Copper header gasket vs. Rolled Steel

[deeeebeeeeee]

I recently ordereed a gasket kit, it includes: base gasket (junk bought a steel/graphite oem one), oil pump/ block off gasket, intake, clutch cover, head, stator cover, and of course the exhaust gasket.
The gaskets including the base gasket are of the blue coated paper sort, head gasket seems a bit thin (compared to the annealed and brushed stock gasket), and the exhaust gasket which is a ring made of round copper stock.

I feel like once the copper gasket is torqued, and put through a heat /retorque cycle it should work as good or maybe better than the rolled steel and (tar or asphalt or whatever that black stuff is).
I know the rolled steel ones work pretty good crush easy, and rarely actually need retorqueing (I always double check)

Has anyone used the copper ring style header gasket? Do they work well? Reusable? For those of you that have used both, do you have any preference?

I try to search, read up and learn all I can, I have learned alot, bit this is the first time I have seen one like this.

 

[Awk08]

I've heard someone else saying the had found the copper gaskets, but never heard how they worked.....
let us know

 

[deeeebeeeeee]

Sound like a plan to me, I figure it should work good, I couldn't verify it but it appears the copper ring, comes in cometic kits as well, if it is as soft as the head gasket I annealed with a standard torch last night it should be awesome. Should be reusable as well,more at least I hope it is.

 

[jus_me]

You are talking about the exhaust gasket ? I have never personally had a copper one, and not sure how one would work since they are crush gaskets. It would be real nice to find a reusable exhaust gasket. As far as copper base gaskets they work just the same as a copper head gasket. Anneal and reuse, i have used the same one about 4x,, so far so good...


There are cheap steel center outer black something exhaust gaskets on e bay. they cannot be used alone but if you slap one on the inside (outer if you can hold it in place) of the cyl and use the old exhaust crush gasket it works.

 

[deeeebeeeeee]

You are talking about the exhaust gasket ? I have never personally had a copper one, and not sure how one would work since they are crush gaskets. It would be real nice to find a reusable exhaust gasket. As far as copper base gaskets they work just the same as a copper head gasket. Anneal and reuse, i have used the same one about 4x,, so far so good...


There are cheap steel center outer black something exhaust gaskets on e bay. they cannot be used alone but if you slap one on the inside (outer if you can hold it in place) of the cyl and use the old exhaust crush gasket it works.

Let me get a pic real quick, I need to go down to the G-rage anyhow.

Here is it with the (thinner than stock?) Head gasket

Here it is beside an old crush gasket

And here it is on top of a old stock one, come to find out it is actually a thin flat piece of copper made into a circle then rolled into the rod shape, the ends that make it ring shape are welded. The edges that meet to form the hollow tube shape meet in the center of the back side. The fact that it's really a hollow tube allows it to crush and distort outward and seal. Might be able to reuse it if you annealed it then squished it back to a tube shape, but common sense tells me you could squeeze a standard crush gasket back out to shape as well, but for obvious reasons we just buy new.

My bet is, it works and seals quite well, but it is not reccomended to reuse.