Motorcraft engine silicone?

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Researching my ecoboost timing chain job and it seems like the wisdom is to use and ONLY use the Motorcraft TA-357 (LINK) on the front cover. Whats so special? I would think permatex and/or loctite would offer very comparable options as well. I'm not going to redo everything just to save $5 but still wondering...
 
99% chance it's another product rebranded, like Ultra Black or something. I could see them rebranding a high end RTV and insisting on it's use if the cover is hard to seal or exposed to high heat or something of that nature.

Paging bcardinal.
 
One thing about the TA-357 is it sets really fast. You have 15 minutes once you start applying it to get the cover on and all the fasteners torqued.
 
Originally Posted by bdcardinal
One thing about the TA-357 is it sets really fast. You have 15 minutes once you start applying it to get the cover on and all the fasteners torqued.


Oh boy, that's going to be a stress inducer! the front cover on the Ford 3.5 has about 22 fasteners, this makes me think that a sealer with a longer set up time is better for the DIY mechanic like me.
 
Originally Posted by bdcardinal
One thing about the TA-357 is it sets really fast. You have 15 minutes once you start applying it to get the cover on and all the fasteners torqued.

The Ford instructions include torquing the bolts in the time limit? My Toyota and Honda FSM have a similar time limit but it is only for getting the parts mated, once that's done the interface is no longer exposed to the air.
 
From the FSM:

NOTICE: Failure to use Motorcraft® High Performance Engine RTV Silicone may cause the engine oil to foam excessively and result in serious engine damage.

NOTE: The engine front cover and bolts 7, 8, 15, 17, 18, 21 and 22 must be installed within 4 minutes of the initial sealant application. The remainder of the engine front cover bolts must be installed and tightened within 35 minutes of the initial sealant application. If the time limits are exceeded, the sealant must be removed, the sealing area cleaned and sealant reapplied. To clean the sealing area, use Motorcraft®Silicone Gasket Remover and Motorcraft® Metal Surface Prep. Failure to follow this procedure can cause future oil leakage.

Apply a 3 mm (0.1181 in) bead of Motorcraft® High Performance Engine RTV Silicone to the sealing surface of the front cover.
Apply a 5.5 mm (0.22 in) bead of Motorcraft® High Performance Engine RTV Silicone to the oil pan-to-cylinder block joint and the cylinder head-to-cylinder block joint areas of the engine front cover in 5 places as indicated.
 
Originally Posted by kschachn
Originally Posted by bdcardinal
One thing about the TA-357 is it sets really fast. You have 15 minutes once you start applying it to get the cover on and all the fasteners torqued.

The Ford instructions include torquing the bolts in the time limit? My Toyota and Honda FSM have a similar time limit but it is only for getting the parts mated, once that's done the interface is no longer exposed to the air.


torque.PNG
 
Interesting, thanks for that. My old Honda and Toyota FSM don't say that about the bolts, I may have been mistaken that it was only to get the pieces put together that mattered.

Originally Posted by bdcardinal
From the FSM:

NOTICE: Failure to use Motorcraft® High Performance Engine RTV Silicone may cause the engine oil to foam excessively and result in serious engine damage.

NOTE: The engine front cover and bolts 7, 8, 15, 17, 18, 21 and 22 must be installed within 4 minutes of the initial sealant application. The remainder of the engine front cover bolts must be installed and tightened within 35 minutes of the initial sealant application. If the time limits are exceeded, the sealant must be removed, the sealing area cleaned and sealant reapplied. To clean the sealing area, use Motorcraft®Silicone Gasket Remover and Motorcraft® Metal Surface Prep. Failure to follow this procedure can cause future oil leakage.

Apply a 3 mm (0.1181 in) bead of Motorcraft® High Performance Engine RTV Silicone to the sealing surface of the front cover.
Apply a 5.5 mm (0.22 in) bead of Motorcraft® High Performance Engine RTV Silicone to the oil pan-to-cylinder block joint and the cylinder head-to-cylinder block joint areas of the engine front cover in 5 places as indicated.
 
