal meets the gasket.

Put a straight-edge along your pan to see if the bolt holes are pulled up. If they are, carefully hammer them down flush supporting the backside while you do it. I use a thick layer of grease on the cork here & just snug them down - they do not need to be super tight.

If you still have water in your oil after re-doing the timing cover, I'd pull the intake. The water jackest at the front & even the rear can corrode an intake - especially an aluminum one - to the point of leaking water - if it leaks down, it can find its way into the lifter valley and into your oil. They usually leak out, but I have seen more than one that leak into the lifter valley.

Other than a cracked block/head - the intake & timing cover are the only two places you can get water into your oil in a SBF.

[Flat Ernie]

Hey, I've packed a lot into 3 years. :o (actually officially 4 years)

When I started, I barely knew anything. Thanks to the HAMB and guys like you Flat Ernie, I've learned and done a lot.

In these 3 years I've stripped 4 cars, swapped a couple engines, tuned carbs, put a straight axle under my Fairlane, built a frame from scratch, learned how to take apart a 9" rear, drank 4,500 six packs of beer..... :D I could go on.

(I'm just estimating the beer consumption).

Seriously though, the HAMB has given me the resources to accomplish (? :rolleyes: ) all of this.

Seems like I've been here a lot longer than that........:D
C'mon, you're slacking! 4500 six packs - that's only 3 six-packs a day for 4 years....:rolleyes:

...and I doubt you learn much from me!:D

[lgh1157]

My apologies. I was not replying to your question, but Tingler's (3 year old one!).

Yep - if you've had your timing cover off/apart, you can get water in there from where it mates to the block. OR it could be coming from your intake manifold.

For your pan leaks, the big culprit is over-tightening the pan bolts. Another challenge is the timing cover positioning.

Here's how I do it. I don't use any sealant on most gaskets, but there are a few spots I do. I typically use grease on the gaskets. This seals small imperfections & allows the gaskets to move a little w/o tearing.

Run a fine file across the mating surfaces of the timing cover - you're just trying to find high-low spots, not take any material off. If you find a really low spot, I might consider sealer there, but would more likely be looking for a different cover. I put the timing cover on with the bolts finger tight. Then I put a straight-edge along the pan rail & across the bottom of the timing cover - use a rubber mallet to get the timing cover flush with the pan rail. For the rubber half-circle seal just below the crank, I do use a dab of Permatex #2 (non-hardening or Aviation) where the end of the rubber seal meets the gasket.

Put a straight-edge along your pan to see if the bolt holes are pulled up. If they are, carefully hammer them down flush supporting the backside while you do it. I use a thick layer of grease on the cork here & just snug them down - they do not need to be super tight.

If you still have water in your oil after re-doing the timing cover, I'd pull the intake. The water jackest at the front & even the rear can corrode an intake - especially an aluminum one - to the point of leaking water - if it leaks down, it can find its way into the lifter valley and into your oil. They usually leak out, but I have seen more than one that leak into the lifter valley.

Other than a cracked block/head - the intake & timing cover are the only two places you can get water into your oil in a SBF.

Its cool man, i've never had the RTFQ reply.

thanks for the info, im doing it today.

L

[radical56chevy]

i use the motorcraft rtv black..and just some 3m spray tack on some gaskets to hold them from slipping..havent had any comebacks from them..