savin' some cash...

[yupitsme]

When I work on my 2009 225 ProXS I use only genuine Mercury parts from Don - ALWAYS... except...

Gaskets. Mercury, as we all know are proud of their products - real proud. So when I can save money without sacrificing reliability I do. Thermostat gaskets are one of the items on that "save money list"(to be sure it's a pretty short list). Sooo... thought I'd share how I make my own gaskets. Thus far it's been thermostat and poppet valve gaskets. Most everything else is 'O' Rings....


To start. I have a brand new factory gasket that I use as a template and I have gasket material that fills the requirements for the applications.



Next I cut a piece of the gasket material stock that is just a bit lager than the gasket to make handling it easier during the process...



Then I carefully trace the outline of the factory gasket onto the gasket material.



The first thing I want to do is punch the holes. I do this while there is excess materials around the hole locations to keep from splitting the gasket in that area. It's critical that this be done first or I'll be starting over. I have a gasket punch set from MAC tools that I've had for years and works well. A leather punch tool will work as well if the tool supports a hole the size required in this application...

Tool...



Holes punched...



Next step is to cut out the center portion of this gasket... I do this by first cutting an 'X' in the center to make it easier to cut around the traced line...



I will say it takes some really good scissors to make these cuts. I use a small pair of scissors used to cut kevlar and carbon fiber cloth that I ended up with after fixing the stringers on the boat... They absolutely do not slip or push back when cutting on the line. And they cut cleanly all the way to the tips of the scissors.



First I trim out a lot of the center to make it easier to follow the trace line...



Then cut following the trace line until the center of the gasket is removed...



Then nothing left to do but cut on the outside trace line to end up with a completed gasket...



Ok... so I ended up with two gaskets...

Last thing to do... check for fit...



Kind of a blurry iPhone picture but it fits well. My gasket ends up just a tad wider at the sealing area than the factory gasket but it causes no problems with fit or function.

[EuropeanAM]

Great job!

You're definitely saving a little over $3 each time you do this.

[xskeetshooter]

over the yrs ive made gaskets. if im ordering parts ill order the gaskets...if i miss one...ill make it....the hole punch is the hard part if u dont have one...but i do soo..

[grybrd]

If the material for which you are making the gasket can stand it (and with a little care) a small ball peen hammer can be used to cut accurate gaskets. Hold the gasket material over the flange that needs it and tap lightly until the edges and holes are cut by the sharp edges of the metal.
Probably not as neat as the process above but also a lot quicker/easier.

[yupitsme]

In this particular situation I smear some Mr. Gasket gasket eliminater(form a gasket) on the side of the gasket that contacts the thermostat housing during assembly. That way when I have to pull the thermostats at the lake for cleaning the gasket stays attached to the housing and out of the way. The last set of gaskets lasted 5 years after removing/reinstalling too many times to count. They were still functional I just figured I'd start fresh.

[EuropeanAM]

One word of caution on this topic:

If you're going to make your own gaskets... ALWAYS verify that you have the SAME THICKNESS material!

In this case- the thermostat COVER is what holds the thermostat against the cylinder head (and seals it to the head). Using a thicker material will result in a LEAK around the thermostat (and subsequently, a COLD running bank of cylinders).