Something to hold silicone gasket in place

[ckuske]

So a week or so ago in my project thread I mentioned that the passenger side valve cover had an oil leak dripping onto the exhaust manifold (#4 cylinder) after starting my engine for the first time in at least 18 months...  I purchased the gaskets from Real Gaskets (https://realgaskets.com/product/valve-cover-gaskets-33/), and the instructions say emphatically to not use any sealant etc.  Ok, fine.  But my question is this:

I have a feeling that while fishing the rear of the cover through the wire harness etc, that the gasket shifted a little bit (even though I had the tabs on the gasket pushed onto the notches on cover itself).  I'd like to put a very small amount of something on to the side of the gasket that touches the cover, just to make sure it doesn't move or flop around a little bit during installation.

Advice/suggestions?

Since the gaskets are silicone, I am thinking normal adhesives may not work that are intended for rubber/cork.  A quick Google say E6000 may work?  I intend on using a very small amount, just to hold the gasket while installing.

I will also be hammering the holes flush again just to be sure that didn't contribute at all, even though I didn't torque the bolts down very much - I will be getting a torque wrench that does in/lbs as well

[Gary Lewis]

Silicon is hard to hold. RTV will usually stick to it, but it is as slick as grease until it cures, so if you use a thin smear of it don’t torque the valve cover down until the next day.

Better would be contact cement spray. A really light coat to hold the gasket works nicely.

[ckuske]

Thanks Gary. I’ll see what I can get from Amazon, I have time to get the right thing.

Thanks for answering. Maybe putting the little bit of cement won’t make it 100% reusable but I’ll take that over a leak!

[Gary Lewis]

Yes, it makes it hard to remove, but glued to the valve cover you shouldn’t have to remove it.

[mat in tn]

one tip i can give is one i use fairly often. i like to "stud" the heads with 1-1 1/4' inch all thread and a simple two nut jammed to set them works great. this allows me to slip the gasket on then the cover and use nut and washer to fasten. I know it's very simple and I certainly did not invent it, but it works great. if I'm doing a restoration, I use the factory hardware of course. but not all are factory correct. some are just fun