Alpha one drive to bell housing gasket squeezing out

[cloud_master]

Reinstalled both drives today, and i found the thin part on both sides, both drives was wanting to squeeze out on me to the point i could see the orange. I don't remember this being an issue last year. I did spend a lot of time making sure all old gasket material was scraped, and wiped down with alcohol later.

I attempted to loosen the nuts and push gasket back in as i tightened. I would get to maybe 25 lb/ft before it would want to squeeze back out. Either way, does it really matter? Seems to me, the main point of the gasket is to keep the drive from corroding to the bell housing. Water intrusion to the bellows is on the rubber ring, and water passage is on the o-ring.

Am i wrong?

 

[achris]

...Am i wrong?

A little. The gasket does keep water from the shift slide cavity.

Don't use any sealant on the gaskets.

Chris...

 

[cloud_master]

Nothing used on the gasket intentionally. Just greased studs, and shaft housing per book.

 

[cloud_master]

What do you recommend I do with it? Run it, or try a new gasket and see if it happens again?

 

[achris]

Are you using OEM gaskets?

 

[cloud_master]

These were the quick silver brand.

 

[Rick Stephens]

I switched to the Tungsten Marine gasket when I had an Alpha 1 drive which did the same thing. It does not have the sealant on it and the thin vertical part is a bit wider. Solved a lot of that issue. I also would do a quick wipe down with carb cleaner or brake kleen before assembly to get the oil off.

You need that gasket intact. The big o-ring is only minimally useful at keeping water out of the bellows and it is guaranteed that you will have shift cable problems with water in the shifter pocket.

 

[cloud_master]

Does it pay to put a little gasket tack in the thin areas, or would that also cause the gasket to squeeze out?