Shall I use gasket sealer?

Thanks in advance to all who reply. I have gotten great help from you all over the past week or two. Also I have to apologize for the long-winded story that follows.

I replaced the water-header gasket on my M. Before I had removed the cover, I had taken all the hoses off but didn't realize I had to open the valve just under the water-header plate to compeltely remove all the coolant. So when I took off the plate, there was coolant just below the level of the plate. I am glad it was still there because of what happened next. I thoroughly cleaned the mating surfaces of the plate and the block. The plate was corroded, but I didnt' think the surface was too bad. I put the gasket on and carfully tighted the bolts in small increments, alternating from bolts that were opposite each other. I did not use a torque wrench becuase I didn't know the specs and also because I couldnt get at these with my torque wrench (they are behind the carb).

Next day I rolled the tractor out of my shop to begin painting it, so it got bumped around a bit and the coolant in the block sloshed around a bit too. I was really disappointed to see a small trickle of coolant running down the side of the block from my new gasket. I would hate to see it under pressure!

So I need advice. Should I have used gasket sealer? The gasket is a thin rubber one, not a cork (it is IH, not aftermarket). If I remove the cover now and the gasket looks ok, can I use the sealer and reuse the gasket?

Thanks for any advice you can give.

I would give it a try.

I use Permatex #2 on most gaskets on & around an engine. Some folks like RTV. What ever works for you is good.

yes, gskt. sealer should have ben used. those tin covers are the hardest thing to seal. i use permatex high tac sealer. just spray it on both sides of gskt. its stickey enough to keep the gskt. in place, and does not harden making redo's like this easy. some say use silicone gskt maker but i am not a fan of that stuff, not yet even trying to remove parts that were previously siliconed. just remove and inspect the leaky section for faults and do what you gotta do.plus make sure you have enough "torque" on the bolts.

use the permetex (sp), get the bolts tight, bring the temp up to operating temp, retighten and you should be good.

Thanks. should I put it on both the plate and the block? The block is really smooth. The plate was the inconsistent surface.

yep

(quoted from post at 14:32:32 08/19/12) Thanks. should I put it on both the plate and the block? The block is really smooth. The plate was the inconsistent surface.

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Here's my opinion (for what it's worth). If the water header cover plate is corroded and pitted enough on the gasket mating surface to cause concern, what does the rest of the cover plate look like? And what do the coolant directional baffles look like? If I was going to the trouble of painting, I think I would want to replace that entire cover with a new one.

I guess I wonder why you took the plate off if you did not plan to replace it? I have new ones.

RTV tends to let the gasket slide when tightening--especially rubber. I used RTV on valve cover gaskets on a 345 once, & the gaskets mushed out when the cap screws were tightened. I ended up using Permatex #2--light coat.

if there is not a clearance issue with the plate clean the mating surfaces apply rtv silicone to them bolt it on allow it set throw the gasket away

I use permatex, no gasket and remember the bolts go into the water jacket.

It would be a good time to flush the block out good with that plate off. take the drain plugs out and poke a pressure washer nozzle between the cylinders. You will be surprised at the mud and rust that comes out.

a new cover isn't very expensive. i did mine last year..i used indian head gasket shelac on both sides of the gasket..you'd have to use a jackhammer to remove it, but it doesn't leak.