Making a head gasket?

[Magua]

I've talked to econo honda about ordering a new head gasket for my bike and apparently they have none in stock and they can't get new ones from Japan anymore.

This leaves me with ordering from the UK (David silver spares, $90 all up including delivery for a whole engine gasket kit, pretty damned good deal it seems) or making one.

I'll probably end up buying the gasket kit from David Silver as I could do with one or two more to stop some leaks, but for interest's sake how easy would it be to make one or have one made? Paper, metal, rubber?

Edit: This should probably be in the engine section.

[Pixie]

there are companies that will custom make head gaskets or you could make one out of copper sheet - either way $ 90 dollars is probably are good deal,I doubt the other 2 options will save you much

[imdying]

Could try somone like Shuk?

[awayatc]

Chuck do them indeed, but $90 all up from the uk......what's the problem?

[xwhatsit]

I've punched out a couple of gaskets now out of gasket sheet material, on my Uncle's urging. Ball peen hammer and the original part.

A head gasket is a bit different though, isn't it? It needs to compress a specified amount so as to keep proper compression ratio and withstand a fair bit of pressure compared to a side-cover gasket or exhaust port.

[The Pastor]

oh you were talking about head gaskets, i thought you ment engine side cover for some reason when you asked if u should make it out of paper.

the answer is no. i think ive told you this before actually. or was it pyrocam.

[Warr]

Needs to be special stuff for sure to withstand combustion chamber heat and pressure. Do you have a Blackwell Paykel shop handy. They should have the right stuff.
The material will be too thick to use a ball peen hammer on it.
Will need to cut and drill it.

[Magua]

oh you were talking about head gaskets, i thought you ment engine side cover for some reason when you asked if u should make it out of paper.

the answer is no. i think ive told you this before actually. or was it pyrocam.

Pyro seemed to think that I could make one from paper. I was talking to you about the engine side cover.

I'll be ordering the engine gasket kit from David Silver. Thanks for the responses.

[awayatc]

Sorry if previous response was a bit shortish....
Shuck had somebody make me up once a headgasket once because I could not get one supplied.
They do it all the time for classics etc....
Its made out of brass/copper shiny stuff and you need to supply the old one .....
It is only good if your bike is aircooled (the CB 400 I presume..) not if it is watercooled....
I got mine for $30 or $40, but that was a few years ago, and was a single cylinder.
The gasket was a bit thicker then the original one, so a bit less compression.......
Hope that helps you make up your mind, but $90 sounds quite reasonable to me.....
only a couple bottles of milk...
or a fill upp for a small cage...
Good luck

[FROSTY:Me]

Shuck engineering--drop ya old gasket off wait a week -pick up new gasket.

[Bonez]

ATHENA make a top set gasket set for the 400N. Vesrah make a CB400T/T1/T2 top set which is compatable with the 400N. But $90 for a full set delivered is damn good buying.

[xwhatsit]

ATHENA make a top set gasket set for the 400N. Vesrah make a CB400T/T1/T2 top set which is compatable with the 400N. But $90 for a full set delivered is damn good buying.

T'aint genuine, though, this David Silver kit. Doesn't say what sort of aftermarket it was, Vesrah you hear decent things, but I've heard of at least one 250RS which died when using a pattern head gasket (blocked-off oil passage-way). Probably nothing to worry about these days, though.

I quite like Mr Silver. He has brake shoes for 7-poond.

[pete376403]

Ive used Athena gasket sets on a GS1100 Suzuki and an FZR1000 Yamaha. Both were excellent quality (and didn't block any holes that shouldn't have been blocked)
Got them from Bert Kingston in Aus www.bkperformance.com.au

[sweetp]

quite often them missing oil holes are there....but the head gasket installed upside down . Alot of cylinder layouts are symmetrical and it is easy to plonk the gasket down in the rush to get the head on. Make sure all the holes are open and passages clear. Some automotive head gaskets are marked with "top"...but many arent either. A few minutes checking will save a whole lot of heartache.

[Motu]

I used to make head gaskets out of copper sheet for my BSA M20 because there were none available.They weren't as good as a genuine copper/asbestos,but were good enough to only dribble a bit of oil.Later when Bill Russel shut up shop I found half a dozen M20 gasket sets at the closing down sale.The bastard denied he had any BSA parts left for years.....I knew he had parts as I had worked next door and seen the old stuff in there.

There have always been old gasket makers doing small production runs from a home workshop or industrial unit.But it's been a few years since I last had to use one,I'm sure the last guy I knew has moved on.