Mr. Gasket

from Mr. Gasket web site

For decades in the Hot Rod business, the name Mr. Gasket and its gasket material has been synonymous with race-winning power and performance. For a brand to remain dominant for so many years, it takes focus, a commitment to its core market and a keen sense of what the customer wants.

The history of the Mr. Gasket brand is a real American success story. It is a brand that was started by a few guys with a great product and an ambitious plan. It started basically as a one-man operation — hand-cutting custom-made gaskets and selling them from the trunk of a sedan at local Cleveland racetracks and has grown to include a multi-faceted international powerhouse of the industry’s strongest brand names: ACCEL, Hays, Jacobs Electronics, Lakewood, Mallory and of course Mr. Gasket.

These brands, proven over time on racing circuits and drag strips around the world, have earned them legendary status in Motorsports and an unparalleled reputation in the marketplace. Over the past decades, new brands have come online, each serving the core purpose of bringing the best products possible to the marketplace.

Since 1993, hard work and dedication have been rewarded with unbelievable growth and change for "Mr. Gasket", but we’ve never forgotten where we came from. We are still a company strongly dedicated to grassroots enthusiasts, as well as top name racers. Our goal has always been to lead the market with innovative new products designed to push the power, speed, and performance of street and strip machines as quickly as automotive technology advances.

That’s why our brand names carry an amazing level of recognition that spans across the generations. Brand recognition and loyalty like that can only result from commitment to excellence, unequalled quality, and race-winning innovation that grows with the times.

Today, the new Prestolite Performance is an industry leader in the design, manufacturing, importing and distribution of specialty products for the performance aftermarket. Our vast product offering includes over 8,000 part numbers, ranging from racing to performance to appearance products.

Dana victor reinz

In 1904, an engineering student named Clarence Spicer left Cornell University to launch a new business in the vacant corner of a New Jersey factory. While still a student, Spicer had earned a patent for his groundbreaking design of the first practical universal joint to power an automobile. Spicer’s innovation would quite literally unchain the automobile, which had previously relied on chain-and-sprocket drives to transmit power. But at its outset, his new venture was a decidedly bold step. A talented engineer and inventor, Spicer had neither business nor manufacturing experience. And although the automobile was destined to become a global institution, its future was still far from certain at the turn of the 20th century. It was from these uncertain beginnings that Dana Holding Corporation emerged as one of the world’s most influential automotive suppliers. Founded on Spicer’s designs, and fueled by the business acumen of attorney, politician, and financier Charles Dana, the company proceeded to expand its product array, technological expertise, and geographic scope throughout the century. Along the way, Dana Holding Corporation also fostered a progressive, people-oriented culture that has added a unique dimension to the products and services the company provides. Building on these strengths, Dana Holding Corporation products have helped to drive history’s greatest vehicles – from the Model T and the World War II-era Jeep®, to London taxicabs, 18-wheel rigs, giant earth-moving machines, and every car on the NASCAR® racing circuit. As Dana Holding Corporation embarks on its second century, it continues to build on this proud heritage. Dana people continue their passionate pursuit of innovation. And the company continues to deliver on its commitment to advancing the science of mobility for the benefit of its global customers.

in the supply of axles; driveshafts; and structural, sealing, and thermal-management products; as well as genuine service parts. The company's customer base includes virtually every major vehicle manufacturer in the global automotive, commercial vehicle, and off- highway markets, which collectively produce more than 70 million vehicles annually. Based in Toledo, Ohio, the company employs approximately 35,000 people in 26 countries and reported 2007 sales of $8.7 billion, with more than half of this revenue derived from outside the United States.

By working with OEMs, Dana engineers have developed complete engine sealing solutions for all types of gasoline, diesel, and alternative fuel vehicles.

From composite cam covers and multi-layered steel cylinder head gaskets to oil pan gaskets, Dana provides effective top-to-bottom engine sealing systems. Our composite cam covers offer enhanced NVH characteristics, weight savings, increased design flexibility, and improved emissions. Dana’s patented designs for cylinder head gaskets, such as the Wave-Stopper^® cylinder head gaskets, successfully address the sealing challenges of today’s advanced engine designs.

ACL "Automotive Components Limited"

from ACL website.
ACL traces its past to 1922 when Geoff Russell began manufacturing engine parts for Australia's emerging automotive industry. This business became the foundation for Repco Ltd.

