copper head gasket

Does a new copper head gasket need to be annealed before use?
I've heard differing opinions. :?

Probably not but I always do, although I prefer Composit head gaskets

I have never seen one come with instructions ...."Anneal before using".

Slick

No they don't come with instructions "anneal before use" but you never know these days where/how the gasket was made, IE if it has been punched out of a copper sheet as they appear to be I would always anneal a new copper gasket before use,the difference is very noticeable, cheers

Hello!

You have to anneal the copper-head-gasket.....then chill it in water....and brush off the residues with a Scotch-pad.

But: i recommend you: use a composite gasket with some sealant around the pushrod tunnels and the oil-hole.

Copper-head gasket in Triumphs:
Yes.....no problem! the thin Triumph cylinder head [meaning the old ones....T90, T100, T110, T120, ...] is soft and will lay down oiltight when you bolt it down

Copper-head gasket in Norton Commandos:
no! except the surfaces are 100% flat and true to each other
because: the construction of the Commando cylinder head [one piece with the rockerboxes....] is very stiff and when the cylinder-head or cylinder-surface isn`t 100% flat and true to each other
for sure your moped will blow oil [if it doesn`t blow oil until 4k - 4.5k rpm....it will for sure start blowing oil above 5k rpm...]

have a nice day!

I've been using copper head gaskets for years.

I anneal them first then spray them with silver paint.

Well, the consensus seems to favor annealing so I suppose I will.
Thanks for the input.

I always anneal them but last time I had my head off I forgot to anneal it so far has done over 25,000 miles without any problems no oil leak at all.

Ashley

ashman said:

I always anneal them but last time I had my head off I forgot to anneal it so far has done over 25,000 miles without any problems no oil leak at all.

Ashley

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Same here, but I do want to do things the best way possible to ward off complications down the road.

I use copper new out of the package without any annealing. Never had any issues with leakages. A new one would be stamped out of new material sheet. Copper like aluminium just goes on and on..The molecules new are neutral , memory occurs after you torque it down. ALWAYS re-torque after a good hot run. The nice thing about copper is you can anneal it and re-use it. Of course it will be a tad thinner (squished) a tad. :wink:

Torontonian said:

I use copper new out of the package without any annealing. Never had any issues with leakages. A new one would be stamped out of new material sheet. Copper like aluminium just goes on and on..The molecules new are neutral , memory occurs after you torque it down. ALWAYS re-torque after a good hot run. The nice thing about copper is you can anneal it and re-use it. Of course it will be a tad thinner (squished) a tad. :wink:

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Ok, I've always done the same with new ones. I was just seeing if there was downside either way.
Thanks.

Torontonian said:

I use copper new out of the package without any annealing. Never had any issues with leakages. A new one would be stamped out of new material sheet. Copper like aluminium just goes on and on..The molecules new are neutral , memory occurs after you torque it down. ALWAYS re-torque after a good hot run. The nice thing about copper is you can anneal it and re-use it. Of course it will be a tad thinner (squished) a tad. :wink:

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Have you ever actually accurately measured them getting thinner with a precise measuring tool?

pommie john said:

I've been using copper head gaskets for years.

I anneal them first then spray them with silver paint.

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I use copper coat but I can see how a high temp paint could work.

The shop I worked in used both copper and composite. We did not anneal new gaskets and had no leakers but it was important to use a thin bead of high temp RTV around each tunnel. We torqued them once, rode the bike to get good heat in the engine and torqued them once more the following day - cold. Previously used and annealed gaskets worked well most of the time and never blew compression but one or two got a little damp around the tunnels. I think annealing is fine but I think for best results the annealed gasket should be from the subject engine in the first place and I think it's best installed as before (head side up, barrel side down) so small imperfections will re-match up. Composite gaskets also work well but are a bit more fussy to torque. That's what I've had on my bike for 12 years or so. In my experience they need to be carefully torqued initially and left to sit overnight. The next day the gasket will easily yield to the torque wrench again even without backing off each head bolt first. Then the drill was the same as the copper gasket as far as riding the bike to heat it up and again letting it cool overnight. One more time did it, two times was a guaranty so we used two. Altogether a copper gasket needed just one re-torque while a composite required three. It makes sense, since the copper will be less willing to compress in the first place, once it does it will be done. A composite material is more unlikely to become stable as readily because all the little fibers will continue to need to squish tighter over time and use until they too will be done. My 2 cents, - Thinking like a gasket. Pete