Re: [2cylinderhondas] Steel Rule Dies (was Re: alternative to NOS g

[dealadayray]

Hi Group;
Since I was brought in by way of a head gasket I am having made for my
restorations, I too like Miles am using a Steam fitting type gasket for the
other casings and the Cam base and bottom of the cylinder. In fact some time
ago Miles pointed me to that direction. The material has a Nitrile binder
with a synthetic fiber material. Which has excellent solvent resistance
unless you are using a Ketone substance, reacts good with diluted or
concentrated acid resistance and resists good to excellent to Oil, Gas,
Animal and Vegetable oil, water absorption Oxidation heat and cold. Not
very good against flame and silicone based RTV will cause it to break-up.
So here is a gasket material that is a rubber based material with a tensile
strength of 2000 psi. I silk screen the gaskets onto the front of the
gasket material and cut them when I need a gasket. If you use a RTV
silicone based sealer on the gasket it will fail. I use a copper tack
adhesive which helps hold the gasket in place while bolting everything up.
The price of the gasket material because of it's rubber based products goes
up and down with the price of oil.
Using a copying machine to make patterns of the gaskets is ok for the first
two maybe three generations but even then it is getting small. Because even
with the copier set at 100% it is reduced .9, but it is still reduced. I
had the gaskets photographed and then silk screen them onto the gasket
material. Not cheap, but not $1500.00 to make the cutters and that does not
count the press to stamp them out. Another way is lazar cut, but the
program does not exist and making a computer program to run the lazar
machine to cut one set of gaskets is cost prohibitive.
All the motors I have put together using this material did not leak. Also,
I use the 1/64th thick gasket material which allows the cam box to give back
some of the wear causing your rocker arms not to adjust in anymore.
And, because we are talking about leaks....
But leaks can happen for many reasons, most common are the cases being
warped, all the old gasket material is not removed, the bolts not being
torque or over torqued and threads being stripped. Loctite is a brand name
and is only good if the correct torque is achieved. I have read some very
interesting suggestions about both Red and Blue, but it applied to the use
of this very interesting stuff back in he 70's. I use Green #290
Threadlocker.
Now this is a quote form Carroll Smith's book - Nuts, Bolts, Fasteners
and Plumbing Handbook, Carroll Smith is both an Engineer and race car
constructor. He writes - "Threadlocker #290 (Green). Believe it or not,
this is a penetrating compound that locks already assembled threaded
fasteners. I first ran into it under the name of Loctite Super Wick-in in
Australia. The fluid is drawn into assembled and torqued threads by
capillary action and cures to a medium strength similar to that of #242
(Blue Loctite). Like all of the Loctite compounds, #290 does not like oil
or grease, so I spray the assembly to be treated with Loctite Primer N,
Brake Clean or some similar aerosol cleaner before I apply the magic. Since
I end up running a lot of cars that have been assembled by folks I don't
know, I find Loctite #290 to be a great comfort. Porosity Sealant #290
(green) Same Stuff-we just didn't know it. In addition to locking threads,
#290 will wick itself into any porous metal (including both ferrous and
nonferrous castings and welds) and cures to form a tough, elastic and
pressure-resistant seal that is resistant to fuels, lubes and solvents. It
brushes on and the excess cleans off with a rag. I use it as a matter of
course on the weld seams of all tanks, reservoirs and hard lines."
So all the bull about Green Loctite being to strong for the bolts in your
Honda 600 is just that "Bull".
But we also mentioned the bolts being torqued. And, after retorquing all
your bolts into the aluminum cases your bound to have threads that need
rethreading. I use two, Helicoil's and Tridair's Keensert. The helicoil is
easy to come by, but if the spark plug hole spits out a plug, the only thing
that will fix and seal the opening is a Keensert with a seal on top. Most
VW shops have the capability of doing this job very well.
So it takes three things to have a leak free engine, 1. Good straight
surfaces and castings. 2. well fitting gaskets. and 3. bolts that will
torque to spec and an substance that will Hold them there. Caues, that
Honda 600 engine will shake your teeth out given the chance.
Bill