Ultra Grey. Not only is it advertised to be the most rigid out of the regular RTV's but I've used it on exhaust manifolds and flanges with no issue despite only being rated for 500F intermittent.
 
Originally Posted by maxdustington
99% chance it's another product rebranded, like Ultra Black or something. I could see them rebranding a high end RTV and insisting on it's use if the cover is hard to seal or exposed to high heat or something of that nature.

Paging bcardinal.

Supposedly, Ford is now sourcing their RTV from ThreeBond who also supplies the Japanese automakers. ThreeBond might have also won some OEM business at GM and FCA. I thought I saw a tube of Motorcraft's Engine Silicone at The Critic's shop, it looked physically like Nissan's stuff but labelled different.

Permatex is a rebottler - I wouldn't be surprised if ITW is sourcing from Henkel(Loctite) or other firms.
 
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Any RTV like permatex ultra series or right stuff will be fine.

Whichever you go with, time will be a concern (right stuff is stated to be 5min but is a bit longer), just get all your ducks in a row and work calmly and smoothly. It doesn't take that long to install a timing cover - you'll do fine.
 
Which Motorcraft silicone is best for the later model Ford non turbo, or naturally aspirated?I have an older Duratech 3.0 V-6. Looks like the Motorcraft TA-29,30, 31 are not the correct one. I need the High Performance RTV
TA-357 correct?
Originally Posted by bdcardinal
From the FSM:

NOTICE: Failure to use Motorcraft® High Performance Engine RTV Silicone may cause the engine oil to foam excessively and result in serious engine damage.

NOTE: The engine front cover and bolts 7, 8, 15, 17, 18, 21 and 22 must be installed within 4 minutes of the initial sealant application. The remainder of the engine front cover bolts must be installed and tightened within 35 minutes of the initial sealant application. If the time limits are exceeded, the sealant must be removed, the sealing area cleaned and sealant reapplied. To clean the sealing area, use Motorcraft®Silicone Gasket Remover and Motorcraft® Metal Surface Prep. Failure to follow this procedure can cause future oil leakage.

Apply a 3 mm (0.1181 in) bead of Motorcraft® High Performance Engine RTV Silicone to the sealing surface of the front cover.
Apply a 5.5 mm (0.22 in) bead of Motorcraft® High Performance Engine RTV Silicone to the oil pan-to-cylinder block joint and the cylinder head-to-cylinder block joint areas of the engine front cover in 5 places as indicated.
 
Originally Posted by oilboy123
Which Motorcraft silicone is best for the later model Ford non turbo, or naturally aspirated?I have an older Duratech 3.0 V-6. Looks like the Motorcraft TA-29,30, 31 are not the correct one. I need the High Performance RTV
TA-357 correct?
bdcardinal said:
How late model? The TA-357 has been used for a while now. It is made by Loctite.
 
Originally Posted by bdcardinal
Originally Posted by oilboy123
Which Motorcraft silicone is best for the later model Ford non turbo, or naturally aspirated?I have an older Duratech 3.0 V-6. Looks like the Motorcraft TA-29,30, 31 are not the correct one. I need the High Performance RTV
TA-357 correct?
bdcardinal said:
How late model? The TA-357 has been used for a while now. It is made by Loctite.

Sorry that was not a good term to use "later model". 2005 Ford Escape duratech 3.0 Bought the motor at a wrecking yard with 57K. That being said it is clean inside, but looks like it had been seeping some especially at the balancer area. was looking for the best product, and the motorcrafts silicones looked like some of the best. Thanks.
 
Last edited:
The TA-357 is excellent, but it has to be applied and the part torqued fairly quick. TA-31 is used on the 7.3 diesel and is some of the best on the market, everyone uses it. TA-30 was most likely used on your Escape. Those are all in caulking gun style bottles.
 
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