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MG Midget and Sprite Technical - Welseal and hymolar

I'm just about to begin reassembly of my 1275 engine.
In other engine rebuilds I have used blue hymolar and wellseal.
Are these still up to the job?
Also where do you suggest I use each sealant ?
Cheers
Tim
T Dafforn

Hi Tim

we tend to use Wellseal for coating the metal rings of the head gasket. We use Blue Hylomar for all else with the addition of some silicone sealant on the cork/rubber 'u's on the sump.

Peter
Peter Burgess Tuning

Interesting Peter. I thought you used Wellseal on all gaskets. Do you think Blue Hylomar is superior? I have a Lotus twink to rebuild, so the question is very relevant to me.
Mike Howlett

thanks, that makes it simple..
Mike, weirdly the last engine that I rebuilt was a lotus twincam. I was pointed to a page on the web from some respected Australian twincam builders that detailed a number of more modern loctite sealants.
Used them as directed and seemed to work, although the timing chain chest leaked from the gasket at the top..
Cheers
Tim
T Dafforn

Hi Mike

I trust you are well?

No, we only use it on head gaskets, a trick I learned from a friend who built and raced TR4s. He used a plain steel shim as a head gasket to get CR up, I thought if Wellseal works on this it will be brill on Bs and As.

The Hylomar works well for all the other gaskets, definitely less messy than wellseal too!

I have taken to using some silicone sealant on the cork block to sump seals on Bs and the U shaped rubber/cork sump seals on As.

I also tighten sump bolts to 12lbs ft.

Peter
Peter Burgess Tuning

Thank you Peter, I am very well after nearly five years of retirement. The BV8 is still going well (and now has power steering), I recently rebuilt a 1275 midget and have sold that on, and am now embarking on a completely dismantled Elan Sprint FHC.

You will be seeing a good friend of mine soonish I gather - Allan Digance from Edinburgh. Green MGB. He is the treasurer of the Caledonian Centre of the MGCC, and I am the secretary.

Tim, timing chest oil leaks seem to be par for the course with the Lotus TC. But then they used no gasket did they.
Mike Howlett

I hate wellseal - horrible stuff.
C L Carter

How does Wellseal feel about this hatred?

Peter
Peter Burgess Tuning

not sure it cares that much... its made of strong stuff
C L Carter

:)
Peter Burgess Tuning

Wellseal makes last stand following active lobbying to head saver shim manunfacturer.....

Peter




Peter Burgess Tuning

Peter. I've got Wellseal and new uprated studs and nuts on my Sprite after it blew on the way home from your place some time ago, but not on my MG ZR. I have fitted the later type gasket with the shim on the ZR, I didn't wait for it to let go, but did it, as it was probably going to blow anyway. If the ZR does happen to go, do you think Wellseal would help? I love the ZR, but I can never fully relax with the K series.

Bernie.
b higginson

Peter,

Thanks for sharing your recommendations, and insight here.

Regards,

Larry C.
Larry C '69 Midget

Hi Bernie

The shim is one of Gosnay's so not the same as OE thinner shim. However we are very happy using wellseal all over steel shims and steel gaskets such as the old V8 SD1 style.

Hi Larry, not so sure it is always good insight from me though :)

Peter
Peter Burgess Tuning

Peter I think you're being modest a lot of professionals are nowhere nears as open with their knowledge and experience as you are

your diplomacy and patience are both good too (other threads)
Nigel Atkins

Hylomer is very risky unless you use it sparklingly. You get long strings of it when you clamp up the gaskets, squeezing out. Eventually they break off and block oil ways. I've seen this on a friends fuel pump when he sealed the sender unit some years before, hylomer string sucked into pump. Another mates Toyota Supra suffered turbo bearing failure, removing the turbo and guess what was stuck in the oil pipe..a hylomer string! stags wellseal is v messy smells lovely and doesn't set solid like hylomer.
Robin Cohen

Robin. Your advice about using Hylomar sparingly is good, however, it would appear that your friends didn't follow it, indicating that the users and not the Hylomar were at fault.

If you look at Peter's first post, he advises Hylomar and Wellseal in different applications.

I have used Hylomar many times on the cam carrier of K series engines with no problem.

Bernie.
b higginson

This thread was discussed between 03/02/2013 and 11/02/2013

MG Midget and Sprite Technical index

This thread is from the archive. The Live MG Midget and Sprite Technical BBS is active now.