Valve cover gasket question

[Anthony Violi]

Do I need to use sealant on gaskets? What is recommended?

[Keithy P38]

On rocker covers I never ever use gasket sealant. Just use the gasket and that's it.

[jcamp]

Not sure about the P38 V8 but the 3.9 D1 of that era had the rocker cover gaskets basically glued in. Problems started occuring in the 96? timeframe and IIRC not only D1's so probably P38s too. Lots of problems when the "glue" started failing with replacement gaskets shifting and severe leaks in a few weeks (sometimes few days). There was a recommended sealant (Bostik 1775 after cleaning/activation with Bostik 6001)which became unavailable/changed formulation/gasket changed formulation.

Problem was solved with a gasket design change.

[TheTree]

I believe the rubberised gaskets do not need sealant

Steve

[Anthony Violi]

Great! I had seen some footage from Atlantic British. They used permatex high tack. But after reviewing again I understand it's used to keep gasket adhered to valve cover so it doesn't fall off during refit. Clever idea, took me a few goes at refitting sans tack but time and endurance prevailed.