My pickup is getting its 3rd timing chain installed after suspecting a bad tensioner on my last kit. I got 70,000 miles out of it but the tensioner occasionally makes noise when it is cold.

Last time I did the job I used a small bead of ultra-grey on both sides of the cover gaskets. When I was scrapping the old gasket off, I noticed rust colored deposits where the gasket was at the coolant passage. I am wondering if this was a slow leak that caused the deposits. No where else did I have to scrape these deposits off the block, except around the coolant passage. The deposits were in the area underneath the gasket, where coolant normally wouldn't be if the gasket was sealing correctly.

My last oil analysis came back as possible coolant contamination in the oil (650ppm sodium, Valvoline oil usually does not contain that much sodium)
I am using G05 coolant which uses sodium as an additive.

I am thinking of just installing the new gaskets dry, and only using RTV at the oil pan and top of the cover, since this I believe is the way it comes from the factory anyway.

What do you think?

 

I doubt the ultra-gray contributed to any leakage.

Some gasket materials are more permeable than others, and none are perfect.

Eventually leaks happen.

Any organic base material is gonna weaken.

The old asbestos base paper gaskets were the most resistant, but they have largely gone.

That said, if the gasket materials are first rate. and not just Chinese coarse paper; a light smearing of grease is all that's required.

Vigilance and maintainance are the lot of machine men.

Oh, I did use Ultra-grey on the timing cover gaskets of my recent 22re build. The gaskets themselves were the ones provided in the OSK timing kit.

They looked as good as the Ishino Stone gaskets in my overhaul set.

I would also remark that the headgasket provided in my Stone 22re set was a plain steel and graphite type, without 'slipper-plate'.

I prefer these non-slipper-plate graphite gaskets, and I have got excellent service out of them on many different steel block- aluminum head engines.

Most of the 22r/22re engines were factory built using them.

 

I am using the OSK this time around.

My previous gaskets were the black paper type.

 

on every motor I have ever built I always add a thin bead of rtv on all of my water passages mating surfaces. on my 22re I did on both sides of the gasket and gave it 20 min to tac up. I don't have a large number of miles but it seems to be holding fine.

 

I put the timing cover on with just the gasket

Water pump got Ultra Blue