Side Cover Gasket Update

Burris Tech Info — Thu, 15 Jun 2006 23:50:00 GMT

For the last year or so there have been some isolated reports of side cover stud breakage. The problem was confined to the stud closest to the camshaft at about 3 o’clock when viewing the engine from the clutch side. Usually if a stud were to break this would be the first one and if it went unnoticed for very long then the two adjoining studs above and below it break which in turn lets the oil escape and leads to more serious engine damage. Since this was a random problem it was difficult to pin point the source of the trouble at first but after going over all the components involved and studying the type of failure they were experiencing we have come to the conclusion that the side cover gasket is the culprit. Several things contribute to the failure of the stud but the main cause is the gasket is letting the joint in that area “squirm” which is flexing the stud from side to side and eventually causing it to fail from fatigue. Since the original gasket had a thin rubber coating (and rubber doesn’t compress), if the load frequency gets too high and/or lubricants with additives that can soften rubber get on the gasket it allows a minute amount of movement between the block and side cover that eventually lead to the stud having fatigue failure. After several months of testing our supplier Cometic came up with a gasket made of an Aramid (Kevlar) fiber material that has shown great promise and so far no stud failures! The new material is highly compressed and is best known for its ability to resist “shear creep” between the mating parts. While testing the material we also tried it on the gasket between the manifold and head which in turn made that joint solid and stable and should help stabilize the manifold flange at that point. These gaskets are now available to all of our distributors and are also included in all engine shipments starting on June 10^th. If you have any questions you can contact us at yf200@burrisracing.com .

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Side Cover Gasket Update