Metal laminate gasket with sealing shim

A metal laminate gasket for an internal combustion engine having at least one hole to be sealed, comprising,

• a plurality of metal plates extending substantially throughout an entire area of the engine and laminating together to form a metal laminate gasket, said gasket having a first hole corresponding to the hole of the engine,
• auxiliary sealing means formed around the first hole for sealing therearound, said auxiliary sealing means being compressible when the gasket is tightened and including a curved portion situated inside the first hole and a flange located on an outer metal plate in said metal plates for forming the metal laminate gasket, and
• an annular shim situated between the metal plates and located outside the auxiliary sealing means with the flange relative to and at a predetermined distance away from the first hole, said shim surrounding the auxiliary sealing means without overlapping the flange and being non-compressible so that when the gasket is tightened, resilient surface pressure is formed on the auxiliary sealing means immediately outside the hole of the engine while non-resilient surface pressure is formed on the shim outside the auxiliary sealing means away from the first hole, said surface pressure on the shim being greater than that on the auxiliary sealing means to thereby securely seal around the first hole without causing deformation of the hole of the engine due to high surface pressure around the hole.