Patent ID: 7655126

Claim:
A method for making a gasket of the type for clamped retention between a cylinder head and a block in an internal combustion engine, said method comprising the steps of: providing a sheet-like metallic gasket body having a work surface; forming at least one cylinder bore opening in the gasket body; supporting a plurality of electrodes in an ordered array; electrically insulating each electrode from another; establishing an electrically circuit with each electrode to form individual anodes; supporting the gasket body with its work surface in opposing spaced relation to the electrodes; establishing an electrical circuit with the gasket body to form a cathode; flowing an electrolyte rich with metallic ions through the space between the work surface and the electrodes; forming a generally annular stopper about the cylinder bore by creating an electrical potential between a plurality of the electrodes and the gasket body to cause metallic ions in the electrolyte to reduce or deposit onto the work surface; and forming a contoured compression surface on the stopper by selectively varying the electrical energy delivered to the electrodes over time.