What about that 'new' exhaust gasket material sold at the FLAPS nowadays;
dead-soft aluminum?  That should also be a good, reuseable material.

Mike B.

----- Original Message -----
From: "David Kao" <dtkao0205@YAHOO.COM>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Tuesday, March 25, 2008 1:14 PM
Subject: Re: exhaust gasket question 2.1

> Well, Yahoo did it again. I had to look into the list archive to see many
> replies there but not in my inbox. This one was directly from you and was
> in
> my inbox.
>
> Scott, I think Bugformance in San Jose probably has exhaust gaskets for
> Vanagons. If my 30k mile old gaskets are not reusable I will call
> Bugformance.
> Copper sheet may be not soft enough as a material for exhaust gaskets
> unless
> the exhaust flange is perfectly parallel to the joint surface on the head.
> So I will toss that idea now.
>
> BTW, my 84 engine is not in a too bad shape. I could still speed it up to
> 80
> MPH on flat highway. But I know the compression is uneven and one of the
> valve
> tip is kind of smashed a bit. My tranny broke last winter. I decide to
> drop
> the engine first which makes it a lot easier to replace the tranny. I will
> take the opportunity to rebuild the engine. I hope it will get another 80K
> or more miles before I have to drop it again. If I don't do anything to it
> now
> I probably will need to do it within two years or even sooner. It's fun
> time
> again. Any suggestions welcome. I may begin to throw questions to the list
> as soon as the work is started.
>
> David
>
> --- Scott Daniel - Shazam  <scottdaniel@turbovans.com> wrote:
>
>> Ah ha, harassing the list before you even know the facts !!
>> Happens all the time, lol.
>>
>> I buy german aftermarket exh. Port gaskets 20 at a time, like in bulk.
>> There is absolutely nothing wrong with them.   I would almost never
>> re-use
>> one however.  But flange flatness and being parallel to the head surface
>> is
>> important.
>> Scott
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf
>> Of
>> David Kao
>> Sent: Monday, March 24, 2008 6:50 PM
>> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
>> Subject: Re: exhaust gasket question 2.1
>>
>> My 84 engine was resealed (head gaskets all that came within the gasket
>> set) 30k miles ago. I can reuse the exhaust gaskets but with the new ones
>> I will get the nice exhaust sound like a new Vanagon. If copper gasket is
>> a bad idea I think the other answer is to get OEM. I hate to go to any
>> dealer. I think the ones come within the gasket set are not very good,
>> although they do work fine. Copper is fairly soft so making a set of
>> exhaust
>> gaskets using copper is not that hard. Just need to hear from people if
>> it
>> is actually not a good idea. Maybe I don't need to replace them at all.
>> I will soon find out when the engine is dropped.
>>
>> David
>>
>>
>> --- Jake de Villiers <crescentbeachguitar@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> > Maybe you need to square and flatten your exhaust flanges.  The stock
>> > gaskets last a long time for me - 8 years or more.
>> >
>> > On Mon, Mar 24, 2008 at 5:46 PM, David Kao <dtkao0205@yahoo.com> wrote:
>> >
>> > > Is it a good/bad idea to make your own exhaust gasket using sheet
>> > > copper
>> > > available from hardware store? Has anyone tried this? I will soon
>> > > begin
>> > > to dismantle my 84's engine and replace the tranny at the same time.
>> > > The engine will receive a set of new Cofap and a pair of used heads.
>> > > I can anticipate need of a set of new exhaust gaskets. The gaskets
>> > > seem
>> > > to crap out quickly and not cheap. I am seeking an alternative.
>> > >
>> > > David
>> > >
>> > >
>> > > --- Mike <mbucchino@CHARTER.NET> wrote:
>> > >
>> > > >  Metal won't get stuck to what it's clamped against, but composite
>> may.
>> > > > Which part is easier to remove and scrape a baked-on gasket off of?
>> I'd
>> > > put
>> > > > metal towards the head, for that reason alone............
>> > > >
>> > > > Mike B.
>> > > >
>> > > > ----- Original Message -----
>> > > > From: "Jim Felder" <jim.felder@GMAIL.COM>
>> > > > To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
>> > > > Sent: Thursday, March 20, 2008 8:18 PM
>> > > > Subject: Re: exhaust gasket question 2.1
>> > > >
>> > > >
>> > > > > Thanks, all, as usual. Metal to the head it will be.
>> > > > > Jim
>> > > > >
>> > > > > On Thu, Mar 20, 2008 at 7:01 PM, Jake de Villiers <
>> > > > > crescentbeachguitar@gmail.com> wrote:
>> > > > >
>> > > > >> I've always put the metal side to the source of the heat
>> > > > >> whatever
>> the
>> > > > >> make
>> > > > >> of engine but I remember a post not too long ago that espoused
>> > > > >> the
>> > > > >> opposite.
>> > > > >>
>> > > > >> In 35 years of hot rodding etc I've never had a problem when
>> putting
>> > > the
>> > > > >> metal side to the exhaust port.   :)
>> > > > >>
>> > > > >> On Thu, Mar 20, 2008 at 4:44 PM, Jim Felder
>> > > > >> <jim.felder@gmail.com>
>> > > wrote:
>> > > > >>
>> > > > >> > My first question is why does a Vanagon full gasket set come
>> > > > >> > with
>> > > only
>> > > > >> > two
>> > > > >> > head-to-pipe gaskets when it requires four?
>> > > > >> > My real question is which side goes toward the head, the
>> composite
>> > > side
>> > > > >> > or
>> > > > >> > the metal side?
>> > > > >> >
>> > > > >> > Obviously I'm talking about the kind that's thin steel bonded
>> > > > >> > or
>> > > > >> > crimped
>> > > > >> > to
>> > > > >> > a composite material.
>> > > > >> >
>> > > > >> > Thanks,
>> > > > >> >
>> > > > >> > Jim
>> > > > >> >
>> > > > >>
>> > > > >>
>> > > > >>
>> > > > >> --
>> > > > >> Jake
>> > > > >> 1984 Vanagon GL
>> > > > >> 1986 Westy Weekender "Dixie"
>> > > > >> Crescent Beach, BC
>> > > > >> www.crescentbeachguitar.com
>> > > > >> http://subyjake.googlepages.com/mydixiedarlin%27
>> > > >
>> > >
>> > >
>> > > __________________________________________________
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>> >
>> >
>> >
>> > --
>> > Jake
>> > 1984 Vanagon GL
>> > 1986 Westy Weekender "Dixie"
>> > Crescent Beach, BC
>> > www.crescentbeachguitar.com
>> > http://subyjake.googlepages.com/mydixiedarlin%27
>> >
>>
>>
>>
>>
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