[Hessian]

Hey kids, heres the question for today:

What could I use for a base gasket on the little 100cc kawasaki? The head gasket is OK, but the bottom one is stuffed, like in half and stuck onto the metal.

Obviously I'll be cleaning up the surface and removing the old one, but I was thinking of using gasket goo or permatex.

Whaddya reckon?

 

[shane]

how about a new gasket?

 

[Hessian]

yeah, they dont exist. its hard to find any parts for

 

[shane]

whats the material? hi temp or plain carboard?

 

[Matt]

make your own.

apparently you can cut or hammer new ones...

 

[shane]

if its not hi temp material, you can use the cardboard from a cereal box (no im not joking)

just lay it over the top of the base and use a sharp knife to cut it out. or if your worried, trace it out and then cut it out

 

[Matt]

or you could play it safe and just buy a gasket kit thingy from supercheap.

just saying.

 

[Stavros]

Get yourself some gasket paper, Hessian.

You can get it in a range of thicknesses and it seals really well. Try any automotive or engine parts place. If they cannot supply it themselves they can almost certainly advise where to get it.

I bought a big sheet (1200mm by 800mm, I think) of really thick gasket paper for about $15 a few weeks ago. It isn't expensive, and it's much, much better than an old cereal box.

 

[smiley_666]

use a cornflakes box... its just as good as the proper gasket material as shane said.
put cardboard over part, then tap around the edges *gently* with the round end of a hammer (ball pein?)

 

[Hessian]

Righto, I'll have to do that then. Maybe experiment a bit

 

[Chukitova]

I have tried cornflake box for side cover gaskets before. DONT use it. It caused numerous oil leaks and no end of greif for me. It is also VERY hard to remove it when you go to replace the carboard with a real gasket.

What you need to do is buy a sheet of gasket paper from supercheap. It is about 5 bucks for a sheet. Get the thinnest one they sell for a cylinder gasket. Then just use the bottom of the block as a template, pressing the gasket paper over it to leave an impression then cut it out with a scalpel.

Dont use the hammer method either. That is good for steel parts, but not for aluminium. You'll make lovely little dents in your gasket surface if you do.

 

[Matt]

good call an the Al there. i didn't think of that.

 

[grayman]

Then just use the bottom of the block as a template, pressing the gasket paper over it to leave an impression then cut it out with a scalpel.

My old man used to use stamp ink (on the facing pressed onto the gasket paper) to mark out the gasket shape...this for a an old 196x 2-stroke West Bend outboard motor that seemed to need a complete overhaul every year.

 

[smiley_666]

you can use the hammer, you only just tap it gently... no where hard enough to start denting shit

 

[Chukitova]

Hard enough to split gasket card is hard enough to mark aluminium.

 

[Hessian]

I wont be using a hammer, but the ink sounds like a good idea. I'll pick up a scalple or hobby knife from the local shop and snippity snip away

 

[Johnnie5]

get yourself some gasket paper and use the permatex aviation cement

you could of course go to kawasaki

 

[Hessian]

Kawasaki are the devil in Rockhampton. Seriously, they are crap.