Hi, I’m going to be removing the cam cover on my 1.8 mk1. It’s pretty grubby, has a slight leak, and thought I’d do the CAS O ring at the same time. I’ve got a new Mazda gasket and O ring. Having read all the blurb on line and in Rodders guide I gather I need to put six blobs of sealant on before replacing the cam cover. I was thinking of useing Loctite 5980 as it says " LOCTITE SI 5980 is a flange sealant designed especially for gasketing applications with excellent oil resistant " so far so good, but it also says " excellent adhesive strength. " I don’t want to stick the cam cover on so it’s difficult remove next time if required in the future. So questions, do you guys think this sealant is suitable and won’t stick the cover to the head, and if not what would you recommend. Also, as " a blob " is not an SI unit, how much would you put on? Is about a 5p size blob about right or should they be bigger or smaller.
I did this job recently on our Eunos having had some leak issues with aftermarket gaskets.
Bit the bullet and bought a genuine Mazda gasket at twice the price as you have done.
The recommended sealant is RTV sealant - you only need six very small blobs just to make sure that the very corner is leak proof.
I bought some ordinary RTV sealant and left it for 20 minutes or so to allow it to start to go off. I think it is very important to let it start to solidify as it needs a little body to be effective.
For Hylomar users there is a cleaning product for it to remove hylomar after you take surfaces apart where the product has been used previously. It works very well.
I always have a tube of hylomar and a tin of the cleaning fluid handy.
Any decent gasket will do provided you do not torque it down too much HOWEVER it is recommended that a touch of silicone gasket is used on the ‘corners’ below the cam cover arches as these points are where leaks occur.
In truth silicone gasket sealant will replace any gasket not under pressure.