the rubber rings your talking about should be in the intake side. i don't run the end seals just a good wide tall bead of silicone. a little around the water passages isn't a bad idea. i use a little bit of weatherstrip adhesive to hold the gasket to the head. make sure you get as much of the water out as possible and change the oil before you start it back up. i bet you are fine with no harm at all.
Thanks...yeah, i ended up calling edelbrock and they said the rubber rings face the intake.
Not sure it would really make a difference...not sure why they dont have them on BOTH sides, really.
I put a thin film of RTV around the water ports on the intake and the head, and a couple small spots to hold the gasket in place and then used the bead of silicone at the ends. I hope I got those 'tall" enough. Didnt seem to have a lot squishing out when I placed the intake on....but I may have kept closer toward the inside edges.
Those end seals dont hold back pressure, right? Just splashing? The foam seals I had in there didnt seem all that swift but didnt seem to leak much..a little seepage mayeb.
I do know I spent a good 90 minutes cleaning the mating surfaces....so THAT wont be my problem if there is one....LOL
I still have a couple hours of stuff to do....drain and refill oil, reconnect all the stuff I disconnected to pull the intake, water pump belt, add coolant, install the carb again...etc etc etc
How long do you guys typically let RTV set up on an intake before running the engine? The tube says 24 hrs.....