Grew Some Big Ones VC

I hate to disagree right off the bat, BUT, silicone is not, nor has it ever been designed to be used with a gasket. It is designed to be the gasket. If you read on the tube, it clearly says gasket maker. I'm not sure about the grease either, because gaskets are meant to be installed dry. Usually, any grease or oil between the gasket and its sealing surface will not allow for a good seal and will result in a leak. The best thing to use on cork gaskets is an adhesive to simply hold the gasket in place, to allow the valve cover to be handled without disturbing the gasket. There are many different things on the market, but what works best for me is a product called 3M Yellow Weatherstrip Adhesive. Also known as rhinocerous snot. You can find it here:

http://www.shop3m.com/60455029953.html

Adhesives such as this are acceptable because they dry completely and all they do is hold the gasket in place. Simply apply a small line of it around the perimeter of the valve cover gasket flange, lay the gasket on and "tap" the gasket against the valve cover rail with your finger until it is adhered. This will not take long at all. It will be completely dry in about 10-15 minutes. Maybe a couple times around and that's it. Everybody does things different ways. You are likely to get as many different answers on here as there are members. I don't know if anyone makes a rubber valve cover gasket for the slant or not, but that would be the way to go if they do. When it's time for another valve cover gasket in the future, you will have to remove the gasket from the valve cover with wire wheel or a stout gasket scraper. It is not a hard cleanup, but I would rather put a little effort in a cleanup the next time around, than risk a leak because of grease and silicone improperly used on a gasket. Here is a link to the Permatex web site. I can think of no one who knows better than they how to use silicone gasket maker.

http://www.permatex.com/products/Au...ermatex_High-Temp_Red_RTV_Silicone_Gasket.htm

Notice this statement: "Replaces almost any cut gasket by making reliable “formed-in-place” gaskets that resist cracking, shrinking and migrating caused by thermal cycling."

As I said, silicone is designed to replace conventional gaskets altogether. If that is something you want to do, then you can use about 1/4" bead of silicone around the valve cover rail. However, if you have never worked with silicone before, I would not try it for a first time. It can be somewhat aggravating until you get the knack for it.