installing new gaskets

Hi everyone, I just ordered the head and base gasket for my 84 kz700, now since they are brand new should I put any type of sealant on them or should I just clean the surfaces up and put the gasket on....

THANKS
~BLAIR~

There can be lots of opinions on this subject. First thing is to clean the gasket mating surfaces till they shine if you want to avoid leaks later. THAT is the most important thing you can do. Buy good quality gaskets. The OEM gaskets are always a good choice. Now as to gooping the gaskets... I ALWAYS use NAPA gasket sealer when install base gaskets. I put the stuff on both sides of the base gasket and both mating surfaces. I do this to keep the gasket in place plus they won't leak and when installing the block, if the gasket stays in place, the gasket is less likely to tear. The stuff comes in a little tin with a brush in the cap and is purple. It tacks up quickly but dries fairly slowly making it ideal for installing cylinder blocks which can often take awhile to get all the rings inside. For the head gasket, I don't use any sealer. I will use the goop on SOME case gaskets if I know that the engine is a leaker... some engines just want to dribble oil; possibly because the mating surfaces are a tad rough. If you see any swirls in the mating surfaces, the goop will ensure that gaskets don't leak. Many of the gaskets; case gaskets especially, when sold in "gasket sets" tend to be thin... or at least appear thinner than an OEM gasket to my old eyes and it doesn't hurt to seal each of them. The NAPA stuff cleans up easily and takes no more time to clean/scrape than not using it.

Ok thanks!!! I did buy OEM gaskets because of the quality....I bought some copper spray gasket.....I was going to use that but I will just goto NAPA and get the stuff you are talking about.....These gaskets arent cheap so I kinda want to get them to seal the first time.....

THANKS
~BLAIR~

theres nothing wrong with the copper coat stuff you bought;)

use it on the base gasket but I would not put anything on the head gasket

I was wondering the same thing for my oil pan gasket. It had some type of sealant when I removed it, but I don't know what kind it was. Any ideas?

the copper coat should work fine, just be sure to spray it on the gasket and not the cases

I was wondering the same thing for my oil pan gasket. It had some type of sealant when I removed it, but I don't know what kind it was. Any ideas?

AlexV wrote:

I was wondering the same thing for my oil pan gasket. It had some type of sealant when I removed it, but I don't know what kind it was. Any ideas?

same stuff;)

So, copper stuff on just the base gasket and nothing on the head gasket? Correct?

THANKS
~BLAIR~

correct;)

THANKS!!!! Will let you guys know how it works out (when the parts arrive) haha I bought everything from babbitts online.....hopefully they are good people, I know they were the cheapest for OEM parts, lets just hope they are fast with shipping.....


BLAIR