1850 Inlet manifold gasket comparison

[yorkshire_spam]

Having had issues getting the water passages to seal when refitting the inlet manifold on Binny (1850 Dolomite) I thought it would be interesting to compare the new blue grey ones against red-ish NOS style ones.

The difference in thickness is really quite large...

Red-ish NOS ones - 0.0215" (about 22 thou on average)
Blue gray ones - 0.065"

About 3 times thicker!

[GTS290N]

It's some years since I bought some.
The first were purchased from Rimmer Bros, they were made of very thin paper - I didn't fit them, they just didn't look right.
I then bought from TD Fitchett, the gaskets were much thicker. Used them, no issues.

[Carledo]

I recently fitted a Rimmers blue manifold gasket to Rich's Sprint. Both head and (Weber) manifold were spotlessly clean and appeared, to all intents and purposes, flat. It leaked like a sieve, as soon as the coolant level reached the joint, without even starting the engine. I had to remove the manifold again and ladle a load of silicone round the water gallery before it would seal and hold running pressure! I wasn't impressed! But i'm at a bit of a loss as to WHY? Is the paper they are using somehow uneven in thickness? Or porous? It doesn't make sense!

Steve

[yorkshire_spam]

It leaked like a sieve, as soon as the coolant level reached the joint, without even starting the engine. I had to remove the manifold again and ladle a load of silicone round the water gallery before it would seal and hold running pressure!

Exactly the issue I had the first time I tried to refit the manifold on Binny.
I might make enquiries with some gasket companies about getting a batch closer to the original thickness made up.

[xvivalve]

Both 1850 and Sprint inlets have in my opinion a missing bolt; ideally they both need another in the bottom right corner to effect a good seal to the water jacket. My thinking is a thicker gasket is able to be compressed by the bolts and should therefore be a better option...EXCEPT in the bottom right hand corner where the missing bolt cannot do its job. A thinner gasket has less compressibility and therefore the manifold gets a more even interface with the head and no leak.

[Toledo Man]

I fitted one from TD Fitchett a few years back when I swapped the inlet manifold. It hasn't leaked ever since.

[dollyman]

The redish gaskets were the ones that are in "payen" gasket sets therefore good quality. You to get spurious makes of gasket sets years ago and they would not either I shudder to think of all the gaskets i have thrown away over the years.

Tony.

[xvivalve]

Reddish = asbestos containing gasket.

It was good stuff in so many ways, that asbestos!!

[yorkshire_spam]

Both 1850 and Sprint inlets have in my opinion a missing bolt; ideally they both need another in the bottom right corner to effect a good seal to the water jacket. My thinking is a thicker gasket is able to be compressed by the bolts and should therefore be a better option...EXCEPT in the bottom right hand corner where the missing bolt cannot do its job. A thinner gasket has less compressibility and therefore the manifold gets a more even interface with the head and no leak.

I think the thicker gaskets can also prevent the O ring between the head and the manifold getting sufficient clamp to stop the front waterway leaking into no #1 inlet.
I'd like to meet whoever left that long waterway slot in the head at the rear and shake them warmly by the neck!