D Ring Question

[Commander47]

Ok, so I have a 51 I'm redoing and have a question about the D Rings.

My 51 didn't have them originallyl, and I like the look without them.

I'm being told by many bros I run with that I MUST use the D rings or suffer leaks and mess everywhere and have to pull the motor to put D rings on down the line anyways.

What is the best way to seal the pans without D rings? I want to show off those big pans.

[Guest]

Great question. I don't know the answer but I agree that the pans look best with no renforcement.

Joe

[King]

Commander47

Believe me those D rings are there for a reason. Probably a previous owner discovered that they were needed due to out of true pans or head deck. I believe that the 51's had a reinforcing ring made up of laminated steel rings much thinner than the aluminum variety. I think there was a thread on the subject recently. I have the aluminum six bolt ones on my 51 and they have never leaked so I'm sticking with them.

King

[Cotten]

If your covers are ground flat, you don't need no steenking D-rings.

...Cotten

[Panacea]

You can just remove the heads if you want to remove them, no need to pull the engine.

[57pan]

I have also heard that it is possible to unbolt the motor and tip it to one side far enough to remove the rocker covers. I've never tried it though.

[45brit]

I'm going to suggest that people who post here generally have the sense to keep things that work. There are whole BOARDS for people who like to argue about what sort of jockey shift is coolest, and the whole bag of monkey-nuts

D-rings may not be the prettiest things in creation but they are prettier than oilstreaks on your nice clean aluminium head fins.....

[fourthgear]

Those " D " rings are used for a couple of reasons , one being strength for sealing and even distribution of pressure on the sealing surface (flange ) of the tins ( valve cover ) . You can see it work by the next time you have a striped valve cover screw and find it still doesn't leak , because the pressure is evenly distributed by the other screws around it . Both my pans have the thick alum. rings and twelve ( I think, now I have to go count them ) screws. Some repop ones are not too straight in the flange dept.

[Robert Luland]

Boys let me lay this on ya. Many moons ago back in the late seventies I got tired of seeing oil dripping from that front pan head so I set out on a mission to resolve the problem permanently Dirt boys! Dirt it’s the culprit. Since I figured this out I have never had a leak in a pan head again. (Those STD heads. I had the fourth or fifth set that they made in 85 or 86. The fourth time I took the bike out one of the valve seats fell out because the seat socket hadn’t been clean properly after machining. Man O man there was a lot of busted aluminum) Here’s the leak proof secret. I start by wiping down the gasket surface with lacquer thinner. You can have the cleanest looking part but wipe it down with lacquer thinner and a white rag and you would be amazed of the crap that comes off. Do not use paint thinner or spirits as they leave a residue behind. Repeat this on the head and pan until the rag stays clean. Now get your self one of those every day pan gaskets. That’s right you don’t have to go out and blow twenty bucks on gaskets to get it leak proof. The next step is the sealer. Yama bond 4 or 5. Just tell the parts guy you want the light gray one. This is produced in the states under a name like TreeBond Liquid Gasket 1104 but Yamaha just slaps their name on it. I used to get it from Flanders. This stuff like silicon will ruin your engine if not applied properly. Before you say this guy is full of it let me explain? Silicone and Yama bond do not brake down in oil. If used in excess it will circulate though you engine plugging crank journals etc I’ve ripped engines down only to pull gobs of gasket sealer out. To avoid this do the following. I collect the gray cardboard backings off the yellow legal pads I use. I smear the gasket down on one side and stick it to the cardboard I then coat the other side flip it on the cardboard. The gasket just needs to be in permeated. No excess. I have never torqued my pan bolts but if it makes ya happy. Do it! See that was painless. Bob

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[Cotten]

You folks don't get it.

Nothing you stack on top of a bent pancover is going to straighten it.

The Factory's escalation from no reinforcement, to thin rings, to six-hole castrings, to 12 hole cast rings,... never defeated the public's capacity to over-tighten.

I'll bet you all like fat gaskets too.

...Cotten

[Robert Luland]

No Cotten I like the thin ones. Merry Christmas! I hope this year brings better times for ya. Keep braking these SOB balls at the Insurance to the end. Bob Beagle/Beagle

[FlatHeadSix]

Does anyone know for sure what the factory stuck the pans on with in '48? I'll bet they didn't leak when they left the factory, and I'd almost bet they went on with good ol' Permatex #2. No D-rings, no thick gaskets, just good clean flat surfaces on the heads and also on the new stainless covers, and proper torque. There is a HUGE difference between inch pounds and foot pounds of torque!

I have to 'fess up, my 49 has D-rings, but they were on it when I bought it and they don't leak. If it aint broke, don't fix it.

mike

[john HD]

you have to wonder how all those millions of small block chevys ever left the factory with just 4 bolts on each valve cover.

un coated plain cork gaskets and all!

and the last ones just had two in the middle!

i think the over tightening comments are correct!

john

[Commander47]

Well, I'm afraid that looks have won out this time. I went ahead and cleaned them up really good as recommended, and used regular gaskets with silicone sealer. I didn't overdo the silicon as I have also had a bad experience with this stuff plugging holes.

I opted to used black allen head screws with lock washers and thread lok. I did not tighten them down to the point of blood vessels popping in my hand, but only until the allen started started to bend.

That's about all the torque I put on it.

I'm using original HD heads and keeping my fingers crossed.

BUT BABY......FORGET THAT OIL SPOT......IT LOOKS SO COOOOOOOL.

[FlatHeadSix]

I always thought the thick style gaskets were for heads that had more than a few valve jobs. After the seat had been cut a few times the valve sat lower in the seat making the stem poke higher under the rocker. The thick gaskets provided a little more clearance so that the rockers didn't hit the underside of the pan.

I don't think their real purpose was ever to provide better sealing.

mike