head gasket sealant ...opinions please

Recently finished up a nice little 200 for a friend. The head was surfaced and the block was true but we still had a leak on the pushrod side. (I"d guess because there is a lot of area not adjacent to a head bolt there.) I had coated the head gasket on both sides w/ Copper coat, but it didn"t do the trick.
New head gasket, only this time, we used "Indian Head" gasket sealer, from my local NAPA, and was told it was the perfect solution. I was told to use it only on ONE side though. I did, and it leaked.
I pulled the head and coated the other side.... It leaked, less, but still leaked.
I"d had enough, and after the second $25.00 head gasket, I pulled out my bottle of Permatex "avaiation formagasket"... Coated both sides and torqued "er down.... WHEW! No leak!
Okay, so, now, what was up with only sealing one side? That"s not the first time I had heard that, but I never really understood it, and only assumed that it was to allow easy disassembly if needed. Or does it have some bearing on your retorque after running?
I"ve used aluminum paint, copper coat, Indian head, and this aviation permatex. The aviation stuff, although nasty and messy, did the best job of any of them.

Howdy
I hate to be the first to reply cause I know the next guy will say I'm wrong but what I've always done is spray Permatex High Tack on both sides of head gasket, torque the head bolts in the proper order according to the book, dump in a bottle of stop leak and refill the radiator properly. It's always worked for me unless someone missed something in the inspection process.
Bob S.

I always seal both sides. If you don't the side you don't seal will leak. I can't see the logic in just sealing one side either. I use copper coat but it takes several coats to get it good and thick. I also now get my gaskets from CIH as I have had bad luck with aftermarket gaskets like Victor Renz. I have a Victor Renz gasket set in a Super H I rebuilt and it is always weeping fluids somwere's, very iritating.

A 200...that's pretty much an A/B/C style engine, is it not? Back in the day, with the old steel/asbestos "sandwich" head gaskets, Pappy and Grand-dad used Flo-Ex [came in a bottle like Indian Head; don't know if it's still available anymore] and, as long as the head and the block were flat, they never had a problem. Not sure what the composition of the current crop of head gaskets is, but that may affect things.

And hope to God you're not the guy who has to take that head off the next time with that aviation Permatex. I've heard horror stories about that, which may or may not be "old mechanics' tales"...

sgt,
It would appear that there is an imperfection
in either the block or head.Most modern gaskets
have a chemical coating on them and say on the
box or on the gasket " use no sealer".
If you had the head cut on a van norman rotory
broach or a storm vulcan blockmaster , the odds
of you getting a good surface are not good. If
you had the head surface ground or cut on a
machine that uses a cbn or pcd cutting tool and
runs at the speed of the surface grinder , you
will get a perfect finish.
If the surface on the head has cutter marks
that you can feel,it will probably leak.

george

Back in the late fortys a local blacksmith had a model A Ford car that had several owners because of leaky head gaskets. He replaced the gasket with one soaked in a rain barrel for a couple hours, it never leaked again as it softened the asbestos to fit the imperfections of the block and head. Its never failed for me.

The 200 has basically the same engine as the A, B, C as someone said. I thought they are notorious for leaking head gaskets on the push rod side partly because of the location of the head bolts. Did you check the sleeves? There is a spec on how far they are to stick up above the block. My Super C leaked until I found that someone had machined the block surface, but not the sleeve groove, so the sleeves were about .010" above the block. If the groove isn't clean the sleeves will not seat completely, also. At this point, I don't think you will want to take it apart to check though. Roger

I've used black Permatax for several gaskets and its like they said,use it on both sides.By the way ,the worst one I ever rebuilt was a 200.

Also a fan of aviation form a gasket, but very embarassed when things would not come apart. Used it last on a problem head on farmall a, hope I never have to take it off. Used it on plumbing. Had to saw the pipes apart. Now it would be effective, but only last resort.