I do not think I use two tubes of silicon a year in my shop when building older engines. I only use a touch in corners of the intake and
oil pan and no place else on older engines. They were made for gaskets and it is best to stick with them. I do use spray copper coat on cork and paper gaskets to help seal the gasket but nothing else.
As pointed out earlier in this post getting silicone on the inside of an engine is a really bad thing. I have had to pull other folks engines down for lack of
oil pressure and found silicon in the
oil screen as well as engines that start to run hot after someone replaced the timing cover and water pump only to find the rad full of silicon.
A little goes a LONG way.