10 replies to this topic

[shed]

hi

lets not worry about the 'whys' and be more hyperthetical than technical, but if you got a copper sheet 2mm thick and cut your own bore holes out then would that work ok?! i know a normal copper gasket has rings around the bores but i dont know if it would need them if the copper was thicker than a standard copper gasket (i.e. same thickness as the rings)??

cheers

[Ethel]

Probably not - the fire rings also ensure the gasket fits tightest around the cylinders. A uniform gasket is likely to be tightest where it's squeezed the hardest: around the head studs.

[new_zealand _minis]

vmax scart sells a solid headgasket for supercharged motors that have had problems blowing gaskets . so i would say it will work good

[Wil_h]

The SC Copper head gaskets use seperate fire rings

http://www.twinkam.c...5...=SC059.001

From a very basic point of view, the melting point of Copper is 400 deg lower than steel, but both are still above internal cylinder average temperatures. I am not a metallurgist though.

[tommy13]

Many of the old British motorcycles used solid copper with no real problems. The gasket must be annealed before it is fitted or reused. There is no room for slight imperfections in the surface finish of the head or block which must be perfectly flat.
The bikes were not water cooled so sealing here was not a problem.

[Sprocket]

the problem with a plain copper head gasket is that it doesn't seal the fluids very well. Perfectly fine for the combustion chambers. The adition of a 'Wills ring' or wire ringing the block will increase the gas seal on the combustion chamber, but, in my opinion, this is not really a problem, sealing the fluids is though. Adding orings or using RTV around the fluid holes are options. I woud personally use orings though.

I have modified my 16v block to take just a copper fire ring around the combustion chambers, since the rest of the block has been dry decked. Just waiting to try it out

Edited by Sprocket, 05 June 2011 - 11:33 AM.

[shed]

thanks for the replys. this is to fit a 16v head im toying with. issue ive got using a mini copper gasket is that id have to drill out holes for oil + water as im not going dry decked so although would have rings for bores, thats all it would have. and loads of holes i dont need.

im thinking if i could over-drill the water + oil holes and fit a little tube in them and again for the head so the tube is wedges between em both, the gasket would fit over the tubes so the fluids wouldnt come into contact with the gasket then that should solve that problem. if its as 'simple' as that then as long as rings around the bores arnt too important id rather buy a sheet of copper and make my own gasket then use a mini gasket with loads of holes in it.

thats the theory anyway.

[Sprocket]

Dry deck it, it'll be easier in the long run. You can then use the BK450 without any issues, and they are cheap as chips.

Alternatively, use o rings. The 'tube' idea sounds complicated, when there are other tried and tested ways.

[shed]

not sure whats involved in dry deck as its not a BMW head. thinking just to tap out the oil holes and screw in threaded pipes and leave em stickin out a few mm to slot into the head

[Sprocket]

Those pipes will still need sealing between block and head, which defeats the point in fitting them? What's wrong with fitting orings in the holes drilled for these passages?

Never suggested it was a BMW head. However, in that instance you will have to work out which way will be best suited.

[shed]

yea i know you didnt suggest BMW but as thats the common one it wouldve made sense to think so.

i'll see what happens LOL