Make Rave Valve Gasket

[mejim707]

I have a 96 Rotax 787 with two rave valves that needed cleaning.
I cleaned both. The gaskets were mostly ok, but there was a bit of the material left on the head, so some tore off. I don't feel comfortable reusing them.

I have Fel-Pro Karropak gasket material and cut my own making sure to perfectly match the holes and cuts of the gaskets that came off.

I don't see any reason why this should be an issue. It's high temp ~250 - 275 degrees from what I understand and maybe, before compressing, 1/32nd - 1/64th thicker than the gaskets that came off.

Is there any reason why you can't make your own gaskets for the rave valves?

I don't mind buying new, they're cheap, but I don't see why I should incur any cost and wait on shipping if these are so easy to make. And the local dealer is no longer stocking the majority of any parts for these older machines.

 

[Ckrawiec]

Can't see why you'd have any issues......tolerances on these old engines is out the window so a 1/32 to a 1/64 shouldn't make a bit of difference. Just make sure the RAVE blades go in the proper way, curve to the cylinder wall

 

[mejim707]

Can't see why you'd have any issues......tolerances on these old engines is out the window so a 1/32 to a 1/64 shouldn't make a bit of difference. Just make sure the RAVE blades go in the proper way, curve to the cylinder wall

Great thank you for the super fast response!

One last thing on this, because my brain doesn't stop, I question everything. I'm 99.99% sure I installed the PTO valve correctly with the "TOP" to the ceiling / top of the engine.

However, I keep questioning it and the easiest thing to do is to pull the valve again and check.

If I have not run the engine, do you think there would be any issue reusing the Fel-Pro gasket I made? I already torqued the hex bolts down to 80 inch pounds.

I can make another, but I'd prefer not. I'm likely over thinking it.

 

[Ckrawiec]

I've re-used old gaskets if they are not ripped......in other circumstances (gaskets ripped and replacements not readily available or gettable quickly), i've re-used the gaskets and smeared gasket maker goop on them to get by.....never really had any issues....Necessity is the mother of invention.....probably over thinking it.....

 

[Spider4real]

Just as an FYI, I had made some RAVE gaskets out of the cardboard from a cereal box as a temp solution while I ordered more once. They actually worked well and I left them on.

 

[Ckrawiec]

Just as an FYI, I had made some RAVE gaskets out of the cardboard from a cereal box as a temp solution while I ordered more once. They actually worked well and I left them on.

Yep....done that too.....whatever gets you by !

 

[mejim707]

Yep....done that too.....whatever gets you by !

Last thing, I’ve read that if your raves are set flush with the cap then the water regulator needs to be opposite / 3 full turns in.

My water refulator is slightly above flush with the cap. This is apparently what Sea-Doo sets as factory - 3 full turns out.

I’m having zero overheat issues but should I change this setting to be opposite what the raves are set to or does it matter?

 

[mejim707]

For now I'm going to leave the raves and water regulator all flush with the top of the black cap.

Some people say make the raves opposite of the water regulator, some say don't mess with it you'll blow your engine, others say play around with it as much as you want, and the service manual says it's professionally tuned at the factory and don't touch it.

It's nice to know that the adjustments are clear lol I'm just going to leave the water regulator alone. If I don't touch it I can't mess it up.