06-12-2019, 08:41 PM
(This post was last modified: 06-12-2019, 08:45 PM by Steve Jones.)
A very light smear over the entire gasket for me, Ian. I've been using 5920/5990 on head gaskets on various engines since 2007. In that time as well as various touring engines, my main competition engines are my Trials Chummy and my Sprint/Hill Climb Ulster. The Trials Car has done 96 trials in that time, a lot of them at 5000+! The Ulster engine is from 2013 and has done 58 sprints and hill climbs, the majority double entered with my Grandson, so the equivalent of about 100 events. Neither car is the absolute best of the field but we're up there and we have a considerable collection of 'pots'. As a competitor you'll understand what level of use that is (and I hope I don't regret this) but no water leaks, no blown head gaskets. 100% reliability in that department. I use it on manifold and exhaust gaskets with the same results.
I first came across Copper/Silicone 5920/5990 in 2007 when I was having trouble sealing the head gasket on a Meadows 4ED engine. I good friend from the Frazer-Nash Club put me on to it and explained its story. It seems that General Motors commissioned Loctite to develop a sealant that could be used instead of a traditional head gasket. From a motor manufacturers point of view, that has to represent a considerable potential saving so it was a path worth researching. In the end, Loctite couldn't come up with a product that was sufficiently acceptable and that is why it says not to be used on a head gasket application on the 5920/5990 packaging. However, used in conjunction with a traditional head gasket it's a different matter and I'm a committed convert. I've lost count of the number of people I've recommended it to and they, too, have become converts. There are many ways of sealing high load gaskets, this is just one of them. Each to his own but this is what I do and it works for me.
I'm a firm believer that if such materials had been available in period then our Austins would have been glued together with them. If you look at your modern you'll find that similar high performance products are used throughout. My Skoda and my Wife's Fiat certainly are.
Steve
I first came across Copper/Silicone 5920/5990 in 2007 when I was having trouble sealing the head gasket on a Meadows 4ED engine. I good friend from the Frazer-Nash Club put me on to it and explained its story. It seems that General Motors commissioned Loctite to develop a sealant that could be used instead of a traditional head gasket. From a motor manufacturers point of view, that has to represent a considerable potential saving so it was a path worth researching. In the end, Loctite couldn't come up with a product that was sufficiently acceptable and that is why it says not to be used on a head gasket application on the 5920/5990 packaging. However, used in conjunction with a traditional head gasket it's a different matter and I'm a committed convert. I've lost count of the number of people I've recommended it to and they, too, have become converts. There are many ways of sealing high load gaskets, this is just one of them. Each to his own but this is what I do and it works for me.
I'm a firm believer that if such materials had been available in period then our Austins would have been glued together with them. If you look at your modern you'll find that similar high performance products are used throughout. My Skoda and my Wife's Fiat certainly are.
Steve