do you need to apply anything with the gaskets when putting the new gaskets on..

does it need sealant or anything?

 

I didnt use anything when I put the new head gaskets on. Dont beleive you need ahything the guys at the dealership didnt mention anything about needing anything else.

 

Dont use any sealant with headgaskets... The only thing thats critical is ensuring that you follow the torquing procedure properly on the head bolts...

 

Nada ... just torque them carefully. Make sure the surfaces are CLEAN too. Clean the head bolts holes and the cylinders and walls before reassembly too.

 

Just put the gaskets on. at least thats the way it is for older engines. make sure you torq them the rite way like the above said and you should be fine

 

well I got the heads on as of now..
still need to torque the passenger side down..
but I am just out of steam...
16 hour day at work, and then come home and work on the truck untill 1:30 in the morning..
I think I have had enough for one day...
time to catch some ZZZZZZZZ's

be back at it again tomorrow, and hopefully barring any problems Thunder will be back on the road.

 

good deal daniel. hope to see ya at the track soon.

 

You got good advice, Gaskets today require no sealant, whats more none is recommended. Only Copper or steel shim gaskets need sealant. Newer gaskets such as the Fel-Pro Blue contain a sealant on critical surfaces. Others have a Graphite layer that under no circumstances should anything be applied to it's surface.
What is critical to today's gaskets is the surface finish of the deck and the Head. This is particularly important to heads and blocks of dissimilar metals. Since the Aluminum expands and contracts more to heat it is important that the finish is smooth enough for the head to literally slide over the gasket surface, if the surface finish is too rough the grooves in the surface finish will bite into the gasket and over time will shred the gasket due to being pulled in different directions ( however small the pull may be ) over time. This is why some head gaskets fail after a repair when there has been no overheating evident and the head installation was done correctly. If you get your work back from a machine shop and you can see groove that feel like a record groove, that is too rough a finish. These days the best surface finish you can find ( to my knowledge, there may be something newer now I have not seen ) is a CBN cutter on a variable speed head and traverse table.

TJ

 

ok well I am putting the intake on, and it says torque the first time to 44 ft lbs.....
then to 89 ft lbs
is it me, or was anyone else a little worried about torquing the bolts this much on aluminum heads?????
just seems to me they are going to strip the bolt holes in the aluminum head....

 

inch pounds

check this out bottom of page
http://hotrodshack.com/torque_settings.htm

that would convert to like 4ft/lb
and 7 to 8ft/lb