Gasket sealant

JimD

JimD

Waiting for Godot...
Moderator
I am still working on my "new" 1500 and I am about to replace the gaskets on the front and rear crank seal carriers, water jackets, oil pan etc. The guy at AutoZone told me to use "Permatex 2 Form-a Gasket" sealant.

I bought a tube, but before I started I thought I would ask if this sealant will be OK. I would hate to have to do this again.

Also, what sealant do use for a head gasket? Or do you even use sealant? When I took the head off this engine the head gasket just lifted off clean.

Can you tell this is my first time doing these tasks? :)
 
Jim, I use

the copper-colored Gasket sealer. I believe it's still a Permatex product.
But I don't use it on a head gasket. For that, I use the gasket by itself.
Reason I use it is because of the wide temp range and when I dis-assemble the parts, they break away clean.
Also, it sounds like the stuff you've got will also work fine.
 
Thanks Bob

I read the descriptions of the two products on the Permatex website and I think I will go back and get a tube of the copper sealant. It is recommended for a wider range of applications including exhaust/intake manifolds in addition to things like oil pans. I think that the copper stuff is the way to go.

Thanks for the advice. I am glad I asked. :)
 
Permatex High Tack

I've used this on all gaskets except the head and exhaust manifold gaskets on my X since 1999. It has always been a winner for me.
 
Thanks Bob

Wait... didn't I already thank Bob? :sun: HA!

Well thanks to you to Bob. ;) When I go back to the store I will pay more attention to the variety of sealants.
 
Well... that takes care of SOME of the Bob's here...

But ya know... there are the PERMATEX WARS just like the OIL WARS, TIRE WARS and the SPARK PLUG WARS...

HA!

Permatex makes a VAST amount of COLORS and types of sealants and you'll get as many OPINIONS as there are BELLY BUTTONS.

Regardless of color, I prefer the fast tack-like glues that set and hold the gasket in place. The gasket is supposed to be the SEAL, not the cement or additional sealer. Maybe not so originally as in Permatex's own trade name of "Form-A-Gasket"...

My Dad useta use the old stuff religiously and I know were were always chasing leaks. But when I started with Cadillac in '66, we used 3M Yellow Cement... and would glue all our gaskets in place to ONE side only, like oil pans, and it would stick immediately. Then we would install the piece with the other side dry. Always worked for me. The 3M stuff started coming out in Black and was even called gasket CEMENT for awhile... haven't used it is years...

Anyway... I use Permatex fast tack Grey and Black and generally coat both sides of a gasket for good measure on EVERYTHING... and use NOTHING on head gaskets, ever!

Continue having fun!
 
Thanks Tony

It isn't necessarily all fun. On Saturday I spent the afternoon cleaning 30 years of sludge off of half of the transmission case. I had done the other half last weekend. Unfortunately I did the first half at night. I was so happy to finish yesterday... until I flipped the transmission back over and saw my job from last week sucked. I guess I need better lighting in the garage. :(
 
I understand completely...

I try and do all the dirty work all at once and get it over with.

Perhaps a POWER washer might help... certainly a sand blaster. DAWN Dishwashing Soap and a scrub brush works well also... and then hose it all off.

Like I said, do it all and get it over with (Kids still around, right? HA!) and then its all CLEAN fun painting and reassembling from there on!

I also understand its still cold out there too... That's tough~! (Kids are still around, right? Pay them!)
 
Can't use a power washer

I can't use a power washer, it would create an even bigger mess. It was completely covered as you can see below.

1300_tranny_separated.jpg


I thought about taking it to a car wash stall and working on it, but I was afraid to throw too much water at it. I have working on it with Power Purple degreaser and a wire brush. The first effort was a learning experience I guess, I did much better the second time around. The third time will just be to clean it up to "kinda sorta presentable". I have no intention of painting the tranny.

Not only is it cold here, it is freakin' snowing this morning. I really hate snow. I could never live up where Bob is, that would make me nuts. I guess he is used to it.

And my "kids" are 19 and 21 now. They have no interest in helping the old man do anything.
 
Jim, I cleaned one up that

looked about like that.

What I did was get a large pan, place the transmission inside of it and poured about a half-gallon of "Av gas" in the bottom and used a small brush to wash down all the dirt and grease.

The reasons I used Av gas was:
It's a gasoline of sorts but without the gas smell.
It's about half the price of Acetone. (which also works well, BTW)
It melts through the grime quickly and easily.

But it is flammable as gasoline so you've got to take precaution.
I used heavy rubber gloves and it cleaned up great.
I also did a "clean flush" after the majority of the grime was removed.

It's a crappy job any way you look at it, but this way has worked well for me.

BTW, we're in a major melting phase (snow) here this week. Snow bank in front of the house is about 3 feet now and the snow on the ground is just under a foot. I can see under the trailer (queen) now, so maybe another week or 2. :woot:
 
Same plan

Hi Bob,

I am working in a tray too. The biggest problem I had was not being able to see well enough the first day. Places that looked clean were not in the light of day. The "power Purple" actually works pretty well. I am almost done now. I have found that running a flat chisel across the flat areas on the case works really well. The crud was at least 1/8" thick in places on this case. The chisel peels it off like an apple skin. Yum! :)
 
Yup, whatever works best

is what you should use. :) Cleaning stuff like that is a PITA any way you look at it. :mallet:

So where's the CLEAN photo??? :D
 
I just finished cleaning my bay last evening. It was a huge PITA but well worth the effort. I had to do it while motor and trans were still mounted so it was extra crappy.
 
4 seasons each week

Hi Brad,

We get 4 seasons every week here. It was 65F yesterday afternoon. At 8PM in was sleeting and today we got 3 inches of extremely heavy slushy snow. Should rain tomorrow and then be 70F by Friday. Hopefully that was winter's last gasp here, but you never know. :)

I used a can of that Gunk on the block. It worked OK, but I bought a bunch of different stuff to try. This power purple is pretty good. It might be a purple version of Simple Green, but it seems to cut through the crud pretty well.
 
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