sump gaskets

[bervie]

i've just fitted a new gasket and it's made from cork.
The original one seems to be that rubber liquid stuff from a tube. Anyway whilst fitting i remembered one of our club members losing oil pressure and oil all over the track on his griff during a sprint session and the reason. The cork had decentigrated and blocked the pipe feeding the pump.
Anyone else had this problem and why use cork and not the usual sorts you see for cars.

[TT Tim]

Cork was the norm a few years ago. I believe that the sumps in TVR RV8s are sealed with a silicon compound alone rather than using a gasget. Remember stray sealant squeezed out of the joint into the sump will have the same effect as bits of cork clogging the oil pick up.

TBH I've never heard of a sump gasget deteriorating enough to block a oil pick up with debris. I would have thougfht oil starvation on a track day was far more likely due to oil surge and a lack of sump baffeling.

Tim

[tonyrec]

Not much help i know but ive just had mine changed by TopCats as the old one was leaking quite badly.
Needless to say, the new one is oiltight.

[mongoose]

youre much better off with a cork gasket imho.the 'snot' they use originally is well known for being troublesome with leaks.if your cork one was fitted correctly,ie clean surfaces and correct torque on the bolts then all will be fine.stop worrying unnecessarily,youve just improved your car.

[shpub]

John Eales along with many others uses high temp silicone.