Put oil around edges of new valve cover gasket?
 

Just finished adjusting my valves. Damn my lower back aches.

About to put a replacement valve cover gasket in. Should I put it on dry, or should I line one or both of the sides with a little oil before putting it in?

Thanks.

Clean and dry has always worked best for me.

I've always put oil on on the edges of both. I don't know if that's right or not. I also put a little oil around the edge of oil filters that screw on and oil on the filter housing of cars that have the cartridge that goes in as well as the large o-ring.

I've always made sure the entire mating surface is clean and then put it back on dry. Since the gasket it not rotating against its mating surface while it is being tightened such as with an oil filter gasket, I don't think there is any need/advantage to putting oil on it first.

Clean and dry, also make sure the head deck is clean and free of oil too.

You may want to use a little grease in a few spots to hold it in place until you bolt it down. Otherwise, dry on all sides.

How about some RTV as added insurance?

Never use RTV as a gasket cement. It does not do a very good job at all. You're more likely to spit the gasket out in the future than seal it with that stuff.

I agree with Matt. RTV is for bathtubs, not for cars. Blue, for blue bathtubs, copper for copper, black for black, etc. The valve cover gasket needs no sealer.

I'd probably replace the gasket any time I removed the cover anyway. The RTV on my 1990 Q45 valve covers has held up for 150K miles without a gasket whereas my 1995 that uses a gasket is already leaking at 100k. It's about a 10 hour job to reseal them so I need a little added insurance.