Do I need a gasket sealer?

[GregoryU]

Put new seals and bearings in my '49 AR. Just have to tighten axles up to get the correct end play. When I put the rear axle cover back on(with a new gasket), should I put some kind of gasket shellac/sealer on it too, or is just the gasket itself enough? New gasket seems REALLY thin compared to the old one. Thanks. Greg

 

[ET]

With clean surfaces the gasket should be fine.

 

[MSD]

Big job to do twice. Why not put some form of sealer on it and not worry about it leaking?

 

[DeereJohn1]

I like a very light amount of sealer just on one side of the gasket to hold it in place. Some use the old Indian Head shellac by Permatex, some use weatherstrip adhesive, some use RTV.....