Jvette73

Im doing a valve job on a small block 350. Laying around all my junk I was able to find almost all the gaskets I needed from leftover projects. The only thing I dont have is the small cork end gaskets for the intake manifold. If I use a thick bead of high quality RTV silicone, will that do the job? I want it to seal good. I dont wanna do the job twice. I have heard of people using this other method though. So, will the RTV do the job if done correctly? Thanks for any responses.

vettesite

Yes. That's how Edelbrock recommends to do it so I did it that way and have not had a problem. Most people will tell you to throw the cork end gaskets in the garbage where they belong and use Black RTV to seal the end rails. Just use enough so that when you put the manifold on it squished out a little. I ran it along the end rails on onto the head and around the water passages.

Jvette73

Thanks vettesite, now I feel better anyway because I was probably gonna do it that way. Now I feel more confident that its a good idea. :cheers:

ORVette

I've always used the blue stuff for the end rails and around the coolant passages and the sticky black gasket sealer stuff(resists fuel) around the intake ports. I heard don't use RTV around the intake ports because the fuel will eventually break it down and allow oil to leak in from the lifter valley. I also use the black stuff to seal the bolt threads.

UKPaul

Yes, careful with the RTV around fuel as it dissolves. I've just had to strip & clean out a carb because somebody used clear RTV on the manifold to carb joint. Over time the gasoline had melted the RTV, some of which then found its way into the carb.
Paul

john's '81 mouse

Jvette73:

You've been given good advice, also suggest you make certain all surfaces are super clean and dry before installation. I've seen suggestion to also buff block, head and intake surfaces with some extra fine emery cloth prior to final cleaning to provide a little extra assurance that the sealant will 'grab' and stick to the surfaces. That's what I did when I did mine, and it seemed to work.

Jvette73

Thanks for all the good advice everyone.

Mouse, what I usually do is hit everything with a wire wheel on a drill. After that I wipe everything down real good with brake parts cleaner to get all the residue off. Sounds like a good idea to scuff up the end seal area a bit. Thanks for the input.

MikeE.79

As far as removing old gaskets go, I've been using a gasket remover that looks like a small plastic disk with ***** on it and you put it in the end of a die grinder or drill if thats what you have, and It cuts the gasket off fast and doesn,t hurt the metal. I'm sure you can get them at just about any good parts store. I was impressed as how fast it worked. :yesnod: