When I am draining the coolant from the block, is the silicone really necessary when screwing the plug back into the block??? Is any silicone okay or is there a special automotive silicone I should be using??? On bseries.net, they say to use red silicone, but why???TIA

 

I don't know if you NEED to use silicone seal, but red silicone is usually high temp stuff. seems like a good idea to me condiering the location of the plug.

 

I would suggest just replacing the washer

 

I didn't do anything; no leakage yet. If it starts to leak, I will go get some and use it.