BTW - in the bad ol' days when asbestos was king in hot applications -
the older type fiber/metal gaskets were made with asbestos as the fiber
ingredient - and they never burned out. Not so today.

Wish I had something to offer as an equal substitute but without the
cancerous effects of the asbestos.

John Rodgers
88 GL Driver

John Rodgers wrote:
> I would suspect there are flex issues associated with the fiber/metal
> gasket vs the straight metal ones. A strict metal seal would essentially
> make for a rigid joit - and that would increase the chances of failure
> of the parts. The fiber/metal would give soem flexibility yet still
> retain the exhaust gases.
>
> Just my $0.02.
>
> John Rodgers
> 88 GL Driver
>
> William Greenamyer wrote:
>> I have a question.  I know the need for the gaskets on the exhaust
>> system
>> since it makes the seal to prevent air leaks and noise.  On my 84
>> Vanagon,
>> the gasket is fiber that is sandwiched between two sheets of metal to
>> keep
>> from blowing out the fiber material.  Problem is that the fiber
>> eventually
>> disintegrates anyway and compression on the metal pieces is reduced.
>> There
>> are solid metal gaskets which I guess were used on earlier VW's.  I was
>> wondering why the solid metal gaskets are not used on the Vanagon so
>> that
>> the fiber sandwiched gaskets don't have to be replaced?
>>
>> William
>>
>>
>>
>
>