Silicone eliminates rubber gaskets from oil pan seals

ERJ staff report (DS)

Munich, Germany -- Wacker Chemie has developed a new silicone rubber specifically designed to replace more conventional rubber gaskets from automotive oil seals. The grade is called Elastosil 76540 A/B,

Wacker said, "The RTV-2 liquid silicone rubber can be easily machine applied, cures at room temperature, and has excellent resistance to oil, heat and blow-by gases. With its outstanding adhesive and sealing properties, this rubber grade enables innovative engine construction solutions.

This room-temperature-vulcanising (RTV), two-part silicone, developed jointly with the INPRO in Berlin, is extremely robust. Even when immersed in organic liquids such as engine oil at over 100 °C, the silicone sealant shows hardly any swelling and retains its mechanical strength. Consequently, it bonds extremely reliably and durably to a variety of polymers and metals.

The company said, "Oil pans are one of the very last bulky parts in a car engine to be produced from plastic. Sealing these oil pans with silicone adhesives and reducing the number of screws would save an impressive 25 percent of a pan's costs. What's more, the conventional rubber gaskets can be dispensed with. "

The material was developed in collaboration with the society for innovation (INPRO), a joint venture of BASF, Daimler, Siemens, ThyssenKrupp, Volkswagen, and the Federal State of Berlin,

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Press release from Wacker