A gasket (122) includes a first plurality of cylinder openings (402) arranged to correspond, one each, to a corresponding first plurality of cylinder bores (106) formed in a crankcase (102) of an internal combustion engine (100). A second plurality of coolant openings (404) and a third plurality of oil openings (406) are formed in a substrate sheet of material that makes up the gasket (122). A fourth plurality of pushrod openings (408) is formed in the substrate material of the gasket (122). Each of the fourth plurality of pushrod openings (408) includes a pass through portion (302) that has a semicircular shape with an internal diameter, D, and an alignment portion (304) that has a semicircular shape with an internal diameter, d. The diameter d is smaller than the diameter D. The pass-through portion (304) is located adjacent to the alignment portion (302).