Roas: If you are hell-bent on using a sealer the seemingly most common mistake is using too much. The other is using a suitable product. Using an RTV sealer will make it easier to remove that gasket in the future, but somehow I don’t think that it’s your intention to be removing it again.

Again, the most common mistake is using too much. When used in conjunction with a gasket, the gaps that a sealer is intended to fill are *very* small, such as scratches or small gouges or other imperfections in the mating surfaces. It does not take much sealant to do the job. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve bought a car to discover that sometime in the past someone has used too much sealant, which causes an excess amount to ooze out & which can cause some serious problems in certain areas if chunks of it become detached and are floating around.

People like to use a ‘bead’ such as you mentioned. Not a good thing & not the right way. The best thing that you can do is to apply a *thin* bead, then using your finger smear the bead into a *very thin* film on the entire surface (both sides) of the gasket. And I mean VERY thin – remember that the majority is going to be squeezed out.

Again, the cleanliness of the metal is important. Any grease or oil is not going to allow the sealant to adhere properly.

RTH