SOUTHFIELD, MI — Federal-Mogul’s Fel-Pro brand of engine sealing technologies, has introduced an advanced PermaDryPlus replacement intake manifold gasket design, created to solve chronic coolant leakage issues in light trucks and sport-utility vehicles.
“It appears that on some engines, the use of conventional plastic-and-rubber gaskets in combination with the more aggressive ‘OAT’ (Organic Acid Technology) engine coolants has caused a significant number of sealing-related issues for consumers and automotive service providers,” said Fel-Pro Chief Engineer Jerry Rosenquist. “Our team has spent the past two years developing and testing a variety of gasket technologies that can survive in this very difficult operating environment.
The new Fel-Pro PermaDryPlus gasket features a high-strength aluminized steel carrier that is edge molded and encapsulated with a proprietary fluoroelastomer (FKM) material. In addition, the new gasket features three separate sealing beads around coolant ports to ensure a long-lasting seal under any situation. Other key design features of the new Fel-Pro PermaDryPlus design are stainless steel load limiters and integral locator pins molded into the FKM material.
According to Rosenquist, the new FKM material was specifically formulated by Federal-Mogul chemists to resist OAT coolants. “We ran our final dyno test for 612 hours and the gasket looked so good it was difficult to distinguish it from an untested part,” he said.
“The steel provides the strength needed to resist cracking and crushing, and the FKM provides exceptional fluid sealing under all conditions. This design solves the primary leakage issue everyone knows about as well as other concerns typical of engines that have entered the repair cycle.
Fel-Pro engineers tested several gasket technologies before identifying the new encapsulated design as the best solution, according to Rosenquist.
This latest product is available through Fel-Pro suppliers across North America. Immediate coverage is now available as part of a complete Fel-Pro Manifold Installation Set (Fel-Pro P/N MS 98000T) for G.M. 5.0L and 5.7L V8 truck engines manufactured from 1996 through 2002. The set contains all of the premium technologies needed to complete an intake manifold gasket repair, including PermaDryPlus lower manifold gaskets, upper manifold gaskets and an advanced PermaDry valve cover gasket.
Additional coverage – for select Ford (3.8L, 4.0L and 4.2L) and G.M. (3.1L, 3.4L and 4.3L) applications – will be introduced in early 2005.
For more information about Federal-Mogul and Fel-Pro, go to: www.federalmogul.com.
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