On Wed, 20 Dec 1995, John wrote:

 g'day everyone -
      
      I procured a replacement engine for my tired 82 westie and am slowy 
      removing and cleaning parts from my old engine.  There seems to have 
      been some sealant which looks alot like RTV around some of the places 
      where the tin meets the engine towards the back where the fan and oil 
      filler pipe is.
     
      What's the purpose and does anyone know what I should use there on the 
      new engine ?
     
      Thanks much
      
      john clark

I don't have a definitive answer to this but here's food for thought.
I've heard of people trying to maximise the effectiveness of the cooling
system on beetle/bus/T3 engines by blocking any air leaks between the 
tin ware and engine with a high temp silicon sealant.   

Cheers

Aaron Sedgmen
'74 camper