Making your own gaskets

[Rosteri]

I did an interesting trial today - my heads are ported and I need gaskets with bigger openings, so I’ve been making them with a knife. Unfortunately I need to seal a water port with some extra adhesive, so everytime the throttle body comes off,  I have to make a new one. Lot’s of work. My record was 3 pcs in one day during the troubleshooting period…

 

Today I tried to cnc cut them, as I’m currently missing access to a laser. Internet claims you can’t machine gaskets directly, as there will be a burr / it will rip. I did a few trials and a 1 mm cutter at 10 krpm worked fine, I just used double sided tape to secure the gasket and had a 0.15 mm air gap for the cutter not to touch the table.

 

There is a burr, but it comes off easily with some sandpaper.

 

Finally some stock: 

 

Edited April 3, 2022 by Rosteri

[MV8]

What are the specs and thickness on the gasket material?

I'm not familiar with your intake. Is the purpose of the coolant jacket to guard against throttle icing? Is it necessary for your usage? If not you could fit a metal gasket that stays on the head and blocks the passage, like a full soft aluminum or annealed copper, or fit the paper gasket on top of the metal one. No more coolant and sealer to deal with as long as the system is not pressurized when you remove the intake.

[Rosteri]

Thanks MV8 -  a metal gasket that would stay in place is a very good suggestion. The upper port is for air venting (from the original intake manifold) and the lower port is circulation back to water pump, when the thermostat is closed. I tapped the circulation connection directly to the head, so both could be blocked from my perspective, however I can't fit studs as there is no room for nuts on my throttle body (I use socket head bolts). If I would use flange sealant for the metal gasket, then it would most likely be ok also without studs, as it would be bonded at least a little when the throttle body is removed. I'll definitely take this into consideration next time I remove it.

 

 

Edited April 4, 2022 by Rosteri

[DavidL]

My wife has hacked a Cricut (cricut.com) hobby cutting tool to make things for her work.  It's basically an X/Y plotter that carries a knife (several types available), and can cut all sorts of very intricate patterns.  I'll bet it could be used for gasket making!

 

 

[Rosteri]

There are actually a few videos on using a Cricut for gaskets, it looks like a great little tool!