[drumvudu]

I am putting back together today and wondered what the best way to go is here.

[artistang]

The only reason to put anything on a gasket is to keep it in place during assembly and to keep it from binding during torquing. I generally use vaseline, engine oil, or a small ultra thin layer of silicone. (be careful to not get any squeeze out on the inside of your engine, it will come off and contaminate the oil/water system.) If it leaks, something is warped/gouged faying surface or it was torqued wrong.

Also,makes for easy gasket removal during disassembly......

[b_chandler]

Laugh if you want, but I smear a super thin coat of anti-seize on all the paper gaskets. It holds it in place while I bolt things together.

It's me who'll be laughing while everyone else is scraping off old gaskets.

[74stang2togo]

I use a thin beat of Permatex alone on my thermostat housings in most cases, but only the black high-heat stuff that carries a GM OE equivalent number, that means it meets the same criteria as the silicone sealant that GM uses from the factory instead of gaskets on several applications these days. So far no leaks on any of them, I've been doing it for years, and cleanup of the old material is as simple as a wire brush attachment in my Dremel, takes 45 seconds.

[artistang]

Oh yeah,I forgot to mention the anti-sieze. Esp on the head gaskets and spark plugs.

Thin beads of Permatex or silicone alsone works too in most instances, I have done this all too often.......lots of times when I shouldn't.......but I stll like to use gaskets when available.