Here's the thing, Boomer. I don't want to guess.
And I'm thinking that most of the members here don't want to guess, either..because this is a critical decision that can affect the lifespan of a very expensive engine.
So, if the gasket was in place on the plate shown in the photo and RTV partially plugged the oil passage............what would prevent Permatex #2 from doing the exact same thing?
If a thin coating of Permatex is OK, then why isn't a thin coating of RTV OK?
And when these engines were put together at the ONAN plant originally, was any sort of sealant used other than the gaskets?
Back in the day when I used to work on small block Chev engines, we never used these sealants.... mostly because they weren't even available. All I ever did was to lightly coat both sides of felt gaskets with some trusty Lubri-plate and put the timing cover, oil pan, fuel pump, thermostat housing and intake manifold onto the engine. And if we used cork valve cover gaskets, then those got coated too. Funny thing......that stuff worked great. I never had a leak and if I had to take something off later, the gasket rarely stuck to the metal. You can't block an oil passage with Lubri-Plate either because the engine oil would just dissolve any excess and assimilate it.
You might have to write a whole two paragraphs to reply to this, Boomer. Can your fingers stand the strain? :sidelaugh: :sidelaugh: