To goop, or not to goop, that is the question

[Jethro]

There seems to be a differing of opinions on this subject from what I found using the search. I am curious what I will get for responses.

I just finished a valve adjustment on my 83 and am replacing the head cover gasket with an OEM. I was going to go with the RealGasket, but I had to order about 20 other things from BikeBandit, so I'm using the OEM. The manual says to use RTV sealant, so I went out and bought some grey RTV (there is about 34,059 colors of that stuff- WTF?). Still, some folks say not to use any goop? Both the Suzuki and Haynes manuals I have say to apply a thin bead of RTV on the cover, install the gasket on the covet, then apply another thin bead of RTV on the head.

I don't really care about how hard it is to remove next time, just if it is sealed correctly. I'm gonna be doing a lot of miles this summer.

So, do you guys goop or not? And what color? I now have black, blue and grey at home. What does the color mean? I didn't see a temp rating on the packages or anything.

[Anonymous]

When my buddy (a mechanic) and I swapped engines in my old truck, we used Red. Don't know if that applies to bikes though.

[Anonymous]

I always use High Temp Red RTV. The stuff if get comes in an aresol can and is real easy to use. I don't use a gasket unless I have to, areas with fuel, areas where you need specialty gaskets and RTV won't work. Haven't had any probelms using straight RTV. When you have to remove the RTV, its real simple to do with a razor blade.

[daveo]

if I'm using a gasket, I skip the RTV and soak the gasket in new oil, helps to keep it from sticking to the engine when you need to adjust the valves...an alternative is to just use the RTV on the cover side, oil the engine side, so the gasket comes off with the cover, the different colors supposedly indicate different temp. ranges, but after looking at the packages, I see the red, black and copper colors are within a pretty narrow temp range, with copper being the highest heat rated, red and black are about the same, maybe the colors are for designer gasket matching?

[Poot]

NO~!!!!!!!11


dont use it!!!!!


NO!


If youve got the OEM fibre gasket, dont use any! I find it strange that your clymers says to use it, b/c for my 850 it says not to. these fiber gaskets are designed to swell once they come into contact with oil ( which happens from the inside out)

you DO NOT need to use it. I changed mine while on a road-trip, without any sealant at all, and i have not had 1 leak/sweat!!!

DONT DO IT!

[Jethro]

I find that strange, because the OEM Suzuki Factory manual also says to apply RTV to both surfaces before installing. You guys are really making this tough for me! I have serious trouble not doing something that Suzuki says to do in the Factory Manual.

[Poot]

I know where your coming from....

at the time i replaced mine, a mechanic who had a few GS's sitting in his garage told me i'd need to use some grey sealant , that was the stuff they used in the factory.

I'll scan the page from my clymers if you like, but it also says NO SEALANT.

i went with this, and have not had a single problem. I guarantee it will work without a single leak if you do it this way. All you have to do, is torque the bolts correctly , and thats it.

you can use sealant, but you'll be paying for it next time round.


poot

[Jethro]

I'm thinking that I'll just go without and if I get leaks, I'll add the RTV at that time. I hate cleaning up old sealant. For what it's worth, the one I took off came right out, didn't look like there was any sealant, only the spots at the half moons where you must use sealant. It was bleeding oil though!

[bwringer]

No sealant, and order a Realgasket ASAP. If it's an OEM cardboard gasket (crap, IMHO) then a thin coating of oil or plain brown grease will will ensure that you can remove it next time and that the swelling process gets underway.

If you insist, the only sealant worth using is a thick blue goop called Hylomar.

Hylomar never hardens, and although it's rather sticky, it's not a glue. You can use it on gaskets and they won't weld themselves to the parts.

If you have bunged up sealing surfaces, the Hylomar can help seal these problem areas. It's also handy for sticking gaskets in place in situations where the gasket tends to move or fall out when you're assembling the parts.

[Jethro]

The gasket I got is in no way cardboard. It looks like it's rubber coated and molded with a raised ridge in the center. Looks pretty high quality to me. It's not a Versah gasket, I got one of those for my 81, it looked like cardboard. This thing is a glittery silver color, and I can squeeze it with my fingers. Definitely rubber or teflon coated.

[mcycle-nut]

I use it, but A THIN COAT of it. By thin, I mean barely noticeable. If you've got it beading out of the joint, you've got too much. Why bother you ask? Ease of disassembly. And yes, my Haynes says use RTV and my Suzuki manual says use their stuff, Suzibond or some such product.