The ACL Group started as a management buyout company when it acquired a group of businesses from Repco Ltd in 1986. The name "Automotive Components Limited" and the Trade mark "ACL" were first used by a former listed public company of that name in 1951. The "original" ACL was acquired by Repco in 1965. The Group is an amalgamation of 27 businesses over a period of 86 years. The ACL Group now has sales of $65m per annum and employs 400 people.

ACL designs and manufactures cylinder head gaskets for various market segments and products include Multi-layer Steel, Graphite and Fibre-based head gaskets.
Exhaust system gaskets including manifold, ECU, converter and collar gaskets are manufactured in steel laminate, steel/fibre composites and steel/graphite composites.
Other secondary gaskets including throttle body, inlet manifold, oil pump, timing cover and sump gaskets are made from a wide variety of materials and processes.
A complete range of gasket sets sold as Monotorque Brand for the Australian and International replacement markets

ROL gaskets

ROL Manufacturing of Canada Ltd. was founded in Montreal, Quebec by Carol (Karl) Haller as a family owned company committed to high quality and technological innovation. The name ROL is actually derived from Mr. Haller's first name. ROL gaskets provide very good quality automotive gaskets.

CRP Industries import and domestic parts

CRP - representing manufacturers of high quality product lines across industry borders and geographic frontiers.

CRP has established a solid reputation for supporting and exceeding their customers' expectations. The extensive product lines span three market segments: Automotive Aftermarket Parts, High Speed Motors and Industrial Hoses. All their products are backed by the CRP promise of quality and superior service.

Originally named Conti Rubber Products Inc., CRP Industries was founded in 1954 to represent the German firm Continental AG in the USA marketplace. The company changed its name to CRP to reflect its expanded focus, which today includes several other prestigious lines.

A core business of CRP is the sale of automotive aftermarket parts for the Import and Domestic markets. CRP is proud to be associated with over 20 of the most distinguished manufacturers in Europe, North American and Asia. Our associations have provided us the opportunity to serve customers such as BMW of North America and Volkswagen in Canada, USA and Mexico. Today, CRP has warehouses and personnel in the most important NAFTA automobile markets – the East and West Coasts, and Mexico, and we are continually seeking new and innovative products to better serve this market.

CRP carries the complete line of high-frequency, 3-phase electric motors from Walter Perske, the undisputed leader in motors for the woodworking industry. The Perske routing, drilling, sawing, cutting, boring and grinding products are well-known for their unparalleled quality and performance. Besides woodworking, applications for these motors include industries such as plastic, metal, glass, and stone.

We also provide a wide range of high-pressure hoses as well as an outstanding array of hose accessories. Each hose order that leaves a CRP facility is cut, packaged and customized to meet customers' exact needs in applications ranging from paint spray, waterblast and hydraulics to sewer cleaning and non-conductive.

But there's more to CRP than great lines – we recognize that without our people, we wouldn't be the success we have become. The CRP staff is well known for their product knowledge and for their invariable dedication to customer satisfaction, and we are proud of providing for them an atmosphere where commitment is recognized, dedication is rewarded and supporting employee growth is crucial.

Mr. Gasket Fuel Bowl Gaskets

Mr. Gasket Fuel Bowl Gaskets fit most Holley carburetors. The fuel level in the float bowl dictates the throttle angle required to pull fuel into the metering system. Lower-than-specification float levels will delay pullover and create a possible lean condition on throttle tip-in which could be misinterpreted as a weak accelerator pump signal. Conversely, a high float level will cause early pullover and a possible rich tip-in condition. Fuel bowl and metering gaskets are a major part of the engine because they maintain the fuel level in its respective place and thus enhance the float system. Four corner holes and screws are provided for easy installation.

Remflex Graphite Exhaust Manifold Gaskets

Remflex Graphite Exhaust Manifold Gaskets eliminate leaks and facilitate continuous free flow of fuel in your vehicle. Constructed from flexible graphite, these gaskets are designed to withstand up to 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit. They measure 1/8 thick and have a crush rating of 50%, allowing them to seal gaps in the exhaust manifold.

Beck Arnley

Since 1914, Beck/Arnley has focused on the customer, offering high quality parts that look and perform the same as the original part. This ideal has never changed. Today, Beck/Arnley is committed to being the premium supplier of high quality import parts within the automotive market.

auto gaskets and seals for automotive performance

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Some seals and gaskets
1. o-ring
2. fiber washer
3. paper gaskets
4. cylinder head gasket

A gasket is a mechanical seal that fills the space between two objects, generally to prevent leakage between the two objects while under compression. Gaskets save money by allowing less precise mating surfaces on machine parts which can use a gasket to fill irregularities. Gaskets are commonly produced by cutting from sheet materials, such as gasket paper, rubber, silicone, metal, cork, felt, Neoprene, nitrile rubber, fiberglass, or a plastic polymer (such as polychlorotrifluoroethylene). Gaskets for specific applications may contain asbestos. It is usually desirable that the gasket be made from a material that is to some degree compressible such that it tightly fills the space it is designed for, including any slight irregularities. Many gaskets require an application of sealant directly to the gasket surface to function properly.

