head gasket question.

[dodgebomb]

I went ahead and replaced a blown head gasket in my 41 which happens to have a 1950 230 in it. Thing is I put a small amount of rtv on both sides of it (the gasket) and torqued it all down to spec. It then occured to me that i shouldnt have used anything on the gasket at all. It runs fine although I have not driven it or run the motor more than 10 minutes for other reasons which are being worked on as well. Any thoughts on this? I have no problem re-doing it as it takes very little time.

[dezeldoc]

If it were me i would pull it and redo it. The only thing you ever want to put on a copper headgasket is coppercoat or nothing. rtv is good for the tight corners of an oil pan, timing cover or intake on a v6 or v8. i have seen more radiators and oil coolers ruined buy the misuse of it. why is it everyone thinks they must coat every gasket they install with that, most will seal on their own or use gasket cinch.

[Plymouthy Adams]

I'm with you dezel.. majority of the time the gasket supplied is plenty ample as is without sealant..the gasket is designed to make up for minor imperfections on two machined surfaces..unless you have rust pits say in the thermostat housing area or sealing the corners of the oil pan...I say less is better..

[48mirage]

I've quit using the RTV except on a rare occasion. I've gone to hylomar almost exclusively. It never hardens and if it does come loose it won't plug up anything.

[greg g]

Since you didn't mention that you retorqued after running it, which is standard procedure, I would pull the head clean and refit, run to temp and then retorque.

And although some will question my smarts, I have over the years resued a couple of head gaskets on these engines will no ill effect.

[dezeldoc]

Greg heat them up to aneal them and they are good to go, oh wait that is for a dead soft solid copper one.

[claybill]

the 2 engine problem i ever had revolved around little pieces of blue rtv stuff floating and clogging..

i use the spray copper coating only..and i stay away from that blue stuff.

bill

[dodgebomb]

thanks everyone- off it goes!!

[jschultz]

so i can take off my head and check and see what the problem is with no compression in two cylinders and use the same head gasket?

[TodFitch]

so i can take off my head and check and see what the problem is with no compression in two cylinders and use the same head gasket?

In a pinch you might be able to reuse the head gasket. But I don't think its good practice. And there is a reasonable chance your issue with no compression is the gasket. So why not simply get a new one before pulling the head? They aren't hard to find nor are they that expensive.

Note: I did once re-use a head gasket on my 1933. My excuse: I needed one that weekend to get the car drivable enough to get home and the one store in the town I was in did not have one. But that was a very special case made worse by the fact that 1933/34 use a different gasket than 1935-59.

[Don Coatney]

I have re-used head gaskets many times on flathead and overhead air cooled engines. But a water cooled engine is a different animal. Replace the gasket unless you are stuck on the side of the road or in the middle of an ocean.

[Jerry Roberts]

I bought on recently at Autozone for $ 22.39 + tax .