61 T'Bird - Daft Questions 1&2

Well, here we go guys - having introduced the bird to you already, here is
my first (of many) daft questions in my quest to keep her flying.

A recent post under "Classic Triumph Woes" mentioned the use of silicon for
in the relentless quest for less oil on the garage floor. ie:

"I've always found silicone sealant the bees knees for this sort of job.
Liberally paste one of the jointing faces with silicone, then offer up to
other face. Fit nuts/screws and tighten evenly until it leaves about a
1mm/2mm gap. Leave overnight for silicone to "go off" and in the morning do
your final tightening. Have been using this method for possibly 20 years or
more and have never had one failure. You don't need anything fancy, just the
ordinary silicone as found in Wickes/ B&Q. Dirt cheap, too!(compared with
the proprietary sealants available)"

Soooo ....

1. Is this a good plan for the primary chaincase cover? and
2. Is that with or without using the usual gasket?

For anyone who's interested there are new pics at:
<http://www.rogergroves.f2s.com/6T/tbird2.jpg>
<http://www.rogergroves.f2s.com/6T/Ldetail.jpg>
<http://www.rogergroves.f2s.com/6T/Rdetail.jpg>

RG

 

Nortons have used a gurt-big rubber ring there, so a squirt of silicon
instead of a gasket on a primary chaincase probably isn't that improbable.
Bear in mind silicon sealant hadn't been invented in those days ;-)
I favour the suck it and see school of gasket replacement.
Give it a go and report the results.
Worst case scenario - It leaks a bit of oil.

jim.

 

with the flatness of a piece of corrugated iron , give or take 1/4 of an
inch or so. Silicone is an excellent way of optimising the oiltightness of
the joint, I wouldnt bother with a gasket , you just end up with 2 leak
paths instead of one , between the pc case and the gasket and between the pc
cover and the gasket. The secret is to de-grease the joint faces so the
stuff can actually stick to the faces instead of just touching against
them. Anything that can seal a bath should be able to seal a small gap
between two "machined" faces but if it cant stick to the face it will never
get a good seal. Just buy silicone from Jewsons or wherever and an
applicator gun . never use silicone on carbs , petrol turns it to jelly.
Steve the grease

 

Progress report ..... and after another 75 miles there is still no seepage
from the pc and cover joint.

Roger.

 

RG was seen penning the following ode to ... whatever:

You sure that there's any oil left in the engine

 

I have to admit the disarmingly diminished oil trail did provoke a certain
paranoia and a hence furtive peek at levels all round.

Roger.