for people who have rebuilt the m20

[Supratreo]

Hi, so from what I was told here and read in my searches, most people like using the VR gasket kit.
I went ahead and got a full top and bottom kit for the motor that I am resealing (m20b25 into a eta).
Now my question is do you guys use any sealer on the paper gaskets? I've always used oem gaskets on my Toyota's and their paper gaskets seem to be of better quality and have never leaked on me but I've used different aftermarket gaskets on my Mazda and they've leaked a bunch of times, even with sealer on them (i know your not supposed to put sealer on them).
Don't really want to do this job twice but any recommendations from the experienced people here?
As for sealer, I always use toyota FIPG and will be using that for the oil pan for sure, not the cork gasket.

Thank you

[MrBurgundy]

Don't use any sealer on paper or cork gaskets.

I'd just use gasket adhesive to keep it from moving. If you use any sealer on a gasket, its going to leak like a MF.

VR is fine. Also, if you over tighten any of the oil pan bolts, its going to rip the gasket. That's probably why your paper gaskets have leaked in the past.

[jeffnhiscars]

I doubt you will find anyone to encourage using the VR head gasket due to its history of failure. OE or Goetz, althgh I've had good results with Elring

[MrBurgundy]

I doubt you will find anyone to encourage using the VR head gasket due to its history of failure. OE or Goetz, althgh I've had good results with Elring

Yeah, I don't recommend a VR head gasket, but their paper/cork/rubber from gaskets are fine.

[Supratreo]

Thanks for the info. It was about 50/50 on the HG reviews so we decided just to use it but were going with an OE HG when we do the 2.7i.

[digger]

ive used permatex no 2 or aviation cement non hardening on paper gaskets it works well and is a sealer not a gasket maker.

for the sump with a scraper i havent made up my mind the best approach, many double gasket but dont know if they use black silicone or not. i dont remember what i did last time (w/o scraper tho) . i might need to get onto my bmw tech to see what hes been doing the last 25years regarding cork vs composite and sealer or not as far as reliability goes

[Supratreo]

I was told to use a sealer and I've NEVER had fipg leak on me so I think that's the route I'm gonna go with the oil pan,

[PKile]

I always use Gasgacinch on paper and cork gaskets...it's like a thin contact cement. You put it on all surfaces and let it dry for 10 minutes. The gasket will stick to the sealing surface after that and WON'T leak. I use Toyota black FIPG on the rocker shaft plugs, a light skim coat on the outer edges of the cam seal, front and rear crank seals, and the intermediate shaft seal (they go in really easy when you do that). I would question using FIPG in place of the cork oil pan gasket...Toyota oil pans have a groove designed to accept a bead of FIPG with no gasket, M20s have flat surfaces not designed to hold a bead of FIPG. I've used Gasgacinch with the OEM cork gasket on 2 M20 rebuilds and neither leaks. Torque is critical on the oil pan bolts...11 Nm (NOT foot pounds). Buy a nice little 0-200 Deci-Nm torque wrench and you won't be sorry. Torque them in a criss cross pattern from the center outwards.

[ahlem]

The last several head gaskets I've done on m20 used VR with copper spray gasket sealer and didn't have any issues. I tried VR once without the spray and had leaks.

[Kershaw]

I've never used spray on VR and all 3 leak. I'll also never use VR again.

[ForcedFirebird]

VR, Elring, FelPro are all the same gasket with the very small silicone beads and leak at the oil passages on the passenger side of the block when the head meets. Goetze or OEM is the way to go. I have seen numerous VR gaskets leaking. The rest of the seals have been holding up for us, we can't have leaks in the race cars. For the oil pan - and in the race cars, the water pump, timing covers, coolant seals, oil pan, scraper etc all get Permatex "The Right Stuff" which an elstomeric, not RTV Silicone. Right Stuff is more similar to the Toyota, Hyundai and Honda stuff. We just skip the cork gaskets for the pan, but add it to the stock gaskets otherwise.

[SkiFree]

I will always swear by Dirko. Used it on a few M20 engines and a host of M10 engines.

Funny story, I was talking sealant with the head race tech here at work. Turns out he used to work on JPS Team BMW campaigning the E24 down under back in the mid-eighties. He also religiously used dirko.

The trick is to not over-use the stuff. A thin thin smear is all you need.

[Supratreo]

Thanks for the replies.
PKile, funny you bring that stuff up. My mentor at toyota was the only person I ever saw that had that stuff. He called it gasket lady lol. Used it only on cork or to stick gaskets and never had a leak.
I know the oil pan should have a groove to hold the fipg so I was even thinking about making one just so I could use sealer because I hate gaskets that much haha. Maybe I WILL just use gasket lady on the cork and see what happens. Was also thinking about using it on the rocker plugs as they do on many other cars. Its like you read my mind on everything lol.


Thanks all for the help

[Kershaw]

I will always swear by Dirko. Used it on a few M20 engines and a host of M10 engines.

Funny story, I was talking sealant with the head race tech here at work. Turns out he used to work on JPS Team BMW campaigning the E24 down under back in the mid-eighties. He also religiously used dirko.

The trick is to not over-use the stuff. A thin thin smear is all you need.

So he used Dirko on head gaskets?

[SkiFree]

So he used Dirko on head gaskets?

Yes.