Quote:
Originally Posted by DeRRis
Thanks for your advise Karl. I've got some Wurth sealant that I used on VW flat four engines so I could go that way. But if it was designed to have a gasket, and the old one lasted 40 years, why go with sealant?
Seeing your more than clean engine makes me feel ashamed of my dirty motor  |
A 40 year young gasket! Classic material. I wouldn't hesitate to say almost anything made 40 years ago was made better than stuff made today---seems it should be other way around. Why use a gasket? Convenience. In critical areas though, 'common gaskets of today' suck IMHO. Let's think about engine environment---start it up and immediately heat begins at cylinders and radiates outward. As this occurs, engine's metal molecules are expanding in a progressive wave moving outwards through engine. Chain housings heat up sooner than covers... and probably slightly more due to their proximity to heat source. Shut engine off... contraction begins with cooling wave moving back into engine. Over and over this very slight motion of metal expanding and contracting occurs. For today's crap pulp gaskets... this environment is
hell. As J mentioned, these metal parts are prone to warping over time. And hot oil: give it a micron to escape... it will.
I'm not saying every gasket is guaranteed to fail at the chain covers. My input here is based on sealant having proven itself (in my experience) to perform better in this area over commonly available gaskets. Surly there's gasket media that will work, but cutting it... that would take more time than applying a good sealant.
Just took pic of bottom of same chain cover posted above. Now has just over 1,500 miles on it. Squat mileage... but thought sharing a look would be interesting. (What is bound to leak in this area is oil pressure sending unit mounted above. Have not thought about it prior this moment but should consider sealing that part when it's new. As I recall, its top cap is crush wrapped around bottom and it is that seam that eventually leaks.)
No worries on my clean engine---process of getting it dirty is in the works.
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