Cylinder head gasket sealant

[dsamways]

Hi, can anyone recommend a sealant for the head and base gaskets on a '74 Strada. The manual says Arexons "Motorsil D" silicone sealant. I'm thinking that a low modulus building silicone will probably do?

[TonyH]

Hi ya, i've recently discovered Stag Wellseal, which did a fantastic job of sealing the filter housing on my always leaking air-cooled camper and most guys in the VW camper world swear by it. One big advantage it has over silicone or hylomar type sealants is it can be applied very accurately with a brush and I found it so much easier/better to apply than hylomar. Not had any reason to use it on my 350 yet, but i for one will not use anything else in the future.

Cab also be bought easily on Ebay.

Hope that helps, Tony

[dsamways]

Hi Tony, thanks for the reply. Yes, Wellseal is good stuff, I've been using for the last 18 years - in fact I think my tube is 18 years old and still fine! But, I think that since Morini specified silicone I'll stick to it (no pun intended) for this application. Motorsil D is an acetic cure, so my original idea of using a low modulus product would be wrong.

Interesting you mention VW campers - I'm currently looking for one!

[Steve Brown]

Your builders silicone would probably last longer than you'd expect, but for the price of a small tube of automotive stuff it isn't worth trying to economise. All the regular auto types will be fine. As ever, with any gasket goo, just use it very sparingly. Any excess is at best an unsightly waste and at worst a disaster waiting to happen. Allow it time to 'go off' before assembling, and a tiny amount of silicone will fix just about any joint. You can even get it in different colours! to match your paintwork

[EVguru]

Arexon Motosil D is still available in Italy if you want total originality!

I use Hermatite Instant Gasket.

You only need a tiny amount!

I lay down a bead of about 1mm diameter and when I torque a head down, or close up a crankcase I'll just see a line of sealant appear at the edge.

'If it's sqeezing out, it's squeezing in!'

[dsamways]

Thanks for the replies. I'll take your advise and invest in some automotive stuff.