Home made gaskets

[shoestringmariner]

Hey all, what do you guys use to make gaskets when you cant find originals? I’ve heard of people using cereal boxes which might be ok for some things, but what about areas such as gear cases and items that are submerged or constantly wet?

[mr-asa]

You can just use gasket material for underwater items. Virtually every auto manufacturer uses paper gasket material in the cooling system. However, if it is underwater I feel it would be safe to say that on all but the really old stuff there’s usually rubber as a gasket material from the factory.

[r-c]

I found gasket material at my local ACE Hardware store not to mention about any auto parts store has it. The grayish-blackish color material is better than tan. Both a 1/32" and 1/16" thickness is available and needed. Many under water parts are metal to metal with a sealer. Loc-tite 518 is one or the 3-M window sealer is good too. Clean surfaces well with acetone or similar and don’t tough after cleaning. Leather cutting tools are good for making holes, X-acto knifes, scissors and a box knife does the rest. I have even used a note book hole punch to make holes. For exhaust you need to get a special gasket from the auto parts store with a wire mess in it as that has a material to take the heat, expansion and contraction.

[joecb]

Like R.C. said, no one gasket material will do the job for all your motor needs. The selection of the right material for a specific application depends no many factors… joint design, clamping force, operating temperature, operating pressure, fluid compatibility… wow! check here for an idea of what is available

http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/searc … 0&sortBy=1

Joe B

[cajuncook1]

Here is a collection of comments and recommendations for types of gasket material. To see better, download the picture to your computer, so you can enlarge the comments for better viewing.

[shoestringmariner]

Excellent, thanks much folks. I was not aware these materials were available in sheet form, save for cork

[melugin]

I use Gortex/tm material almost exclusively if I don’t stock a match or one is not readily available. This is a marshmallow-like tape in several dimensions which can be traced along any shape. Stocked by bearing supply companies.

[Goman]

If your old paper gaskets are still in decent shape you can apply a good gasket sealer to them. I’m using some kind of Permatex hi tac stuff but someone out there should mention something better.

[Author]

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