Properties

One of the more desirable properties of an effective gasket in industrial applications for compressed fiber gasket material is the ability to withstand high compressive loads. Most industrial gasket applications involve bolts exerting compression well into the 14 MPa (2000 psi) range or higher. Generally speaking, there are several truisms that allow for best gasket performance. One of the more tried and tested is: "The more compressive load exerted on the gasket, the longer it will last". There are several ways to measure a gasket material's ability to withstand compressive loading. The "hot compression test" is probably the most accepted of these. Most manufacturers of gasket materials will provide or publish these results.

Gasket Design

Gaskets come in many different designs based on industrial usage, budget, chemical contact and physical parameters. The main types of gaskets are Sheet, Solid Material, Spiral Wound, Double Jacketed and "Kammprofile".

Sheet Gaskets

The premise is simple in that a sheet of material (in older situations the material would be compressed asbestos, but now generally a fibrous material such as graphite is used) has the gasket shape "punched out" of it. This leads to a very crude, fast and cheap gasket. These gaskets can fill many chemical requirements based on the inertness of the material used and fit many budgetary restraints. Common practice prevents these gaskets from being used in many industrial processes based on temperature and pressure concerns.

Solid Material Gaskets

The idea behind solid material is to use metals which cannot be punched out of sheets but are still cheap to produce. These gaskets generally have a much higher level of quality control than sheet gaskets and generally can withstand much higher temperatures and pressures. The key downside is that a solid metal must be greatly compressed in order to become flush with the flange head and prevent leakage. The material choice is more difficult; because it is metals that are primarily used process contamination and oxidiation are real time concerns. Also the metal used must be softer than the flange in order to ensure that the flange does not warp and prevent sealing with future gaskets. Even so these gaskets have found a place in industry, although not a large one.

Spiral Wound Gaskets

Spiral wound gasket utilizes a mix of metallic material and "filler material" generally the gasket has a chosen metal, normally a carbon rich or stainless steel, wound (hence the name) outwards in a circle (although other shapes are possible this is the primary) with the filler material, generally a flexible graphite, starting at the opposite side of the circle and winding in the same direction. This leads to a growing circle of alternating layers of filler and metal. These gaskets have proven to be reliable in most applications and although more expensive than solid material they do not require as high of bolt forces to be effective. This is possible mainly because the graphite makes the primary seal with the flange and the metal only acts to keep the gasket structurally sound.

Double Jacketed Gaskets

Double Jacketed (hence forth called DJ) gaskets are another combination of filler material and metallic materials. In this application, a tube with ends that resemble a "C" is made of the metal with an additional piece made to fit inside of the "C" making the tube thickest at the meeting points. The filler is pumped between the shell and piece. When in use the compressed gasket has a larger amount of metal at the two tips were contact is made (due to the shell/piece interaction) and these two places bear the burden of sealing the process. Since all that is needed is a shell and piece, these gaskets can be made from almost any material that can be made into a sheet and a filler can than be inserted. This is an effective option for most applications.

Kammprofile Gaskets

Kammprofile gaskets are used in many older seals since they have both a flexible nature and are great sealers. Kammprofile's work by having a solid corrugated (many equally spaced bumps) core with a flexible covering layer. This arrangement allows for very high compression and an extremely tight seal along the ridges of the gasket. Since the graphite will fail generally instead of the metal core with gasket are repairable and can be done when the seal is not needed such as a shutdown of some kind. Kammprofile has a high initial cost for most applications but this can be justified both by long term savings and increased reliability.

Improvements

Many gaskets contain minor improvements to increase lifespan or acceptable operating conditions:

1. A common improvement is an inner compression ring. A compression ring allows for higher flange compression while preventing gasket failure. The effects of a compression ring are minimal and generally are just used when the standard design experiences a high rate of failure.
2. A common improvement is an outer guiding ring. A guiding ring allows for easier installation and serves as a minor compression inhibitor. In some alkylation uses these can be modified on Double Jacketed gaskets to show when the first seal has failed through an inner lining system coupled with alkylation paint.

