Questions on Leaking Head Gasket

[Adam R]

I'm noticing oil leaking from a bad seal on the left side of the head gasket.  In order to replace the head gasket, do I also need to replace the valve cover gasket?  Does the Clymer manual address this procedure?  My Suzuki factory manual does not.

Thanks,

Adam

[Rashad]

Its very simple to do. The hardest part will be getting the head off and out of the bike. Its a pain in the a$$ to get around the frame rails :guns: . Once your past that, its cake.

Take off the seat, remove tank bolts and fuel lines(make sure you turn off the fuel on the petcock by turning the flathead screw til its horizontal) and remove the gas tank. Pull off the  carbs and airbox and all that other junk(sorry im not gonna be real specific about easy stuff). Undo the valve cover bolts, and remove the valve cover. Dont lose the o rings that go around each bolt.  Youll have to refer to a manual or do a search on cam timing, too complex for me to get into right now..  but get that info. Youll have to loosen the cam bearing caps and remove the cams. You can let the chain fall, no biggie, its easy to pull back up.

Remove the head nuts. If needed, use a rubber mallet to get the head to move a bit. Be careful though. Slip off the head and old gasket and slip on the new one. and be careful not to lose any o rings around the studs. Replace head and torque to specs. Reverse previous instructions with special care in timing the cams. That is fun. I bent two exhaust valves doing it wrong. Make sure its right before you turn that motor over!

You have to be careful not to scratch up the cam bearing surfaces. Take your time, and dont get frustrated. If you need more help you can check my 10 page thread.. just search for Rashad's saga....

Oh, and that valve cover gasket should be fine. Its heavy duty rubber or something.. and i dont think its gonna deteriorate that easy. My 91' is still holding strong. if its hard or brittle or cracking, then you want to replace it. Its a Buddha Loves You however, to get that thing back on right.. ehh youll see what i mean.

have fun!

[KevinC]

If you have an oil leak at the head, you should replace the 4 oil seals that go around the studs between the head and the cylinders. They are likely the root of the problem.

[gs500fromnb]

I had mine done ... yeah a 2003 wth 12000km and the gasket was allready leakin... and i just drive it on the street.... but the thing is that now between 6000-7000rpm on 2,3,4,5,6th  gears there is a noticable lack in power... so mutch so that in 5th and 6th ill have to downshift over that and red line to skip that rpm... what have they done wrong reassembling the engine that would do that???

ps. the idle takes way longer to go down when i rev it when its hot... throttle cable is ok... air filter dirty? <-- could that be it, got 12000km on it?

[70 Cam Guy]

I had mine done ... yeah a 2003 wth 12000km and the gasket was allready leakin... and i just drive it on the street.... but the thing is that now between 6000-7000rpm on 2,3,4,5,6th  gears there is a noticable lack in power... so mutch so that in 5th and 6th ill have to downshift over that and red line to skip that rpm... what have they done wrong reassembling the engine that would do that???

ps. the idle takes way longer to go down when i rev it when its hot... throttle cable is ok... air filter dirty? <-- could that be it, got 12000km on it?

If you had yours done and its not running right, take it back to the shop.  They may have screwed something up if its bogging that bad in the revs.  They may have fiddled with the jets or not gotten the timing marks perfect or something.  They are responsible since are the last ones to work on the bike and it did not have the stumble before they worked on it

[gs500fromnb]

yeah... i did that...  now the bog is less noticable but only when the engine is not to hot... if it gets pretty hot its totaly noticable again... they said that once the valves get tight again it would work fine again... but the idle still takes its time to go down... ill change the air filter to make sure its not that...  well ill have to take it back to see whats wrong with the idle and the bog... but christ it'll be the 4th time i go for the same f***ing problem... all they do is keep it for a few days (accually like 3-4days) every time and it does nothing...  :x

[Rashad]

yeah... i did that...  now the bog is less noticable but only when the engine is not to hot... if it gets pretty hot its totaly noticable again... they said that once the valves get tight again it would work fine again... but the idle still takes its time to go down... ill change the air filter to make sure its not that...  well ill have to take it back to see whats wrong with the idle and the bog... but christ it'll be the 4th time i go for the same f***ing problem... all they do is keep it for a few days (accually like 3-4days) every time and it does nothing...  :x

Sounds like you need a few turns out on the idle screws. Makes a BIG difference. Its running lean at idle.

[Adam R]

Kevin, are you talking about part #21?  The o-rings?

http://www.bikebandit.com/partsbandit/showschematic.asp?dept_id=137585