I'm trying to decide what to do about putting my motor/tranny back together. Obviously I need head gaskets and such, but for things like the oil pan/alt cover/etc., I'm leaning towards just using permatex (permatex right stuff) as it's cheaper and seals better. For things that don't need to come apart very often, I don't see fiddling with gaskets since they are more prone to leaking.

Agree/Disagree?

Chris

 

I would disagree. I think that putting an engine back together using the gaskets that the engineers designed it for is the way to go. I'm not sure what better sealing you're referring to, but none of my Honda's leak.

 

if it comes stock with a gasket, use a gasket. If it comes stock with silicone, use that. You can usually get away with using silicone for everything but IMO most home mechanics are TERRIBLE with silicone and wind up with globs or strings of silicone floating around their engines, stopping up oil passages.

 

not sure about this bike, but on some bikes there are tiny oil passages in the side crankcase/clutch covers that will clog everything up very easily if you use permatex or something.

 

All very good points (why I asked).

I have used permatex in place of gaskets all over automotive stuff (rearends/trannys/intake manifolds/etc) with much better results than gaskets. While there are places gaskets are a must, gaskets don't always conform to small imperfections while silicone does (if used with care).

Sounds like I'm best going with gaskets on the bike build. Next question then would be what's the best place to get gaskets? Honda seems really expensive so there must be a better source.

Thanks guys

 

ebay or ronayers.com

 

Honda spare parts for 1970s onwards motorcycles

 

I agree w/ronayers.com, which =Honda.