See also

• Ozone cracking
• Polymer degradation
• Washer (mechanical)
• Vacuum flange#Vacuum Gaskets

Sources

1. Bickford, John H.: An Introduction to the Design and Behavior of Bolted Joints, 3rd ed., Marcel Dekker, 1995, pg. 5
2. Latte, Dr. Jorge and Rossi, Claudio: High Temperature Behavior of Compressed Fiber Gasket Materials, and an Alternative Approach to the Prediction of Gasket Life, FSA presented Paper, 1995, pg. 16

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Fel-Pro Head Gasket

Head gasket
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A replacement head gasket sitting loosely on top of a four cylinder engine block. Once positioned correctly the cylinder head will be bolted down on top of it.
A head gasket is a gasket that sits between the engine block and cylinder head in an internal combustion engine. Its purpose is to seal the cylinders to ensure maximum compression and avoid leakage of coolant or engine oil into the cylinders; as such, it is the most critical sealing application in any engine, and as part of the combustion chamber, it shares the same strength requirements as other combustion chamber components.[1]
Contents
1 Head gasket types
2 Gasket problems
3 References
4 External links
//

Head gasket types
MLS - stands for "Multiple Layers Steel,". Most modern head engines are produced with MLS gaskets. These typically consist of three layers of steel.
The contact faces are usually coated with a rubber-like coating such as Viton that adheres to the cylinder block and cylinder head respectively whilst the thicker center layer is bare.
Solid copper - A solid sheet of copper, and typically requires special machining called 'o-ringing' that places a piece of wire around the circumference of the cylinder to bite into the copper. When this is performed copper gaskets are extremely durable. Recently companies have started producing copper gaskets with integral sealing wires permitting their retrofit into engines without the removal of the engine block for machine work.
Composite -- an older technology. Typically these are made from asbestos or graphite but are more prone to blowouts than newer gaskets. Asbestos gaskets are becoming increasingly rare due to health concerns.[2]
Elastomeric - a gasket type used by Rover on their K Series engines. It utilised a steel core plate with molded in place silicon rubber beads to seal oil and coolant passages. The bores were sealed by rolled steel fire rings in a more conventional manner. The idea behind the gasket design was to produce a production version of the technology used in F1 engines at the time. The original application of the gasket on the smaller versions of the K Series was very successful. However, an engine redesign resulted in persistent problems with the design - the joint interface became unstable and the gasket could not cope.

Gasket problems
Occasionally, the compression in the cylinder will cause a leak to form in the gasket and the gasket will have to be replaced, or severe damage can take place (a "blown" head gasket). This problem has been exacerbated by the use of aluminum rather than iron cylinder heads; while lighter than iron, aluminum has a much greater thermal expansion rate, which in turn causes a great deal more stress to be placed on the head gasket. Engine makers have responded to this by adding a non-stick coating such as Teflon to the surface of the head gasket.
If the gasket fails, a variety of problems can occur, from compression loss (leading to power reduction, or a rough engine), to exhaust gases being forced into the cooling system, leading to the engine overheating and increased engine wear due to the motor oil being mixed with antifreeze. Coolant can leak into the cylinders, causing the exhaust to issue steam[3] and the catalytic converter to be damaged. If a very large amount of coolant does this, hydrolock can occur, causing extensive engine damage. Sometimes, all that may happen when a head gasket is blown causing excessive steam erupting from the tailpipe and the engine may act and drive like normal.

A damaged head gasket can cause compression to leak between cylinders.
Head gasket condition can be investigated by checking the compression pressure with a pressure gauge, or better, a leak-down test, and/or noting any indication of combustion gasses in the cooling system on a water-cooled engine. Oil mixed with coolant and excessive coolant loss with no apparent cause, or presence of carbon monoxide or hydrocarbon gases in the expansion tank of the cooling system can also be signs of head gasket problems.
Driving with a blown head gasket (if possible) can cause additional extensive damage due to overheating or loss of lubrication.
Blue exhaust smoke may be indicative of oil-burning.

References
^ Bickford, John H. (1997). Gaskets and Gasketed Joints. CRC Press, p. 57. ISBN 0-824-798-775.
^ Nunney, M. J. (1998). Light & Heavy Vehicle Technology. Elsevier, p. 23. ISBN 0-750-638-273. “Since exposure to asbestos is now recognized as being a health hazard [...] the manufacture of non-asbestos cylinder head gaskets has now become established.”
^ Nunney, p. 23.

External links
Ask's Head Gaskets and Valve Covers Q&A
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Head_gasket"
Categories: Engine technology
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. (See Copyrights for details.)