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TR2/3/3A Gaskets

James A Martin

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Well I'm a little confused about what to use on my gaskets. I have cork for the rocker cover and dark grey fiber for the sump. After looking on line I have so much conflicting information I thought it's time to ask here. It seemed the machined surfaces of the head and block were almost 95% made up dry on both gasket materials unless the person in the video was under 30, the youngsters slather silicone sealant or gasket maker on both sides of the gasket or the surfaces before installation. One video showed the cork rocker gasket sprayed with adhesive in the stamped cover side, and an older gent used Vaseline on the machined side. Well here's what I have in my shop after shopping, before going back to Dr. google and having doubt about proceeding. I have Permatex 'Indian Head shellac I was going to use to position the deformed cork rocker cover gasket,and Permatex Black Silicone adhesive sealant I was going to use on the pan or stamped side so the holes don't get misaligned during positioning. I do have some spray adhesive I got for the interior and I may find some Vaseline around the house.
I just don't want to go back and drain the high zink oil after installing the sump gasket.
I just need someone to say yay or nay or offer alternatives. Sometimes the innerweb is just too much....


Jim
1962 Triumph TR3B
TCF2326L
 

LarryK

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On my Triumphs and Jags and most cars. I use the cork gasket, adhesive to valve cover and grease on engine side. That way jt can be removed for adjustments readily easy, as long as it is not over tightened. On sump, I use the black silicone adhesive, oil and gas resistant. Has to be scraped clean each time. I use the copper spray on metal head gaskets. None, on the new style head gaskets. On aluminum heads, I use Indian head shellac on the valve cover gaskets, helps with the movement between the aluminum head and steel valve cover. If all aluminum I use the Indian Head shellac. This is a cumulated to my yrs of experience on British cars and the time I spent doing marine engine repair on aluminum outboards. My Jags don't leak for lengths of time but easy to repair. On my race/track cars, I use more silicone black for quick repairs in the field. Take home later and fix right. On Domestic cars before the 90s I would use permatex, because I wasn't taking them apart again. Then the 90s started more aluminum and the blue silicones works good. This is my go to with 50+ yrs in the automotive and marine field. Read the instructions and make sure all surfaces are clean and do not overtighten. Sometimes the gaskets you buy will have specific sealers and will be marked on their package. What you use is determined on how many times it comes apart and longivity. Hope I made sense.
 

TomMull

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I've had good lock with the Permatex copper spray on the cork valve cover gasket, on the cover side only, but have recently switched to the silicone gasket. The lip on the valve cover gets pushed up a bit from over tightening and is quite difficult to get back into shape. The silicone gasket seems to help.
The pan is also hard to seal from over tightening the bolts over the years but much easier to fix with a hammer and a flat surface. I use Hylomar on the pan side of it but have used Permatex aviation goo with good results in the past. The newer materials are very good but best to rely on a good fit and the gasket itself rather than the goo IMO.
Tom
 
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J

James A Martin

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Thanks for the responses. I'm kinda over thinking this, but after hydraulics, suspension and the ever so challenging SUs and to top it off, the traficator!!!...I'm a little gun shy.
Hoping to be back on the ground when the weather breaks next week.
I can remember an engine tear down from '57 on a Continental in my Chris Craft 1/4 midget but for the life of me I cant remember the details....
 

TomMull

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Thanks for the responses. I'm kinda over thinking this, but after hydraulics, suspension and the ever so challenging SUs and to top it off, the traficator!!!...I'm a little gun shy.
Hoping to be back on the ground when the weather breaks next week.
I can remember an engine tear down from '57 on a Continental in my Chris Craft 1/4 midget but for the life of me I cant remember the details....

Things on these old cars are actually pretty simple. For most things, you will need only a good set of tools and a manual. I'd recommend the Factory one. None of the repairs are permanent either, unless you have a trailer queen, so expect to take it apart again sooner or later.
Also note that oil leakage was never a high priority with these cars and a few drips, even when they were new, were considered normal. So don't give away your drip pan even after replacing the gaskets.
Tom
 

CJD

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Any of the options you mention will work...it's really up to you, so long as you understand the nature of the different sealers.

On a good, straight, well prepared surface no sealer is needed for a gasket. The gasket is made to seal. I still recommend a bit of sealer on the front and rear of the sump, since there are several parts which mate there and surface irregularity is likely.

Silicone seals everything, but it is much more work to remove later. It is mostly appropriate for surfaces which do not have a perfect surface...like a sump pan that has been removed many times and has some warpage. It is "gap filling" for applications like that. Also, it works well when you want a gasket to be re-used...like the valve cover gasket. You can use the silicone to bond and glue the gasket to the sheet metal, and then will always stay attached while you adjust your valves.

Grease, vasoline, and other "wet" sealers are not sealers. They rather keep the gasket from sticking so it can be removed and re-used later. The same valve cover gasket is a good example....glue to the sheet metal and grease the head side so the gasket will not be damaged on later removal.
 

sp53

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I like all of what was said. I use a lot more Peratex aviation sealer these days. I also only put seal on the valve cover side and grease to the block. I am really carful with the amount of silicone if I use it at all. Once I took a head off and was cleaning the water jacket out in the motor and saw this clear worm like thing in there and thought WTF. After I fished it out, I figured out it was from a water pump gasket that had silicone added to the gasket and was pinched off when the water pump was tightened down. The pinched off piece had almost closed off one side of a piston sleeve.
 

charleyf

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As for the valve cover gasket, I have been using a silicone gasket now for about 20 years on one car and 10 or so on a second car. All with great results and NO sealers. The only drawback is that once hot they need to be cooled down again before reinstalling them. Most of your adventures into the rocker shaft area are when the engine is cool, so that is rarely a problem.
The original silicone gaskets were better than what is out on the market now. I only get the newer ones to put on yet another car as they do not need to be replaced.
 

TR3driver

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For most things, you will need only a good set of tools and a manual. I'd recommend the Factory one.
Along those lines, here's what the factory TR4 workshop manual has to say about sealants.
QQIiaSK.jpg


The TR3 workshop manual was unfortunately not updated with a lot of later information, so you need to be a bit careful about following it. The TR4 manual is actually closer (in some ways) to the later TR3A/B.
You can find both of them (plus some others) at
https://drive.google.com/drive/fold...yMy00ZDhkLTliOWEtOWU1OWRhNDZhYmRl?usp=sharing
 

mrv8q

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As Randall points out above, I am a fan and user of Hylomar.

I have not been disappointed yet.
 
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