My 1954 3.4 XK block had to be skimmed in order to obtain a better surface around the water channels that had corroded. As a result my pistons are now protruding just a bit, but enough to look for a thicker head gasket instead of the standard steel version coded C.7861. The thicker Composite head gaskets are around for quite some years now, but it is rather difficult to get information on the exact thickness of such a gasket. My experiences:
Jaguar gasket C.7861 (for XK engines with a 83 mm bore) has been replaced by Jaguar gasket C.19112. Note that some companies offer the C.19113 as a replacement for the C.7861, but C.19113 is for the 3.8 engines (with a 87 mm bore) which doesn’t seem recommendable to me.
I know Cometic offers composite gaskets in various thickness (e.g. 0.059" or 1.50 mm) but these are made to order with a lead time of several weeks + shipment.
Payen (the original Jaguar supplier of gaskets, but meanwhile part of the Federal Mogul group) still manufactures part number AE530 as a replacement for C.19112 (as well as AE540 for the 87 mm bore version C.19113 from which we may conclude that this gasket should not be used on 3.4 engines).
Payen also has a composite version coded AE530B which is offered by some of our Jaguar part suppliers. Obtaining information on the exact thickness was difficult.
I measured the Payen AE530B gasket myself (new, before installation) and found a thickness of 1.55 mm for the basic (black) gasket material and 1.70 mm for the metal rings around the cylinders.
I will see what the thickness is after compression and report.
Don’t confuse Payen AE530 with Payen AE530B as only the latter is the composite version while the other is thin steel.
It was funny to see on the labels that these gaskets are made (or at least distributed) nowadays from Antwerp (Belgium) just 60 miles from where I live…
Allez ga België! Het was jammer over de Italiaanse spel! A Belgium/England final would have been nice - win/win for me: 2 bottles of Asti and half a kilo of Leonidas…
I have measured a few compressed composite Payens and they have all been around 1.5 mm/0.060” new and 1 mm/0.040” used. On a linered block I would definitely want the fire rings to match the bore and compress against the liner, but for an un-linered block and ‘borderline diameter mis-matches due to rebores, I wouldn’t lose sleep over a slight mis-match.
I tried to fit a SNG composite to mine , but if the head or block hasn’t been skimmed they are too thick to get the chains on the cams , so I had to go back to steel . Can’t help with thicknesses .
Thanks for the information as I hadn’t expected the gasket to be compressed that much. In fact from maximum 1.7 mm (0.067") for the rings down to 1.0 mm (0.40") is quite a step. I will report back what I obtained in a couple of weeks.
For those wondering what Pete was referring to in this strange language (Dutch or better Flemish in Pete’s case): at this moment we have the European Championship Football (or “soccer” for our American friends) and Belgium lost their game against Italy and is now out of the tournament (just like the Dutch by the way…).
You have made me rethink my numbers but I’ve measured more than one and I think that’s correct. The only possible alternative would be that my memory’s not as good as it once was, and that would be ridiculous to suggest…
If soccer was a disappointment, turn your attention to the Tour de France. There is plenty for the Belgians, Dutch, English, Canadians and even the Americans (as of yesterday) to get excited about.
