Do It Yourself : How To Make A Gasket

Like it or not the days of finding cheap, limitless supplies of Japanese new old stock parts has gone. Even some key service items that would have once been stored by dealers in reasonable volumes are now thin on the ground. While lots of worn parts can and will need to be restored and not simply swapped for new, when it comes to things like gaskets many of us could soon be left high and dry. Or possibly not if we follow the lead set by our British biking cousins. These chaps have been making gaskets for old bikes for decades; some out of necessity, others because it’s cheaper.

The reality of the situation is that if you can find good quality aftermarket kits then it makes perfect sense to use them. The caveat here is – good quality. Many kits are fine; some are so-so while a significant number are ill-fitting, poorly cut and sometimes downright wrong.

Tools for the job

When vital oil ways are miss-cut or worse nonexistent you run a real risk of wrecking a perfectly good engine. This month we’re looking at making a primary drive side gasket for Suzuki Stinger. Although complete pattern gasket sets and even OEM singles are available they all seem to be Stateside and come with punitive shipping costs. So armed with a hammer, a set of punches, scissors and some sharp knives we’ll have a look and see just how difficult or simple it is to make your own paper based gasket.

If there are dowels in the gasket surfaces they need to come out. Most are parallel but some are shouldered. Here each one is marked with a code so I know where it goes and in what orientation.

A good smear of grease is used to transfer the outline of the case onto the gasket material. Thinner grease is easier to work with than super thick mega tacky stuff as the latter tends to smear and smudge.

On the unprinted side of the gasket paper a facsimile of the case has been created via the grease. I’ve traced around the outer profile and hand-drawn the inner for clarity and ease of access.

Assume nothing! If in doubt don’t cut until you’re sure; I mark any suspect areas with an X. Using a medium hammer and punch the obvious holes are cut out.

Ideally the inside is cut first as the outer provides rigidity. Both straight and curved blades may be needed; a steel rule can be useful for neat flat areas. Always cut on a flat hard surface such an offcut of MDF, ply or chipboard.

The Stinger’s gasket isn’t simple or obvious so I’ve roughly chopped out the centre along with some of the outside and dropped in some bolts to register the gasket correctly. Parts lists can be useful for indicating the internal profiles of gaskets.

In some instances it may be necessary to trim in-situ. Wherever possible do this up against unpainted surfaces for obvious reasons.

I need a large hole here for the end of the gear selector shaft.A pencil rubbed over the gasket provides a rough outline I can then use to locate a suitable socket to draw around as a template.

Sod’s Law dictates a decent pattern gasket turns up after I’m almost finished. Other than one obvious error and a bit of trimming the DIY job looks fine. The pattern one has several layers of punchings on some holes which need careful fettling to remove.

And there we are one pattern gasket and one homemade in modern gasket material. Either will work but I’ll be saving the grey one for emergencies just in case.

My Stinger runs compressive gaskets under the carb tops and of course these aren’t available. Half an hour’s work is all it takes to make something you can’t buy. I’m trying both aramid composite and nitrile rubber and they just need subtle trimming and fettling – gaskets don’t have to look pretty!