Cam Cover Gasket

[nebogipfel]

Anyone know if you can get a more effective cam cover gasket?

Mine is a horrible laminated cork thing which delaminates when you take the cover off. I'm sure they used to be solid cork?

Thanks

[john.p.clegg]

Or you could use silicone,a small bead on the clean dry cam cover,placed gently on the slightly oiled head face and left overnight to go off,trimmed as necessary,has done me for years,time after time....
John

[reb53]

John,

Could you elaborate a little.
I presume you mean you let the weight of the cover squish it a bit and then the next day are able to bolt it down properly.
Are any silicones better than others or all much the same?
Thanks,

Ralph.

[john.p.clegg]

Ralph
Yes and Yes,you can trim the outside after letting the cam cover down and leave overnight to cure but I don't know which are better than others ,we need a specialist in that field to help out here,I just know mine has been oiltight for years and is re-usable over and over again.
Just be carefull not to allow any blobs of silicone into the oil,it doesn't help the engine at all....

John

[nebogipfel]

Thanks for that John, I'm not a big fan of instant gasket, but I haven't tried it in the way you suggest.

I was hoping that someone knew of a manufactured replacement perhaps made of neoprene or something similar?

[oldokie]

I suppose you could get sheet of 3/16 Garloc and cut your own, but I've had good luck with Ultra Blue RTV applied like John said.

[richboyd]

I really like the idea of a custom molded, carefully trimmed, silicone gasket.
Would it help to have some other gasket material in that mix, such as the original cork-sandwich stuff, or a custom cut paper gasket.

I guess I am asking about the durability of a pure-silicone gasket solution as opposed to solution that includes a traditional gasket material coated with silicone (and kept from sticking to the metal surfaces).

Any of you material-science types out there care to wade in?

[rgh0]

I see no problem with the durability of a silicone solution provided you use a suitable high quality silicone and are very careful not to get lumps of excess inside the engine. Toyota used silicone to seal the cam cover on my Landcruiser and that has held up for 6 years and 100000 miles.

Personally I stick the cork gasket to the cam cover with loctite aviation gasket cement No3 and leave an oil film on the head when I bolt it down so it does not stick and it comes off clean when I remove the cam cover. The gaskets I get here are still a solid cork one and not laminated but it should work for either.

regards
Rohan

[cliveyboy]

Rohans comment about leaving a film of oil on the head to stop the gasket sticking is actually quite a bit more crucial than we think.
When ever I fit gaskets especially O rings I always make sure (if the situation allows it) to apply a bit of oil or better still a smear of light grease to the surface of the seal/gasket. Silicon grease is excellent for using on O rings on the vacuum system etc
The grease will take up any small discrepancies in the surface of the seal and greatly improve sealing.

Clive

[sk178ta]

Just last night heard this sorry tale. See www.pekingto parishaslam.blogspot.com. The engine is totally trashed, as in totally, with less than 3 weeks to go until the cars are shipped to China. It seems the sump was sealed with silicone in the rebuild 2000 miles ago, some excess silicone has blocked the oil galleries.
This is in a 50`s lazy Chevrolet engine so do be carefull.
Jim

[Tonyw]

I have had excellent results with cork gaskets by simply making sure that the mating surface on the rocker cover is spotlessly clean, get a can of 3M or similar spray contact adhesive and simply spray the gasket then stick it to the cover, use a smear of light grease on the head and as long as you do not over tighten the cover and distort the cork you will be able to use this gasket over and over again as the gasket always stays with the cover and fails to stick to the head.

Tony W

[nebogipfel]

...... some excess silicone has blocked the oil galleries.

Jim, This has always been my feeling about silicone gasket. Whenever I use it I seem to end up making a right old mess.

I think, in the absence of a better solution I'll go with a solid cork gasket - If I can find one

[poiuyt]

I buy my gaskets from Dave Bean and use a small amount of the gray RTP (label states it resists oil) on both sides of the gasket. Also put s light coat of oil on the head, but the gasket usually is destroyed when I remove the cam cover. However, I don't do this very often, so who cares if it needs a new gasket once a year or so.

Steve B