Valve cover gaskets and RTV

DUSABRIVE

MEMBER
1993 HONDA CIVIC
1.5L
4 CYL
2WD
AUTOMATIC
90,000 MILES

I'm about to change the valve cover gasket. The Haynes manual says to use RTV with the rubber gasket but when I called up Permatex their technical support person says to use nothing but the rubber gasket and no RTV. Who do I listen to?

Tuesday, June 11th, 2019 AT 4:09 PM

2 Replies

ASEMASTER6371

MECHANIC
52,797 POSTS

Good evening,

On rubber gaskets, you never use RTV. It will cause the gasket to move and you will have a leak.

Install it dry.

Roy

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Tuesday, June 11th, 2019 AT 4:50 PM

STEVE W.

MECHANIC
13,035 POSTS

With a rubber gasket you don't want to add RTV as it will act like a lubricant and cause the gasket to squeeze out of place, On the molded ones that go into a groove in the cover you don't use it because it will cause the gasket to torque unevenly and leak.
The only time you might use RTV with a rubber gasket would be if there is a seam under the gasket and the manufacturer calls for a small amount.

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Tuesday, June 11th, 2019 AT 4:51 PM