Removeing head gaskets!

[Fiorelli]

How hard would it be to put an engine together with out head gaskets. I need the compression. This is for my pulling tractor so some idle time runing acrost the scale and a hard pull for up to 300 ft would be what it does. Could I use some coper coat and make it work or would using some valve grinding compound and laping the heads on the blocks and using a little coper coat work. I've thought about using some 0.010 thick coper if I can find some with a little coper coat. But it would be really nice to get rid of the gasket all together. The stock head gasket have over a 5.5 inch bore and are 0.070 thick. This should give me a point or two in compression getting rid of the gasket.

I need all the help I can get I'm trying to look respectfull with my small 806 cid six running aginst 1000 to 1100+ cid six's.

Jeremy

 

[rbohm]

8) contact permatex. they built race motors in the 70's without gaskets. they used their products exclusively and their motors were competitive as well as durable.

 

[addo]

You have to scrape the head/block, and other mating faces, using engineer's blue and a surface table. I believe it was Rolls-Royce who did this on a lot of their aero motors.

The faces bed together with time and thermal cycling, to produce a durable seal.

 

[Anonymous]

This idea probably isnt as hard as it sounds.
What about surfacing the heads and block perfectly flat and smooth. The forced induction boys like to o ring blocks. What about copper rings around combustion chambers and rubber/neoprene rings around water.coolant and oil passages.
Happy motoring,
Noel

 

[SuperMag]

You have to scrape the head/block, and other mating faces, using engineer's blue and a surface table. I believe it was Rolls-Royce who did this on a lot of their aero motors.

Two questions come immediately to mind-- (1) If this works, why do we still screw around w/ head gaskets? (2) Does this work on dissimilar metals, i.e. Fe block/Al head?

 

[MustangSix]

I think that gaskets are preferred because it otherwise requires a level of machining tolerance that is more costly, it may not be easily redone if the head is ever removed, and it probably wont' work well with dissimilar metals that have significantly different expansion coefficients.

FWIW, the exhaust manifold on the small six was assembled without a gasket at the factory, but once removed, a gasket becomes necessary.

 

[82F100SWB]

Same on the big six, and most of the V8's, Ford wasn't big on exh. manifold gaskets.
Evan

 

[weeds]

In theory, you can get two surfaces smooth enough and when they come in contact for long enough, that they will weld themselves together.

Rotating equipment (including your washing machine) uses the mechanical seal, which is flat to 1 wavelength of light. No gasket or sealer other that two perfectly flat disimilar materials rubbing together.

If you spend enough time (read $$$) you could mate two surfaces to the point where a gasket is not required for a seal. It takes patience, layout blueing, an indexed surface, a hand scraper, patience, and knowledge of the forgotten arts.

 

[Anonymous]

...and one other thing - In my experience, at least - after the engine has been run a while and disassembled, you gotta do it all over again...$&#!

 

[SuperMag]

Wow. The older I get, the more I realize that I don't know very much. Thanks guys.

 

[addo]

Thanks Weeds, for answering that one! Am guilty of some occasional scraping myself (mostly alloy; and little pieces). MarkP, I think that the aero engines were scraped every teardown.

Cheers, Adam.