sealing shim pack

[sp53]

Hi all I am curious what you used to seal the shim pack on a tr3 steering box. In the past, I used Indian Head gasket sealer. However, I am thinking I might try some other product, perhaps some silicone. The silicone should compress fine and I do not for see any problems with it spilling over. A machinist friend was always cautious about silicone because of the potential for plugging oil galleries and he felt that if used in air tight settings, it might not cure. What happened is, I took apart the old box that I had put together with Indian Head and it just came apart to easy. I was thinking that it would be glue down tight between the shims and I would really have to work at getting it apart, but no.

 

[TR3driver]

I've been using nothing at all on the shims, seems to work fine for me. The gasket & it's Hylomar seems to be able to take care of any irregularities in the surfaces, plus any with the shims.

There is some thickness associated with whatever you use, so adding many layers may affect the clearance. Properly applied, the silicone is very thick (relatively speaking), so I still wouldn't use it here.

 

[MGTF1250Dave]

Aloha,

I agree with Randall and have not used anything on the shims. Since they are thin and soft (brass I think) they should compress and seal under pressure. I have not had a problem with leakage through the shims.