/6 rebuild advice

volaredon said

What's your thoughts on those "real" gaskets?
I have them in mine as well but haven't run my engine in quite a while so the oil sits in the sump below gasket level. I've heard nothing but bad news about their gaskets, a good idea on paper but not in practice...
I bought 2 of each when I bought them to have spares ..

Also on the talk of K seal above I've never seen anything but the metal ring type head gasket on any /6... No plastic rings
I don't think that "technology" was out yet when this engine was in production

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They are very clear on "don't overtorque". Since the torque they spec is so low, I clean the oil pan bolts and holes well and use thread-lock. That is after first bolting it up all around, then go back and threadlock each bolt w/ proper torque. I don't have a small torque wrench so use hand-feel, which is pretty close (1/4 drive ratchet handle). I suspect people who have problems are less careful. Real Gaskets began w/ aircraft engines, which are much more critical. Some of their silicone gaskets have woven fibers inside for strength. Expensive (~$35) but should last forever if you don't overtorque to cut them.

I think the best pan sealing is with a cast-aluminum cover with a silicone O-ring type gasket captured in a U channel. You torque until metal-metal contact and the silicone is properly compressed. Same idea as a "face O-ring" seal. My 1996 Plymouth 2.4L valve cover is like that (DOHC w/ sunken spark plugs). The oil pan is traditional stamped-steel w/ flat hard gasket, though has never leaked. My 2002 Chrysler 3.8L valve cover is stamped steel with silicone gasket, but not captured in a channel. It has hard plastic washers at each bolt hole so you can bolt it tight without over-squashing the silicone. Better than classic Mopars, but still leaks reported by many owners, especially the rear valve cover (gets hotter) though sometimes might instead be dripping down from the PCV valve. I've had to change mine several times. Leveraging that, the Real Gaskets design might be better if it had hard plastic washers at each bolt hole to allow tightening the bolts more without over-squashing the silicone.