what do you use and on what ? why?

 

As a rule I use the manufacturer's recommendation. On the rare occasion that's not available, I use a bit of common sense and divide that by what I have on hand.

 

What type of gasket do you want to make, and what do you want to seal? I've used YamaBond on engine cases with good results. But be warned, that stuff sticks like death!
https://www.google.com/search?q=Yama...hrome&ie=UTF-8
Permatex Form a gasket and RTV will work for lighter stuff.

 

Many products for many different jobs no one item fits all, need to narrow down what you are wanting to do a bit more so we can be more specific. I use several different products on an engine rebuild.

 

I have a drag race car. An air cooled VW. These have a lot of similarities to HDs.

For that I use almost exclusively Loctite 518. Case halves, intake sealing surface, cylinder barrels to case, oil pump body to case...It's anaerobic, so it doesn't set until the parts are joined. A thin film is all it takes.

The downside is I've never seen it in a store. I typically order it on line. A big tube lasts me years.

 

What's the clean up like with Locktite 518, Mike? Is it easy to remove?

 

Yep. Most of it peels off. On the areas where it sticks, I use a razor blade. It comes off easy. Man, I don't even keep silicone around. It's "Miracle Sealant!"

 

GM markets an anaerobic sealant under the Delco brand, but I believe it may be made by Loctite. I still have a tube or two in my toolbox at work. I'll check tomorrow.

 

i have many different sealants around the garage, but i've never used The Right Stuff and was going to give it a try. seems it would just about take the place of everything else. i'm putting new intake gaskets on a 3.8 pontiac engine right now.

 

Right Stuff would be fine around the coolant ports and on the ends. It'd also do as a t-stat gasket if you didn't have one.