<VV> oil seepage and treatment

[Smitty]

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Smitty Says;  Paul, Randy, and Frank are all correct, suggesting the use of 
RTV gasket maker to seal gaskets.  Owners choice on how much is enough. 
Many years ago one of our "long in the tooth" VVrs made a statement that I 
considered quite profound.  He said, improper use of a product does not 
constitute a failure of the product.  I have been using RTV in its various 
forms since before it was on the market to anyone except the aerospace 
industry.  Permatex finally recognized the market in the auto repair 
industry and started changing to compounds that are more heat resistant, oil 
and gas tolerant, and just plain sticks better.  A lot of its poor 
reputation stems from the early days when the product was misused by 
adventurous soles.  Not the products fault.  The old clear RTV would revert 
to jelly in contact with oil and come loose from where it squeezed out of 
gasket surfaces.  Yes, you'd find it adrift all over the place in an engine 
where a surplus was used and allowed to squeeze out.  The manufacturer has 
come a long way in overcoming that problem even though it was not their 
fault.  What squeezes out nowadays just stays where it is.  It doesn't break 
down like the early stuff did, and it hangs on tenaciously.  Upon teardown 
you will have to tear it loose from the edge of the gasket surface.  Score 
one for the guy that likes to use lots of it.  But the manufacturer can't 
compensate for stupid.  I suppose if you work hard enough at using too much, 
you may still have some get loose and wipe out an engine.  I consider a thin 
wipe that you can see through to be sufficient to do the job.  Any more than 
that is just going to squeeze out anyway.
        Now that I have defended the proper use of Automotive RTV  I would 
like to address a situation that is a curiousity to me.  For years and years 
I used RTV on valve cover gaskets.  Carefully clean the cover and head 
gasket surfaces, spread my thin wipe of RTV and as often as not I would have 
a leak sometime in the future.  One day I was putting new gaskets on an 
engine and decided to use no sealer .  Wiped everything down nice and clean 
and dry and clamped the covers on as indicated by the book.  Days, weeks, 
and months went by with no leaks.  I started doing all of them dry.  I have 
not had a seep or leak since then.  We are talking maybe up to 10 years of 
no leaks.  You can do what you want with that information.