Toro Oil Sump

[bgsengine]

Should I be using the rtv in conjunction with the gasket?

No way. that makes it worse, not better, new gasket (if OEM) will often be made of a paper material that has pressure sensitive adhesive so once torqued, it should stick in place (and tears apart if you take it back apart) , just make sure flanges are clean and dry and free of nicks or deep gouges.

Also, I've been able to find torque specs for everything that I've undone except for the engine mounting bolts that hold the engine to the deck. Do I just use common sense on those?

pretty much yeah - standard fastener torque in most cases, if no spec for it.

[KE4AVB]

Lefty, Do you have a copy of the XT service manual? IF so look on page 46 and 47 of the reassembly instructions. Pay especial attention to the governor setup information.

[lefty]

Lefty, Do you have a copy of the XT service manual? IF so look on page 46 and 47 of the reassembly instructions. Pay especial attention to the governor setup information.

I do. I've seen some people on the internet employ a sealant along with the gasket and am wondering if that is a recommended practice.

When I disassembled, I was peaking inside to see the location of the governor gear and paddle. I have not removed the gear from the cover and have the paddle and governor linkage in place. So I'm thinking I should be ok with the governor...or at least I was hoping.

I just removed the cover and cleaned the gasket surfaces. I ordered a new gasket and oil seal. I was hoping that, and reinstallation/adjustment of the valves/rods and I'd be good to go. I was also thinking a little assembly lubes on the now dry parts might be a good idea too? Or at least a bit of oil?

[bgsengine]

I do. I've seen some people on the internet employ a sealant along with the gasket and am wondering if that is a recommended practice.

But not RTV - silicone would be a bad idea, can't believe *everything* you read on the internet either RTV sealants should never be used along with paper gaskets. However, you said "Sealant" and there are some gasket sealants that are actually quite suitable for the job, some are also called adhesives (there's gasket tacker for example) .. Loctite 518 is one such gasket sealing adhesive often it can also be used all by itself in some cases... actually some chainsaw manufacturers recommend it in factory service manuals in places like crankcase half gaskets, cylinder base gaskets, intake gaskets, etc.

[KE4AVB]

Lefty,

Right now I got a victim of the practice of using RTV with paper gaskets. The customer is partly to blame (as he didn't check his oil level) for what happen but I mainly blame the tech that use RTV on an used crankcase closure plate (sump). The CV23 is now fully destroyed from the lack of oil. Before I disassembled the fail engine I notice Red RTV on the valve covers. As I disassembling the engine I found Red RTV on both sides the gasket which allowed the gasket to be sucked in creating the massive leak. I just wanted to see just how bad he destroyed the engine. Both rods broken, chunk missing out of #2 cylinder, Camshaft broken in two, oil gear shattered among other things.

Besides RTV doesn't stick to oily gaskets. Plus whoever did this didn't wait for RTV to cure before putting oil in the engine and starting it as the oil pump screen was half clogged with RTV plus the governor had pieces of RTV in its fly weights.

This was done since the last time I repaired the mower. I reckon my labor of $45/hr was too high for the customer. Maybe he think twice about cut rate repairs next time. The Cub cadet RTZ isn't worth another engine due to other problems. Even with me finding and installing a good used engine it is out the customer price range of $500 max as I need to install a new engine pulley and the engine plate stiffer.

As BGS said there are suitable sealants for gaskets that can be very effective; although, I never have needed them. As mention products like Hondabond and Yamabond are two products used for crankcase sealing especially on ATV engines where there is no gasket used.

[lefty]

Good info. I think I'll just stick to a good old fashion dry gasket then.

[lefty]

So I'm buttoning this up. Checked the flywheel key and it is intact. Cleaned the mating surfaces up all shiny with some break clean and installed a new gasket and oil seal. I put a little oil on the dry / moving parts inside and shaft while it was open and torqued everything to spec. Installed and adjusted valve lash. Planning on putting this back on the machine and seeing how I did tomorrow. Did I miss anything? I didn't disturb anything while it was open so I feel pretty good about it.