ES 2 head gasket

Joined
Oct 28, 2014
Messages
1,829
Country flag
I put the head on and measured the gap between the head and the cylinder with a feeler gauge. .003 - .005. I believe the compression is sealed by the cylinder spigot pushing up into the head and the head gasket is there to seal against oil leakage mainly around the two drainback holes. The copper head gasket measures .035 and would prevent the cyl spigot from bearing on the head by .030. Is this not a problem or should I come up with a much thinner HG than provided? By the way, there was a curious note in the gasket package concerning the copper head gasket. They said to be sure to anneal it and install it immediately...if not done so in 30 minutes it would need to be re-annealed.
 
You are correct about the spigot being the compression seal, about 2 thou overheight on the spigot i believe is the target so things sound about right.
Mine has no head gasket, the spigot has been machined down slightly and the drain hole has been machined with a recess for a small o-ring to sit in the barrel and provide a better seal.
Presumably the annealed copper loses its softness quite quickly hence the time limit?
 
I use BS011 Viton "O" rings with an appropriate groove in the barrel to accomodate. As stated no gasket and pulls down first on the spigot. No oil or combustion gas leaks.
 
not all ES2 cylinders are the same and some are dimensionally different on the spigot . I do not use a head gasket but lap the head onto the spigot as per pre war practice.,, What I did not realise is that one has to torque the headbolts down to about 30ft lbs... Do this and your engine will hold compression and not leak. Yes 30ft lbs seemes a lot , in fact I was told more but had always been worried about exceeding 25 for fear of stripping crankcase threads..
 
Back
Top