slitherz90gxl

I've read a few threads now and the mazdatrix faq on the front cover o-ring; https://www.mazdatrix.com/faq/oring.htm.

My s4(87gxl) has a s5 front iron/cover I suppose? It has the space for the teflon ring, o-ring, and gasket. It looks right. However, I'm sort of afraid it isn't and that it'll blow out. I fractured two vertebrae and almost died already this year. I just want my FC to run.

So, are there any markings on the front cover and/or iron I can look at to make sure it is the right one other than just going by if the teflon ring, o-ring, and gasket has space? Because if you squeeze things together you can make them fit.

Sorry if this has been covered somewhere else. I searched for a few hours and I couldn't find anything other than the information in the mazdatrix link.

slitherz90gxl

Bump; could someone tell me if I'm supposed to just use silicone on all of the front cover if it has the smaller o-ring groove or if I can just cut that part of the gasket off and only use rtv sealant for around the o-ring?

MrGoodnight

iTrader: (1)

Can you post a picture of the o-ring surface of your front iron.

The front cover won't tell you what o-ring to use.

Personally I just found a crush washer that fit in the front iron and used that instead of the o-ring.

slitherz90gxl

You can actually use a crush washer instead of an o-ring? It doesn't cause any problems?

I can't take any pictures right now. I have no way to do so.

bumpstart

if you have the latter type, a wide space is visible around the O ring when placed on the its land
obviously.. it will need a nylon support

do not use RTV on the timing cover gasket ( at all ) , wet it with some vasolene and install

.. there is a tiny passage that feeds the OMP through the gasket line that will be blocked if you attempt to use any type of setting sealant

slitherz90gxl

I've blocked the OMP off because the throttle cable rod was bent to where the OMP was stuck wide open. There were a lot of things on this car that, while I'm sure were done out of love, seemed sort of questionable.

It is a s4 front iron. I finally got all of my old engine parts to where I am now and just looked at the two. My eyes trick me sometimes.

I know not to use RTV on the gasket; I was asking if I should use the gasket and cut off where it goes to the o-ring and just use sealant around that or if mazdatrix is saying to use RTV instead of the gasket for all of it because I had read elsewhere (on this forum) not to use RTV on the front cover at all. I will probably just experiment and see what happens though because using a crush washer seems interesting.

VICEdOUT

iTrader: (1)

I have read of a few people using just RTV for the front cover and no gasket, I understand that it runs the risk of blocking the small OMP passage hole BUT what if you are deleting the OMP and just run pre mix, then that is of no worry and is sometimes suggested to block it anyways, so CAN just RTV be successfully used instead of a front cover gasket with no worries ? For any given year 13B for the matter, I have a REW personally but I would just like this to be clarified on this thread at least, as I have seen and read many different facts.. And would Copper High Temp be the best RTV to use ( I see many using it ) rather than Ultra Black ? I always use Ultra Black for oil pans and such..

Aaron Cake

iTrader: (1)

If you want to use RTV and are afraid of the oil passage being blocked, just install a stand pipe. From the hobby store get a small piece of copper tubing that fits the hole. Epoxy it in place so it sits about 3MM above the surface of the flange. Then you can RTV to your heart's content and the RTV won't block the hole.

As for the o-ring issue, it all depends on the front iron used. Some S4 irons are the earlier style with just the o-ring, some are later with the larger surface needing the nylon retainer. Pictures would help.

The procedure to install without a gasket is to find an o-ring which fits the bore and then shave it down (if necessary) with some sand paper so it sits just above the flange. Then install front cover with no gasket to compress the o-ring.

Personally I don't do that. I just use the appropriate o-ring/retainer for the front iron and use a front cover gasket. The fun part is that sometimes S4 gasket sets come with an earlier front cover gasket which doesn't work with the nylon retainer. If the gasket sits on top of the retainer and not the iron flange, the gasket is earlier style (early 13B, 12A, etc.). You need to then get an S4 (when ordered separately, the correct gasket arrives) or S5 gasket.

Yay for continuous improvement!