1. Can i use liquid gasket on the sump, need to put it on and since i have it its cheaper andeasier than sourcing a new sump gasket.

2. Can i start my engine without an coolant in? It wil be a very quick start just to make sure it still fires up, so it will be running for no more than a few seconds

Cheers Mikkel

I would say

1.no

2.shouldn't really but you'll probably get away with it, but is it worth the risk?

any reason liquid gasket cant be used?

i want to try and fire it before i head back to uni... and im waiting for one of my collant pipes to get modified so wont have it in time so wont be able to get coolant in it would be nice to have it fired

well I guess it depends on the sump. if it is perfectly flat on the mating face then it should be ok.

most steel sumps need a cork gasket which compensates for a bit of flex in the flange which gives rise to a variable gap.

I would be concerned about the heat dissipation without any coolant in the engine even after it has stopped.

its an ally sump, but ts been shortened and i dont know if its been distorted slightly, will try to look for a proper gasket

ok then mabye its not worth it then,

ill jus try and get all the bits i need ready for next time im home from uni then try it then.

cheers

Not what you want to hear but gasket and blue hylomar, best seal ever!

Proper gasket and blue hylomar, i totally agree as its always worked for me on my bikes and cars.

Mike

I would have thought that a few seconds (no more than 5 sec max) would be okay without coolant given that the block material itself will soak up quite a bit of energy before it even starts to pass it on to the coolant, especially if your garage is as cold as mine is currently. Just don't push your luck and don't rev it beyond fast idle.

On the sump, can't you use RTV sealant? I'm sure that some manufacturers use this as standard rather than gaskets.

HTH,
Craig.

If it's a flat faced alloy sump on to a flat faced block.

Then pop into ford and ask for a tube of sump seal. it's about £10 so not cheap.

I bought some generic sump sealer of ebay a few months back which was much better value.

A large number of production cars just use sealer rather than a gasket. Sierra XR4x4's should not have a gasket for example.



As for running an engine with no coolant?

I do it all the time for 2 - 3 minuets and have done similar over 18 years of car ownership and building and never had a problem.

the engine does not have enugh running time to create enough heat to cause a problem.


I usualy test fire all engines I fit before they make it into a car... That means they are sitting on the garage floor with no cooling, a temporary fuel suppl, no exhaust and the wirring rigged up.

Saves me fitting the engine only to discover a problem.

TT

p.s.

I would not run it for long on a wet liner or alloy engine. But a brefe 20 seconds is unlikly to cause any harm.

TT

liquid gasket on the sump is FINE

it states in my factory service manual for my nissan engine that liquid gasket must be used and it gets used everywhere on that engine

I have tested all my engines with no coolant. Only for 20~30 sec.

ok then that makes me feel a bit better... any liquid gasket that cant be used?

i just have the standard blue stuff you can get from the motor factors i think... its been use on water pumps and similar before

Loctite do a good liquid gasket made for the job . Any decent motor factor should be able to help

http://shop.ebay.co.uk/?_from=R40&_trksid=p3907.m38.l1313&_nkw=sump+sealer&_sacat=See-All-Categories

TT

its the loctite stuff i have.

Cheers guys

IIRC dragsters don't run a cooling system - in fact they used to ( and probably still do) fill the water jacket with epoxy resin to stop the bores flexing. So there's 6 - 11 secs on full bore without damage.
Cheers, Pewe
PS might be a good idea to put Molyslip, Wynns or similar additive into the oil anyway especially as you intend leaving it idle whilst at Uni.