Head gasket help quick!

[rangeron33s]

Just got the heads on and the instructions said to apply the rtv sealant on the gaskets before installing them. I'm using felpro and its a 92 2.9. Anyway now I'm seeing stuff all over the internet that says DO NOT APPLY SEALANT THE GASKETS IS ALL YOU NEED. do I have to pull the heads back off and get new gaskets?!!!! I'm renting the cherry picker tomorrow to drop the motor in so I need to know now!!!!
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[RonD]

As long as you cleaned the block and head surfaces no sealant is needed.

Some will use a light coat of sealant between block and gasket to hold gasket in place when installing the heads, which is fine.
And if the heads were not surface they add some to the upper surface of the gasket, for the same reason.

The "blue lines" on the gasket IS sealant, and the metal rings seal the cylinders.
You will be fine adding a bit more.

You should use a bit of extra sealant around the water ports on the lower intake manifold.

 

[rangeron33s]

I already tourqued down the heads and I had put silicone on both sides of gasket and trace the lines (mine were orange) and I cleaned the block surface and head surfaces

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[rangeron33s]

Is that bad or do I just never have to worry about blowing a head gasket?

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[Chris_1]

I know that on the 4.0 you have to use sealant where the head meets the block when you are getting ready to install the lower intake gasket - could that be where you need it ?

 

[Twister]

I didn't use any on mine and they have been good for over a year.

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[rfl]

Unless you have a service manual that says it needs to be applied in the fashion that you did I would be taking them off an be prepared to clean up one heck of a mess. Flat blade razor followed by lacquer thinner. Stuff is going to want to leave little bits of sealant everywhere. You are going to need some serious patience.

If you don't have a manual, go get one and check.

I would imagine that RTV on head gaskets is bad - if you put even the thinnest coat I see no way the RTV did not find its way to the edge of the water jackets and likely the cylinder. The only sealant that I have ever ever be applied to a head gasket, and only when it is entirely metal, is a light spray of Permatex.

 

[rangeron33s]

DAMNIT!!!!!!!!!!****!!!!!!

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[rangeron33s]

I did that with both the damn heads and didn't have patience to wait for another reply so I put the lower intake on and dide the same thing to it!!!! How bad is it if that stuff gets in the motor. What are the effects??????

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[rfl]

I did that with both the damn heads and didn't have patience to wait for another reply so I put the lower intake on and dide the same thing to it!!!! How bad is it if that stuff gets in the motor. What are the effects??????

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Could be catastrophic. Are you working from a service manual? If not, I strongly suggest you go pick one up before you do anything else and see what it says. My manual starts at '93, so I can't tell you what it says for your 2.9, but thae 3.0 for the '93 says the same "Caution: do not use any kind of of gasket sealant material on the head gasket."

 

[RonD]

You will be fine rangeron33s, I have done head gaskets with and without sealant, never did find that one way was better than the other, 35 years of head gaskets, starting with a Super Hurricane Flathead 6, and ending with Ford 4.0l a month ago, I did use sealant on that one because friend didn't want to pay for machining the heads.

Don't sweat it, if you blow a head gasket it WILL NOT be from a sealant issue.

Service manuals are guides, they are right more than they are wrong but they are wrong in some statements they make.
The head gasket sealant would be one of those times.
And grain of salt, service manuals are written with a "blank check don't care how much time it takes" mentality, surprised it doesn't say to surface the heads and block before installing head gasket.

My '92 had a 2.9l and I did the heads twice, both times with sealant, first time I had a cracked head, not a head gasket issue.
Second time was after I gave it to my son to drive and got my '94, he overheated it quite a few times because he didn't want the few days of down time for me to fix the water pump, lol.
Never a sealant issue.

 

[forgey4x4]

When I did mine on my 89' I did not put any on it, only on the intake

 

[rfl]

You will be fine, I have done head gaskets with and without sealant, never did find that one way was better than the other, 35 years of head gaskets, starting with a Super Hurricane Flathead 6, and ending with Ford 4.0l a month ago

Don't sweat it, if you blow a head gasket it WILL NOT be from a sealant issue.

I think blowing a gasket would be the least concern. Depending on how much he used, he could have clogged water jackets causing a melt down, or gotten some in the cylinder. If it ends up in the cylinder the piston will not make it high enough to contact any that lips into the cylinder, but 'when' it flakes off it may not blow out the exhaust before it ends up in the valve seat.

 

[RonD]

I think blowing a gasket would be the least concern. Depending on how much he used, he could have clogged water jackets causing a melt down, or gotten some in the cylinder. If it ends up in the cylinder the piston will not make it high enough to contact any that lips into the cylinder, but 'when' it flakes off it may not blow out the exhaust before it ends up in the valve seat.

Those outcomes would be a long shots.
Better chance of a leaking gasket if no sealant was used, than those outcomes

Not sure why your are so negative about sealant on a head gasket, never really ran across that type of reaction, yes, people are often for it or against it, but it is of no practical use since both ways work out the same, failures from no sealant and failures with sealant.

 

[RonD]

I did that with both the damn heads and didn't have patience to wait for another reply so I put the lower intake on and dide the same thing to it!!!! How bad is it if that stuff gets in the motor. What are the effects??????

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No effects, you will be fine.
Won't bother the motor, it will just burn up in the cylinders and you would have to squirt a whole tube down a water jacket to effect cooling system, even then it probably wouldn't bother things much, cooling jackets are pretty redundant, lots of places for coolant to get by any blocks, not that there will be any.

And you would have to use a silly amount of sealant for any of this stuff to be even remotely possible.