Alfetta 2.0 Rebuild and Gaskets

[TJCallahan@xxxxxxx]

I thought I'd provide a small update on the Alfetta engine project and a few 
words on gaskets.

First, the engine is reassembled and ready to reinstall in the car. I just 
need a few days of decent weather so I can put the Alfetta in the garage and 
move my wife's daily driver outside. The reassembly went very smoothly and I'm 
excited to stuff this puppy back in and get it running again. It's been too long 
...

As to gaskets, my recent experience leads me to encourage everyone to use 
original Alfa gaskets whenever possible. I found that the after-market gaskets I 
have, from one of our reputable suppliers, are just adequate at best and 
simply don't fit at the worst.

This is not vendor bashing, this a positive testament to the OEM gaskets one 
can still get from one's local Alfa dealer. Our after-market vendors provide 
us with many alternative parts and some otherwise unattainable parts, they 
should be supported, of course.

My experience with the gaskets during this rebuild is that some of the 
after-market gaskets were cut wrong and some were simply inadequate for the job to 
be done. Some were fine and I did use those. 

The two major gaskets I had problems with were the head gasket (inadequate 
and no sealant) and the oil pan gasket (cut wrong, didn't fit, no sealant). The 
OEM Alfa gaskets, on the other hand, were the correct shape, more robust in 
material, and fit like they were supposed to.

The after-market oil pan gasket (this is a one-piece Alfetta pan, hence only 
one gasket) fit on the front and rear ends but bulged on the sides such that a 
wrinkle was introduced if one tried to align the sides of the gasket 
properly. In addition, two of the eighteen holes didn't line up at all with the holes 
in the pan and block. The gasket was also slightly thinner and had no sealant 
on it. It went back in the box.

The Alfa pan gasket fit exactly, the holes aligned exactly, and both sides 
had a bead of sealant running down the center. It's in the engine.

Similarly, the after-market head gasket was thinner and had no sealant while 
the Alfa head gasket was robust and both sides had a bead of sealant (except 
for the rear oil return area, which I sealed with High Tac). Guess which is in 
the box and which is in the engine.

Now, the cost of just these two Alfa gaskets were about 25 percent more than 
the whole after-market engine set was, but I believe it was money well spent. 
Next time I rebuild one of my engines, I'm planning to buy the whole set from 
Alfa. In the mean time, I have a couple of emergency spares to carry in the 
trunk (boot) while on tours. :-)

Based on my experience, I'd recommend that, in every engine rebuild, you 
purchase and use at least the head gasket and oil pan gaskets from Alfa as they 
are two of the most critical gaskets in the engine. You'll never be sorry you 
splurged on them.

Tom
Seattle
6310123 (the sisty ugler)
7711615 (tarted up and almost ready for the dance)
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