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Hi all, had a leak in the primary cover, dude before me aped it on totally out of speck stripping the bolt heads and baking the gasket onto the primary cover. I soaked it in break cleaner for a week, then used some gasket remover and a plastic scraper to get the gasket material off, now it looks like just some oil and grease left on. So far Ive used a whole can of break cleaner, carb cleaner, and a lot of elbow grease but still have some grease and oil on, what is the best way to get the remainder off! Its aluminum so I dont want to use anything that could gauge the metal like sandpaper or a razor blade, any suggestions?
I would use lacquer thinner.. Then carefully use a single edge razor blade to walk around it. Do not remove aluminum. I would not be concerned with stains.
I use a film of black Permatex RTV on both sides of gasket. I lightly assembly, and let it dry. Next day, torque, (I use a handle held between my fingers) any RTV that came out will roll off like a black rubber band.
When you ever disassemble, it peals off.
I have seen covers that are off 1/32" and rock that much.
Last edited by Jackie Paper; Aug 11, 2021 at 08:45 AM.
I don't think the gasket cares if the case sealing surface a bit discolored or stained. As long as it's smooth, the gasket should do it's job. Some gasket sealant (Yamabond?) applied if you're worried about any slight imperfections.
I had a leaky primary on my '85. It turned out it was coming from the back side where the tranny shaft passes through. Mine was a cracked inner, which I was told was common.
I've tried/used all the methods listed above (and they do remove stubborn trace gasket material) but I either did not care for the amount of time/effort required and/or the results.
Some of what is described above can/will very easily round off the square case edges without a lot of of operator skill from the person doing it.
A professional, high end engine builder, would place the entire case, edges down, onto a hardened machinists flat plate or a precision glass surface (both quite expensive) coated with an abrasive slurry and work the case by hand, in an orbit, preserving a flat, squared surface on the entire case edge as a whole but that's way beyond the scope of what we are doing here.
Square case edges may not matter to some people or even be an "issue", I don't want to debate that, but I prefer to keep my case edges sharp and square.
Get a Dremel Mototool or any of the various clones, used Dremels on eBay start at $11.50
Mine is 20 years old and still going strong.
And an EZ Lock shank and #511E pack of two different abrasive buffs, these are a soft plastic "sponge" with embedded abrasive.
Run the lighter color (coarser) buff first followed by the darker colored (finer) buff.
Moisten a small surface with carb/brake/contact cleaner on a Q Tip and
just touch the buff wheel down lightly, no "pressure" required and move gently back and forth.
Stubborn, baked on gasket bits removed and case edges still square and sharp.
Both halves of this timing cover were done in about 10 minutes.
The other side after doing this
Last edited by Cyclone14; Aug 11, 2022 at 12:45 PM.
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Primary Gasket Surface Cleaning Help
