So, had a slight leak on the transmission case, decided to pull it and reseal. So, I did and cracked it open and all looked good. put some Ultra Grey Permatex gasket on it, and per the instructions I let it tack up. Well When I went to bolt the case together again, the gasket was no longer sticky (after 15 mins! Instructions said let it tack for 1 hour on the box!),but I reconnected the halves anyway. It felt like it had almost dried already I guess?
I have not reinstalled it on the car, should I just redo it and connect the halves immediately while the gasket is still “wet”? Or will this squeeze out all the gasket and render it useless?
Did that make sense?
Thanks!
RTV sealant is supposed to act as a gasket, so yes it is supposed to harden. It’s designed to become rubber like and compress. No you don’t want to close the case when it is wet, because some RTV sealants actually shrink when it is drying. If you close it too early, you will not only squeeze out alot of it (causing it to go on the inside of the case), but the sealant may shrink while it is curing, causing a sealing failure.
There are some sealants which are designed to be applied wet, and in the case of tranmissions would probably have been a better choice. One example is Hondabond, which is actually what most people use to seal a transmission. Hondabond is more like an epoxy, so it does not shrink when it is drying.
In your case, you should be fine since you did not close the case when it was wet. The most important part of getting a good seal is to make sure both mating surfaces are clean of any dirt or oil (very important). The surfaces are free of major scratches or gouges, and that you properly tighten the halves in a criss-cross pattern using the correct bolt torque specs.
[QUOTE=wise_old_dragon;2225091]RTV sealant is supposed to act as a gasket, so yes it is supposed to harden. It’s designed to become rubber like and compress. No you don’t want to close the case when it is wet, because some RTV sealants actually shrink when it is drying. If you close it too early, you will not only squeeze out alot of it (causing it to go on the inside of the case), but the sealant may shrink while it is curing, causing a sealing failure.
There are some sealants which are designed to be applied wet, and in the case of tranmissions would probably have been a better choice. One example is Hondabond, which is actually what most people use to seal a transmission. Hondabond is more like an epoxy, so it does not shrink when it is drying.
In your case, you should be fine since you did not close the case when it was wet. The most important part of getting a good seal is to make sure both mating surfaces are clean of any dirt or oil (very important). The surfaces are free of major scratches or gouges, and that you properly tighten the halves in a criss-cross pattern using the correct bolt torque specs.[/QUOTE]
Glad I am a slacker and hadnt pulled it apart yet lol. I will reinstall the trans friday and hope it holds! Sounds like it will though based on what you are saying. I definitely had a shiny clean and goof off prepped and dried surface to seal it. i mean to the point there was NO old sealant and it looked like a pro did it lol.