Originally Posted by MolaKule
When discussing seals such as in engines, transmissions, and other driveline components, the context is that of using flexible, elastomeric materials to keep fluids contained within the mechanical system that have rotating components exiting the system, such as protruding rotating shafts.
For a gasket, the context is that of using a material (such as silicone or cork or composite), or some other material to keep fluids contained in and around stationary objects, such as the valve cover gasket on an engine or the pan gasket on an automatic transmission.
Both seals and gaskets "prevent" loss of fluids...
Conditioning seals refers to the following actions:
Seal swell due to Seal elastomer molecular replacement
Seal cleaning,
.