# Can't get the Gasket out...



## Kitch (Feb 24, 2015)

Dammit - tried for a couple of hours yesterday to get the old stock group head gasket out of my Silvia V3. It is simply not having it.

Any tips of levering it out without damaging the brass that surrounds it? It bends, but doesn't break, and It's as stiff as a car tyre.

I've tried everything in my toolbox, even crochet hooks, guitar picks. No joy!


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## Skizz (Feb 10, 2020)

Not familiar with the Silvia but I had to drive a coarse threaded screw into the gasket on my Gaggia Classic and pull it out with pliers.

If you know how thick the gasket is supposed to be (check specs), deduct around 15-20% to allow for compression/shrinkage and then drive the screw into the middle of the most exposed bit of the gasket to 70% of that depth - you're leaving a safety margin and assuming a thinner gasket than when new as you want to avoid driving the screw into the bottom of the grouphead.

Get some bull-nosed pliers on the screw and lever it out, but make sure you put something between the pliers and the edge of the grouphead to avoid marking it. If it's completely shagged it'll probably come out in bits but once the first chunks comes free the rest are a lot easier. This method came from others on this forum, with the calculations and padding thrown in by me because I'm a fussy sod.


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