Motorsport Plumbing Systems: Gaskets, O-rings & Seals
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Gaskets, O-rings & Seals
04.15
| 00:00 | The components we'll discuss in this section of the course are easily overlooked, but critical to the success of our plumbing systems. |
| 00:07 | Some seals we've looked at are integrated into fittings with flares and tapers but our focus here is on seals as their own components and that includes sealants, gaskets and o-rings which all have the purpose of preventing our fluids from leaking at connections or joints. |
| 00:23 | There are countless different designs and materials that would need their own course to cover, but we'll cover a general view of the basics that need to be understood for motorsport plumbing. |
| 00:34 | As if you're at least a little bit familiar with automotive mechanics, you've probably got a fair idea of the concepts. |
| 00:41 | Starting with gaskets, these are a flat piece of material that's sandwiched between two mating surfaces to form a seal. |
| 00:48 | Commonly used all over the vehicle from simple paper gaskets to seal basic covers to multi layer steel head gaskets with clearly more demanding tasks. |
| 00:59 | Gaskets are compressible and when compressed, they deform to fill the irregularities in the mating surfaces and prevent a pathway for fluids. |
| 01:07 | Again, these could be made from different materials like paper, steel, rubber or cork, all with their own advantages and disadvantages around heat and chemical resistance, service life and so on. |
| 01:20 | While not the most common type of seal for our plumbing lines themselves, we'll find ourselves in contact with them regularly when working on the various automotive plumbing systems. |
| 01:30 | Most of the time this involves replacing them, using suppliers offerings or making our own using sheets of gasket material, or alternatively using a sealant or liquid gasket maker which we'll cover the use of in more detail in the practical skills section. |
| 01:47 | Liquid sealant, as we've discussed can be useful for sealing the threads of tapered fittings and is an alternative to PTFE tape. |
| 01:55 | We just want to be careful to avoid getting any sealant or tape into the engine or other components where it could cause damage. |
| 02:03 | O-rings are a lot more common in our plumbing systems and these can be used in an o-ring groove to seal flat or curved mating surfaces. |
| 02:11 | They're used in a wide range of our plumbing components like hose ends, pipe clamps and other fittings. |
| 02:17 | We can also make our own o-rings and again we'll cover this in our practical skills section. |
| 02:23 | As the name suggests, the cross section of the o-ring is circular and when compressed, this creates a seal on the surfaces. |
| 02:31 | In some cases the o-ring can be designed to handle relative motion of the surfaces. |
| 02:36 | The size of the o-ring and groove along with the material will determine its sealing performance and ability to handle heat which, is critical in motorsport uses. |
| 02:46 | While lots of OEM and aftermarket applications use nitrile based rubbers for o-rings, at very high temperatures these tend to break down even if they're specifically designed with temperature in mind. |
| 02:58 | We've had success moving to silicon o-rings when heat resistance is proving to be an issue, but it does depend on the application. |
| 03:07 | The same can be said for o-rings versus gaskets. |
| 03:10 | A properly designed o-ring is usually favoured in motorsport applications, as it can generally hold more pressure and handle more heat, but this isn't always the case. |
| 03:21 | The best results when it comes to sealing is having the seal and the surfaces in good conditions and with a suitable design. |
| 03:28 | While we can do a good job of prepping the surfaces, unless we're designing the part ourselves, the fit and sealing of the surfaces isn't something we're always going to have control over when it comes to plumbing. |
| 03:40 | Minimising the number of joints and therefore the need for seals is always the best way of reducing the risk of leakage and also a good way to keep weight down. |
| 03:49 | What's important to understand is gaskets, o-rings and other seals or sealants are going to be part of our plumbing work regardless and at some point we'll have to replace them or give them some attention to avoid leaks. |
| 04:03 | It's best to follow the supplier's instructions as each application is different, but keeping surfaces clean and in good condition is going to give us the most success. |
