As mentioned before I had replaced head gaskets. Then was having issues with distributor. Got distributor problem fixed(thanks for the help everyone). Now I cranked it up again and I seem to have a gasket leak on head or heads again. I used Fel pro performance gaskets and did not use gasket sealant on heads , I did on intake though. I was wondering two things. First should I have used RTV on head gaskets. Second there are less than 10 hours on engine since I did this, can I reuse gaskets when i take it apart. I am hoping that something stupid is the cause. Any help or advice is appreciated.

 

You should not use RTV on LIM gaskets except maybe around the water jackets if the surfaces are pitted and even then, it is a thin layer to fill in the pits, let it set up a bit before reassembling the parts. Never on head gaskets.

Did you properly torque the head & LIM fasteners? An in-lb torque wrench is required for torquing the LIM bolts.

 

Okay I did use Rtv on Lim because my chiltons manual said to around coolant ports. I did also torque all bolts down to specs in manual as well. I am afraid that maybe head is warped or cracked. I did not have it checked at a machine shop trying to save money. I guess now I am spending more time and probably money anyway. Will it be possible to use gaskets again?

 

You should never reuse a head gasket and because you used RTV on the LIM gaskets, you should not reuse those either.