Gaskets VS. RTV

[DCrippa]

Hi,

There's a gasket fabrication guide on my little website if you care to have a look. It's not hard.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

Is this the page?

http://members.dslextreme.com/users/storagecliff1/images/gasket_templates.html

At $6 a roll I'll print and trace - question is does napa have that price?

I just realized the templates are for the 850 - so it may be lipstick after all unless they also work for 550?

[bakirkwold]

Hi,

There's a gasket fabrication guide on my little website if you care to have a look. It's not hard.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

Is there gasket templates for the 450?

[john82q]

no need for templates

All you need is sharp scissors, hammer and a hole punch.

A method slightly different from the guide.

- with the material laid over the upturned cover, rub (not hit FFS) the ball end of a small ball pein hammer, over the area of a hole, and a hole next to it without letting the gasket material move. (hold with one hand rub with the other, only a few strokes are needed)

- Turn the material over there will be a impression of the hole locations left, use the hole punch for neat fitting holes.

- return the material to the cover and poke two of the bolts though the holes you just cut and the cover. (returns it to same location)

- rub two more holes on the same edge of the cover, making sure the material is pulled out flat and do the punch thing.

-repeat until all holes are done.

- with all the bolts in , use the flat side of the hammer and rub along the outer and inner edges of the cover.

- cut out with sharp scissors, following the rubbed impression left.


Sounds a like lot, but it sounds more that it is, I can cut a tappet cover in 15 mins flat.

also the cheap material from auto shops (so called oil jointing paper, cellulose based) wont last in hi temp enviroments, (such as tappet covers) so consider the gasket a single use item, but at $9 a meter I dont care.

John

[850 Combat]

I still like to use silicone based gasket sealant when assembling with gaskets. I like to let it tack before I place the gasket on the part, and let it cure brfore final torque.

I also like to dope gaskets with high temperature anti sieze, particularly at locations which regularly require access, such as valve covers. I believe that even silicone gasket sealer helps keep gaskets from sticking.

A couple of my GS's seemed to have had their valve covers assembled dry. Its not that fun to scrape the paper off the head, and I'm certain that I was not able to get all of the gasket material out of the engine that fell in during the scraping process.

On GS's, I've been using sealant between the valve cover and the gasket and anti sieze between the gasket and the head. I also put some sealant on the half moons to the head as well

I've been using anti-sieze on British bike gaskets for well over thirty years.

[DCrippa]

All you need is sharp scissors, hammer and a hole punch.

A method slightly different from the guide.

- with the material laid over the upturned cover, rub (not hit FFS) the ball end of a small ball pein hammer, over the area of a hole, and a hole next to it without letting the gasket material move. (hold with one hand rub with the other, only a few strokes are needed)

- Turn the material over there will be a impression of the hole locations left, use the hole punch for neat fitting holes.

- return the material to the cover and poke two of the bolts though the holes you just cut and the cover. (returns it to same location)

- rub two more holes on the same edge of the cover, making sure the material is pulled out flat and do the punch thing.

-repeat until all holes are done.

- with all the bolts in , use the flat side of the hammer and rub along the outer and inner edges of the cover.

- cut out with sharp scissors, following the rubbed impression left.


Sounds a like lot, but it sounds more that it is, I can cut a tappet cover in 15 mins flat.

also the cheap material from auto shops (so called oil jointing paper, cellulose based) wont last in hi temp enviroments, (such as tappet covers) so consider the gasket a single use item, but at $9 a meter I dont care.

John

That's a brilliant technique - and spares me the need to source lipstick. LoL

[bakirkwold]

Okay. I talked to someone who has been working and building bikes since he was 16 he is 40 now. He built a 90 grand bike. He knows his stuff. He said to use this stuff http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...7ARQ0V9VBD7QZQ

He also said this is what ducati uses for gaskets. The only place where you need a gasket is when you are removing a cover frequently.

[chuck hahn]

Hand held paper ( ticket ) punch works well for bolt holes.

[1948man]

I buy one cheap valve cover gasket, lay it over the gasket making material, and trace around it with a pen. Then cut out with sharp scissors and hole punch set. Use the gasket you made and keep the one you bought just in case the one you cut out doesn't work well. If the one you cut out is doing good after a couple of weeks, you can cut out a couple more using the "store-bought" one to trace from and you have several spares. It is a fairly tedious task for a valve cover gasket.

[DCrippa]

I hear ya - I'm just always looking for ways to stretch what little funds I have for this project. If it's something I can DIY I usually try to go that route - got more time available than $...but I can see it is quite a bit of work - so i will get a complete set from z1 and then trace those to have the next set.

[DCrippa]

So where do you all source the rolls? would auto zone have rolls of the right gasket paper?

[koolaid_kid]

Yes. IIRC they have 2 thicknesses of the gasket material. Choose the appropriate thickness and you should be GTG.

[DCrippa]

Cool so as noted on Basscliff's page 1/32" and 1/16" - and IIRC is the brand I should ask for.

[DCrippa]

Oh IIRC ..If I remember correctly ... Got it, never mind.

But I guess is there a specific brand that is best?