timing chain cover gasket???
- Thread starter bowtietrader
- Start date
I used rtv on both sides of the gasket and mine still leaked. 
I put a thin coat of Ultra black silicone on both sides of the gasket and have no leaks...and let it dry before installing the cover...
Make sure all your bolts are tightened down...don't over torque though...you don't want a broken bolt off in your block...
Make sure the timing cover is sitting flush...
Make sure all your bolts are tightened down...don't over torque though...you don't want a broken bolt off in your block...
Make sure the timing cover is sitting flush...
04sleeper
Founding Member
Could be. Check it with a straight edge. The O-ring for the distributor will cause a good leak if it is bad. Also check the front of your lower intake gasket for leaks. This may be a culprit as well.bowtietrader said:
well my lower intake gasket is messed up i do know that for sure..when i do the new one, should i even put the cork ones that go across?? i heard to just RTV the edges going from head to head..
also dont antifreeze go throught the timing chain cover from the water pump into the block???
thanks for all the advice....
also dont antifreeze go throught the timing chain cover from the water pump into the block???
thanks for all the advice....
04sleeper
Founding Member
Don't use the cork ones. Go with the thick bead of silicone and let it dry.bowtietrader said:
Yes antifreeze does travel through the timing cover from the water pump to the block.
motley said:
Yeah mine was completely dry...and I guess when I tightened it down it squished against the silicone (because silicone does have a form of elasticity to it...it allowed that)...but installing it after it gets tacky would be just fine to...but mine just happened to work when the gasket was dry...
About installing the lower intake:
Here is what I did and seems to be very successful and was showed this by a buddy of mine that builds race cars...
I put a couple dabs under the 1250 gasket and position the gasket over the ports as perfect as possible and then allow those dabs under the gasket to dry...so it will not move as I lower the intake on...
I put a nice thick bead of high temp silicone on the block ends and let it sit for about 10 minutes to "film" over and then set the lower intake on...you can use long studs installed into your heads to help you lower the intake down and then remove the studs after it is seated...
I slightly torqued the intake down after the "filming" (you can stick your finger to it and it won't come off on your finger) and laying it down just to get a little "squish" on the silicone and let it sit overnight...
The next day I did the final torqueing procedure with the torque numbers (somepeople go by feel) and that was that...absolutely no leaks of any kind...
On mine I had to trim a little bit of the coolant passages on the gasket because it was protruding into the passageway...
This was all referring to my 1250 intake gasket on my AFR's...but it is the same with the stock gasket...
Good Luck with your leak...try to pinpoint it if you can...
I wish I had the part number, but they do have a felpro set of intake gaskets w/ rubber ends instead of the cork ones...that's what I used and it finally did the trick for me. As stated, the "studs" work very well...buy some bolts the same size (7/16?), chop the heads off and slot the ends so you can pull 'em back out when you're done...or just use vice grips to pull them out. Either way, it helps line up very well 
As far as the timing cover, I don't think i'd use a massive amount of rtv as I've tried that. I put a little bit on there and rubbed it around as evenly as possible and did it that way. As Michael Yount says, make sure the surfaces are surgically clean. Also, yes, be sure and check your timing cover for true-ness...if it's warped in any way, you're just wasting your time. I don't know how your luck goes w/ the bottom gaskets that go on the oil pan lip, but I always have trouble w/ those. You should use something to hold them down and let it dry so they don't move
As far as the timing cover, I don't think i'd use a massive amount of rtv as I've tried that. I put a little bit on there and rubbed it around as evenly as possible and did it that way. As Michael Yount says, make sure the surfaces are surgically clean. Also, yes, be sure and check your timing cover for true-ness...if it's warped in any way, you're just wasting your time. I don't know how your luck goes w/ the bottom gaskets that go on the oil pan lip, but I always have trouble w/ those. You should use something to hold them down and let it dry so they don't move
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