Carburetor- Applying gasket sealer ?

[Shelly Harris]

Here's a question I'm pondering. Hopefully my rebuilt carb will show up soon. I'm wondering if there's a proper way to apply gasket sealer on the gasket which goes between the base of the carb and the intake manifold ? I have a tube of "gasket and joint sealer" which is some messy looking brown stuff. Should I use that? How thick do I apply it to both sides of the gasket? Maybe I should be using some spray product? Thanks for the help.

[Barry Wolk]

I've never used a sealant. The gasket that comes with it should be sufficient. It's easy to check. Just spray some carb cleaner at the base at low rpm. If there's a vacuum leak the engine will stumble.

I've never used a sealant. Just torque the nuts down evenly and you should be set. Tiny vacuum leaks will quickly plug with dust.

Sealants like you describe are to keep fluids from leaking out.

[depmike38]

Shelley, I just got mine back on, no sealant , and it works fine. Never have used sealer on carb base gaskets. Just evenly torque it down, warm up the engine and then re-check the nuts. By the way, who's got your carb?

[Continental59]

No sealant needed .....However use a steel straight edge to check for flatness across the flange.
The flange needs to be perfectly flat across. Its really up to the re-builder. I have lots of issues with the older castings.
Just my 2 cents.:)

[Shelly Harris]

Boy, am I glad I asked the question. I would have really screwed up. Thanks to all.

[Shelly Harris]

Oh, the guy who has my carb? He will remain nameless until I can evaluate his work. Then he'll either be praised or trashed. Stay tuned.

[Keith W Colonna]

Rub carb to manifold gaskets lightly with clean oil...they will stick, swell and become tight.
I do this on my dual carb, dual engine set up on my boat....carbs get rebuilt on a regular basis....works.
Don't overtighten and do it slowly...carb bases are aluminum and will distort under pressure.

[Barry Wolk]

I like the oil idea.

[Don Henschel]

This works very well to. Spray a very light coat on the gasket before you place it on the intake, if you would like something on the gasket. Comes in handy for holding gaskets in place as well. I usually put carb intake gaskets on dry, but if I have to reuse a good used gasket I spray a bit of this on.
http://www.permatex.com/documents/tds/Automotive/80063.pdf