Been reading on reinstall procedures of the Cylinder head and head gasket.

Read that Loctite 592 or Equivalent is required on Head Bolt #11. If I cant find the Loctite 592,what would an equivalent product be?

Read the following as well:

CAUTION: Do not apply sealing compound on the cylinder head and block gasket surfaces. Do not allow sealing compound to enter the cylinder bore.

Coat the cylinder bores with clean engine oil.
Apply an even coat of Perfect Seal sealing compound, or equivalent, to both sides of the replacement cylinder head gasket and position the gasket on the cylinder block with the word TOP facing up.

Is the sealing compound absolutely necessary? Been told that modern day head gaskets dont require it,True or False?

Ive read stories where people have omitted it and things worked out fine.Id like to hear first hand accounts of what may happen if I omit it vs what will happen if I do use it.

I know some on here have done numerous head gaskets on the 4.0 and have had success doing it their way. Please enlighten me to some steps that are absolutely critical vs what steps are not absolutely necessary.

 

The felpro head gaskets install without sealants.

The head bolt that passes through the water jacket (the one nearest you, on your right as you look at the engine) needs a sealant. I used a thread sealer, can't recall the name, but it's specs tolerated temps into the 400's and a decent amount of pressure.

I have head the new head on my XJ, without a gasket sealant, and with that thread sealer for over 1,000 miles w/o incident.

Good luck.

 

Oh, dump some oil into the cylinders if they are dry. Pour oil over the springs and down into the lifters. This provides lubrication on start-up.