Which gasket material should i use ?

Question

I am currently replacing some gaskets on an outboard motor and being that it is an old motor i am having to cut my own gaskets. Is it alright to use the standard gasket material on all joins or will i need rubber gaskets in other sections like the head gasket ?

Answer 1

use the high temperature blue gasket paper if you can find it ,it holds up well under all conditions,i got an older 6 horse power and that's what i use to make them for it,good luck.

Answer 2

I don't know about the head gasket. They are a pretty vital part under alot of stress. For any gaskets that more or less are just there to seal the intake I'd use a tube of silicone gasket.

Answer 3

If it's a gasket to hold in the oil, like the crank gaskets, you'd probably have to find one that's the right size (maybe from Grainger?).  These are critical.  As far as cylinder head and jug base gaskets, I've made those from copper and they worked just as well as the factory gaskets, which were either steel or aluminum.  I used maybe 3 layers of 2 or 3 thousandths thick copper sheet.  I found it easy to use a drill press to bore out the oil passage, etc. holes.  The large hole for the piston I did on a mill;  it was a cleaner cut this way.  

Another important thing is that I used 3 layers of the copper sheet because that way it was very close to the factory gasket thickness.  Use some high temp formagasket type stuff to keep this together and on the block as you assemble it.  

Good luck!