Side covers, gasket only or sealant too

[DougXS2]

what do you guys recommend for re-assembling my side covers...? I've got new gaskets but not sure if adding something like permatex is needed or ???

used to have an old auto mechanic friend who scoffed at using anything but dry on dry. said it caused more leaks to use a sealant? I always felt like a thin coat helped but who knows.....

 

[yamaman]

i apply a thin coat of never sieze on all my gaskets. never had a leak and with a xs your going to be taking those covers off more than once, the gaskets always come off easy, without wrecking them, so u can re use them time and time again. priceless when you neèd to take a cover off and cant get a replacement before you want to ride again.

 

[DougXS2]

thats great advice. are you talking about the same stuff you'd use on spark plug threads or lug nuts?

 

[yamaman]

yep

 

[mouser]

for years I have only rubbed grease onto both sides of the gasket before installation. It has the same effect.. Easy to remove and no leaks.

 

[5twins]

I do the same except with motor oil. There are a couple exceptions to my usual oiling practice. The left gasket, the one around the alternator, I install dry with a small amount of sealer on the cover side. I want this gasket to stick to and come off with the left cover any time I remove it. Same deal with the intake manifold gaskets. A small ring of sealer on the manifold side so the gasket comes off with the manifold.

 

[cmattina1]

I was curious if anyone could explain to me what the left side gasket is for?

 

[mouser]

it basically, and most importantly, protect your rotor and stator from moisture.. It cost me my charging system after a couple of years of sitting once...now I pay attention to it. I never use dry gaskets....on anything....oil works, grease works, saves a lot of money..no torn gaskets....I never use form a gasket or any of those concoctions...just grease. Too easy!

 

[mouser]

another thing I would like to add to the discussion is that when I pull a side cover I remove all the fasteners crack the seal but never pull it off until I make sure the gasket is free from one side or another. I use one of those dental picks they use to clean your teeth. Your dentist will have used ones...usually free for the asking...handy to have...

 

[mouser]

K now that I am thinking gaskets. Permatex is still in my toolbox but I use it on problem seals. Where obviously something is warped. In that case I grease the gasket and coat the cover surface with permatex then I install the cover but do not tighten it completely. Just enough to be snug..Then I let it dry overnight...then torque it down. Nuthin gets by this fix..

 

[1974jh5]

I put my XS back together dry, I've always had the best luck with OE Japanese and the Athena gaskets that way. For some reason, Cometic paper gaskets weep. For those and all kinds of other stuff Permatex/Loctite makes a red sealer (518? too lazy to walk to the toolbox and look) that works wonders. It's the only thing that will seal the cam towers on the Lotus engine in my Jensen Healey so they won't leak and still allows them to come of easily at valve adjust time even if it's five years later. It's easy to clean up too.

EDIT: Not too lazy to hotlink. It's their # 51813.

Hylomar is great too but very messy so I'd avoid it on a XS motor. It's the best stuff out there for sealing rotary engine rotor housing coolant and compression seals.

GM sells a black kind of 'dusty' looking silicone sealant that's the only one out there worth a damn. All those blue/gray/red sealers you find in the parts houses suck badly. I use them as a last resort.

 

[xjwmx]

On the right side try to preserve the original gasket as long as you can. It's some kind of black material that seems much more durable than the weak cardboardy replacements.

 

[xs650dude63]

I have bearing grease in my garage, a thin coat on both sides of my right side gasket, starter side, lightly snug the bolts, then torque to spec in a star formation?