Right. I've been some research on the quality of cam cover gaskets. General opinion is to use genuine but what is genuine? You can bet your life GM do not make their own gaskets. From past experience I know the gaskets in the straight 6 for the head gasket are made by a outside company. So I did some digging around and found out some information on company called Elring. Now Elring make all sorts of gaskets for many of manufacturers as well as supplying to the trade who in turn sell them to the customer. Elring state clearly on their web site they supply to the makers. So I did some hunting and found a pair of gaskets and O rings. I've ordered them and they turned up today. On Elring's more than helpful website I was able to cross reference the codes and sure enough they are one and the same. Even on the packets they use the GM part number and Kat code. I don't know what the Kat code refers to however having them appear on both websites sounds promising. The quality looks excellent the moulding is spot on. Elring are well known in the VW air cooled scene for being of good quality. So I'm going to fit them and see what happens. As long as the breathers are kept clean I see these lasting another 70 k miles. I will not be using GM sealant (another item you can bet your life they've never made them self) Instead I will use silicone sealant engine RTV oil resistant. I've used this stuff for many years and my friends company who refurbish manual gearboxes use exactly the same without issue. Another bonus with this gaskets is they cost me 18.35 posted to my door. That's for two gaskets and 16 O rings. Part numbers for those who are interested are:-
GM 90511451
KAT 6 07 642
EAN 4041248190821
ELRING 372.320
These are just the numbers for the gaskets not the O rings. Hopefully this will lead to a cost effective alternative to OE gaskets.
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Topic: Cam cover gaskets. The alternatives (Read 4221 times)