Trans cover gaskets

[CL77butcher]

I took the clutch side cover off to re-paint it and cause the gasket kit that came with my new pistons had one for this area included. I was supprised to see that there were two layers of a much beefier gasket on the cover when removed. Is this normal or the result of an over zealous previous owner? I know that the oil pump gets 2 but have not heard of doubling the clutch cover. also the new gasket is a lot thinner material. Has anyone used the gasket from classichondarestoration.com? Was it enough? will it cause problems?

Thanks in advance for your help.

[rustywrench]

Your PO may have used two gaskets to compensate for rough/uneven 40+ year old surfaces. I see no reason that would not work and should not effect performance of the side case. Your thinner gasket should be OK provided the surfaces are smooth and level. In a pinch I've even used oil resistant RTV successfully but not recommended. I would safely say that any product from classic would be acceptable for use. Hope this has helped you,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Rusty

[CL77butcher]

Thanks rusty,

The surfaces don't look too bad so I guess I will go with the classicHR gasket and I have a bit of "hondaseal" (leftover from a 4 wheeler i worked on) that i can coat it with before i tighten it down just to be on the safe side.

[teazer]

Two gaskets is a good way to bow the case. The trick I use is to start off by lightly countersinking the holes on the mating surfaces of the crankcases and the cover. Then I run a tap down teh threads to clean out years of old garbage.

Then I get a good file and lightly draw file both mating faces using kerosene or WD40 to keep the teeth from clogging. it only takes a few minutes to get teh faces cleaned or to identify low and high spots.

If they are bad you can use a sheet of wet and dry on a surface plate. An easy way to check for low spots is to apply a thin layer of bearing blue to one face and push the cover in place. Remove it and see where the blue has transferred.