Yet another use for an empty tin can.
Last week I replaced the exhaust manifold gasket - AGAIN, only for it to blow 20 miles into a 200 mile journey to Lancashire.
I wasn't going to go all the way back sounding like a V1 bomber, but not knowing of a useful motor factors, I thought laterally.
Having ascertained that the flanges of my Ali inlet manifold are thicker than the flanges of the LCB, therefore not clamping the centre branch sufficiently, I decided to make a shim out of some thin metal sheet - a peach tin from the recycling bin.
With 5 minutes of tin-snipping, I had an C shaped piece of shim which went open end down over the centre branch flange, between the flange and the securing washer/nut.
Result - complete success!
In fact I'd doubled up initially, but found the inlet manifold a little loose with both shims.
I'd heard that an aluminium coke can is either 2 or 5 thou thick (I forget which), and when cut to shape can be used to fill the gap between the two centre cylinders on top of the head gasket if the head is a little warped. The steel can I used is a little thicker, but makes excellent shimage.