Clifford 1, oil leak 0

[kurifu]

Finally defeated the oil leak on my engine. I removed the cam cover and put a very light application of high temp silicone around the gasket (new gasket) and resealed it, let it sit over night and not even a drop is coming out now, not even out of those half moon things.

[Steve]

Now that you know how to remove the cover, you might want to do it again to remove the silicone and put in a new gasket.

Silicone does not mix well with gas or oil. When it breaks down, it will flake off, drain into the sump, then get pumped into the smallest oil passage it can find, doing who knows what to the rest of the engine.


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[rphillips]

I must be missing something. I have never heard of oil nor gas causing silicone to brake down, For the past 30 yrs., silicone has been by far the most popular gasket sealer on the shelf. With the exception of head & exaust gaskets, safe to use on all engine gaskets. What gives???

[Clone]

Hylomar is WAY better than silicone, and doesn't start to weep after time like silicone will. Also, it won't break off and get into your oil pasages.
\\

Next time buy some hylomar, since you will need to check the valves before the end of the season, you can clean it up then.

[80GS750]

some people hate the use of anything not specifically recommended for your gs by suzuki....

i on the other hand say squirt that silicone away! i love the stuff cause it works and is safe as far as i am concerned.

ill be putting some on mine if it doesnt seal right.

[80GS750]

these engines are OLD. they wont seal up with a new gasket like they did back in the 70's and 80's. its the truth.

[t3rmin]

Silicone is not broken down by oil. It is broken down by gas, though. Can't use it on carbs or intakes, but valve covers are fine. Just go easy on it so it doesn't squish out the other side and you won't have any trouble.

[bwringer]

A light, almost transparent coat is all you need to solve most dinged-up surface sealing problems and shouldn't cause any problems.

On a valve cover, it does make cleanup much more difficult when the time comes for the next valve check -- you'll have all kinds of little strings and dabs of the stuff to remove without letting them fall into the engine. If you apply it to the gasket only and then let it skin over before installing, this is less of a problem.

The trouble with silicone sealer comes when people lay down a nice squishy quarter inch bead of the stuff in the mistaken belief that more is always better. This might help when you're trying to seal your leaky Chevy valve covers, but in a motorcycle engine the globs that squeeze out will clog small oil passages.

Hylomar is a much better way to deal with sealing imperfect surfaces. It can be a little hard to find -- at least one of the big auto chains doesn't carry it -- but it's great stuff.

[kurifu]

Silicone is not broken down by oil. It is broken down by gas, though. Can't use it on carbs or intakes, but valve covers are fine. Just go easy on it so it doesn't squish out the other side and you won't have any trouble.

Exactly! Oil is fine with silicone.. and the problem is that the gasket just won't seal perfectly without it, works great with just a tiny little bit of silicone.

And it is not like I made the whole gasket out of silicone (which I don't really have a complaint against when required), I just used a fine skin of silicon over the gasket, plus a little extra on the half moons and it sealed it perfectly!

There are other gasket compounds which I am sure will work equally as well.

[Calvin Blackmore]

This is superb for putting on valve train cover gaskets. Works better than anything I have ever used and avoid the nasty stringy crap yah get form silicone.

Cleans up in alcohol as I recall.

messy though and you have to use it sparingly but that rule applies to any sealer.

http://www.permatex.com/products/automotive/automotive_gasketing/gasket_sealants/auto_Permatex_Aviation_Form-A-Gasket_No_3_Sealant_a.htm

[relic-rider]

I use Gasgacinch sealer on my gaskets. I first used it on the intake manifold gaskets on my 72 Chev. pickup. The Edelbrock manifold I put on recommended it to seal better. Works good and makes removing a gasket later much easier. I had to go to a Harley shop to get it then. Most bike shops have it. Bike Bandit, Dennis Kirk, etc. also have it.

http://www.gasgacinch.com/

[runewolf]

OK, dumb question on the Gasgacinch since I'm having problems finding it locally... What I have found locally is called Edelbrock Gasgacinch Gasket Sealer. Is this the same stuff or another brand's knockoff? I doesn't have the Gasgacinch falling girl logo on it as seen on their website?

[runewolf]

Well found out that the Eldelbrock stuff is the same as Gasgacinch, Gasgacinch private brands it for Eldelbrock... The local shop sold thier last can, now I can't find either one.... So now I'm looking for something else to use