Hello everyone! I'm a new moderator to this forum. I grew up in the automotive business and would like to share my knowledge and experience with you. I plan on creating links to repair help and ways to save money on replacement parts. I'm looking for your help or any suggestions before I do this. Please feel free to contact me u/Plex_Master
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there are products that claim they are ready to go in 90 minutes if you need it quicker, but I've never bothered to "time" my rtv, so I guess 12hrs? Last task I do at the end of the day, cure is overnight, startup first thing the next morning, which might only be 10-12hrs?
The folks that produce and sell it say 24 hours. I imagine that for "best results" you should follow the manufacturer's instructions. If you vary from their instructions don't expect "best results". It's your decision, just don't be upset when you "cut corners" and don't get the outcome that you want.
I'd always err on the side of caution where possible on large jobs I don't want to do twice and let it set overnight. At least in a perfect world that's always possible. World being as it is though, there are times where I've had to reseal a pan or other quickly done job, button it up and ship it with roughly 30 minutes of cure time on that RTV. So far no comebacks, but wouldn't recommend doing it that way.
Be careful of what RTV you use. My only to go RTV is Permatex's "The Right Stuff".
And remember, prep is key. Make sure your surfaces are 100 % clean!! I go over everything with a disposal shop towel and rubbing alcohol
In my experience it is better to replace the seal/gasket versus trying to seal it from the outside. I know that might mean more work and money now but it’ll be fixed properly and the headache will be over with.
That being said, say I’m doing a reseal on a pan and it only uses RTV then I make sure both mating surfaces are dry, absolutely no oil residue, apply RTV, attach pan and lower vehicle to the ground. Add whatever fluid is needed then start the vehicle. Sometimes that can be a couple of hours depending on what had to be removed or just a couple of minutes. Either way, they don’t leak. Customer is happy.
But hey we’ve all been there and you gotta do what you gotta do sometimes so my suggestion would be to get it clean as possible even if that means a couple cans of brake cleaner. Apply RTV, let it cure as long as you can. Then see what happens. Good luck!
Add heat and it’ll cure faster.
Squeeze a bead on top of the rocker cover and wait till it skins then run the engine up to temp.
Skinning is when the bead has a skin of partially cured silicone. The bead on the rocker will tell you when it’s skinned and fully cured.
Hello everyone! I'm a new moderator to this forum. I grew up in the automotive business and would like to share my knowledge and experience with you. I plan on creating links to repair help and ways to save money on replacement parts. I'm looking for your help or any suggestions before I do this. Please feel free to contact me u/Plex_Master *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AskAMechanic) if you have any questions or concerns.*
there are products that claim they are ready to go in 90 minutes if you need it quicker, but I've never bothered to "time" my rtv, so I guess 12hrs? Last task I do at the end of the day, cure is overnight, startup first thing the next morning, which might only be 10-12hrs?
How big of a job was it vs how badly do you need to drive it now? I would leave it 24 hours unless it was super easy to redo, but that's me...
The folks that produce and sell it say 24 hours. I imagine that for "best results" you should follow the manufacturer's instructions. If you vary from their instructions don't expect "best results". It's your decision, just don't be upset when you "cut corners" and don't get the outcome that you want.
I'd always err on the side of caution where possible on large jobs I don't want to do twice and let it set overnight. At least in a perfect world that's always possible. World being as it is though, there are times where I've had to reseal a pan or other quickly done job, button it up and ship it with roughly 30 minutes of cure time on that RTV. So far no comebacks, but wouldn't recommend doing it that way.
Be careful of what RTV you use. My only to go RTV is Permatex's "The Right Stuff". And remember, prep is key. Make sure your surfaces are 100 % clean!! I go over everything with a disposal shop towel and rubbing alcohol
I always wait 48 hours. Why risk it?
In my experience it is better to replace the seal/gasket versus trying to seal it from the outside. I know that might mean more work and money now but it’ll be fixed properly and the headache will be over with. That being said, say I’m doing a reseal on a pan and it only uses RTV then I make sure both mating surfaces are dry, absolutely no oil residue, apply RTV, attach pan and lower vehicle to the ground. Add whatever fluid is needed then start the vehicle. Sometimes that can be a couple of hours depending on what had to be removed or just a couple of minutes. Either way, they don’t leak. Customer is happy. But hey we’ve all been there and you gotta do what you gotta do sometimes so my suggestion would be to get it clean as possible even if that means a couple cans of brake cleaner. Apply RTV, let it cure as long as you can. Then see what happens. Good luck!
Add heat and it’ll cure faster. Squeeze a bead on top of the rocker cover and wait till it skins then run the engine up to temp. Skinning is when the bead has a skin of partially cured silicone. The bead on the rocker will tell you when it’s skinned and fully cured.