Does anyone mill O-ring grooves into VW cases

[gimmesomeshelter]

I stumbled upon a aircraft rebuilding firm that mills an O-ring groove into their engine cases.

http://www.lycon.com/uploads/4/4/8/8/44889763/crankcase__seal.pdf

Are there any shops out there that do this on VW cases?

Cheers,

Paul
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[Clatter]

Bernie Bergmann used to do that.

If you prep your cases properly, they typically don’t leak at the parting line, though.
Plenty of other places first, no doubt.

Say your case was mangled by a guy trying to pry it open with a screwdriver or something,
Some will use unwaxed dental floss slit in half to seal those.
Another trick from aircraft..
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[Towel Rail]

Is that the same Tom Wilson that wrote the "How to Rebuild..." book?
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[74 Thing]

Bergmann

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=482344

[Onceler]

I'd rather spend the money on a o-ringed oil pump, if that's even reliable
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1972 Karmann Ghia

[Dale M.]

There was some mention some time back of using combination of quality non hardening sealer and a silk thread to make up for any case imperfections....No machining required...

Dale
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moderns sealants are good enough you don't need to resort to that sort of thing anymore.
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[Dale M.]

[timvw7476]

I don't even want to know the milling cost.........

[DeathBySnuSnu]

I have considered this for my valve covers.
I dont see the need as far as sealing goes......either for the case or the valve covers.

Why I was thinking valve covers was to get some metal to metal contact so some heat could transfer out the cover.

As it stands the thick gaskets isolate them. The only appreciable heat transfer is from whatever oil splashes on them. I doubt much heat leaves by valve cover.
But......
If there was metal to metal contact around the seal area.........
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[volksworld]

if you eliminated the thickness of the gasket many valve train combos could hit the inside of the cover

[modok]

Sorry Paul but milling that groove is wankery, right up your alley, just kidding
For one thing there is no reason to surround the bolt holes, as you will not have any problem there unless the bolt is loose. In between the bolt holes the metal might eventually warp apart slightly, and having a groove there may do some good long term, but you don't need an o-ring, just sealant, and since it is silicone sealant you don't need a perfectly machined groove, just freehand is OK.
Why? well, lets say silicone sealant is amazingly flexible and can flex 5x it's thickness. WOW, but five times .0002" is still no more than .001, so a groove lets you have a greater thickness of sealant so it can flex far more. This was used extensively through the 80's

Another solution is to put small bits of dust in the sealant to create a calculated gap of .002-.004", such as permatex GREY silicone. however, you have to be careful where you put this stuff because precision machined assemblies not made for it, you screw up the fit, or weaken the joint between the two metal parts because it's not as strong as metal on metal.
on the engine case the oil sump area it would work fine, but you would have to stay away from the bearings. this is what subaru is doing. OLDER models used regular silicone sealant everywhere, Newer models you use the sealant with the...media in it, but have to apply it according to a diagram. looking at the diagram is clear that they are just doing the perimeter and you keep it away from the mains.

using either of these, or a combination, requires no special tools, and could be done by anybody, if you know how. and will work just fine if you do it right.

[Zundfolge1432]

[gprudenciop]

Yamabond is the $hit.I use it on everything.I have a case that the previous owner used screwdrivers to split open in various locations and this stuff sealed it no problem.
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[Dale M.]

[vwracerdave]

[VWporscheGT3]

[modok]

I agree Dave, auto engines and aero engines are treated very different but they really should not be,
just a level of failures and exendature that people are willing to accept.
Since aviation engines are re-built at regular intervals there is no need for a long term gasket strategy.
o-rings and copper head gaskets work just fine because they replace them often, but it is quite wasteful.

[EVfun]

The idea of an o-ring sealed aluminum valve cover held down with a stock VW bailing clip is wonderful! The valve cover would have to be a new design because stock covers and existing aftermarket covers rely on the gasket thickness for clearance and proper fit of the bail.
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[modok]

Yes, it IS a good idea.
Maybe we will make them, someday.