[KTL]

The point of using the sealant on the paper gasket is not only to give it some additional sealing ability but also to give the gasket some wiggle room to settle in place as you’re physically assembling the parts. This paper gasket can sometimes get pinched as you’re pushing the cover plate (actually called a thrust plate because the end of the camshaft can push against it during engine operation) home into the chain housing. So you definitely want to look around/behind the chain housing after installation to make sure the gasket didn’t get pinched or folded upon screwing down the thrust plate.

People have also recommended other sealants on this paper gasket like Permatex copper spray, Curil T green goop, and the famous Loctite 574 orange goop. Whatever works. Just don’t use silicone sealant, PLEASE! Again, the purpose is additional protection against a leak. I don’t like anything too sticky because sticky makes it more likely for the gasket to get stuck in a bad position. You want the gasket to have a little bit of ability to settle into place. But of course you don’t want it to squish out of place either! I have personally encountered this leak on one of my engine projects and it’s a big disappointment to have. It’s a lot of work to correct the leak and therefore you absolutely want to avoid it happening

My opinion is the gasket is supposed to be fine without sealant. That’s the whole point of the gasket- to seal. The challenge here is that the “snout” on the end of the camshaft housing is not always fully flat. I have leveled the snout on several cam housings via a flat plate and wet sandpaper which has shown me some spots on the snout are very narrowly flat with the rest of the surface. Therein lies the problem and I feel the problem should be addressed at the sealing surface to ensure the best seal. Just my opinion and to each his own, as the saying goes

It’s very easy to level the snout surface. All you need is a good flat surface, some tape, some wet sanding paper (400 or 600 is fine, no need to make it super smooth) and a sharpie marker to color the snout for use as an indicator of your sanding progress. You’ll see right away how flat, or not, is the snout after just a few swipes of the snout across the paper.