cylinder head advice

[four_shot]

I'm a cylinder head noob.

There... I said it.

I do Automotive repair for a living, so I'm no stranger to the inside of an engine. This is just my first time 'cracking' an aircooled engine.

I've developed an oil leak coming from the left (clutch side) front of the engine. I went through and built a (hopefully) comprehensive list of head gasket related parts to order for the job.

What im looking for, is a bunch of "hey stupid" and "dont forget" type stuff that someone who's done this before can point out. I'll be checking valve adjustment so no need to suggest it. Base gasket and related o-rings are also on the list.

Everybody ante up their 2 cents!

 

[blowerbike]

hey stupid...the clutch is on the right side.
man that felt good...i hope you enjoyed it just as much as i did

 

[tom203]

Well, I suppose it depends on which direction you face. To me, the clutch lever on handlebar is on left side, meaning the actual clutch itself is on right side-so just where is this leak? And how many miles on this critter?

 

[four_shot]

Clutch lever.
38000

Spent 10 yrs in storage until '09

 

[tom203]

So the leak is on left side towards front,as in stator cover area, as opposed to secondary drive area?? If so, has bike ever fallen over on that side?

 

[four_shot]

The leak is up higher at the valve cover/ head gasket level.



I'm wondering if I should get any timing chain related parts or are those parts really robust.

I've got a $400 budget including shipping.

I just want to open it the one time.

And yes two driveway "oopses" on that side.

TIA

 

[JTGS850GL]

Just make sure you buy OEM head and base gaskets. Be VERY cautious of cheap off brand gaskets in those areas.

Edit: And don't forget the half moon seals under the valve covers.

 

[matt1100]

I'd definitely do the valve seals, clean valves, and give them a light lapping while its off.

Have fun removing that old base gasket! :topsy_turvy:

 

[Machine]

Have fun removing that old base gasket! :topsy_turvy:

I second that. I had to use a chisel with a hone right beside me to sharpen it every minute or so. Suzuki doesn't screw around with cheap material in those...

 

[eil]

I just got back in from 3 solid hours of trying to scrape the base gasket off the head of my 850. Holy smokes that is not a fun chore. And I'm not even done yet, the mating surface is still about 1/3 covered with the remnants that didn't scrape off easily. Fascinating that Suzuki chose a gasket material that is almost as hard as aluminum.

I'm off now to search the forum about the best way to clean this mess up because I know I must have skimmed dozens of threads about the process.

 

[four_shot]

Just make sure you buy OEM head and base gaskets. Be VERY cautious of cheap off brand gaskets in those areas.

Edit: And don't forget the half moon seals under the valve covers.

This is what this thread is for.....I thought they were reuseable metal inserts

I'm buying all OEM parts. (Just to keep the "plus ones" and "what he saids" to a minimum.)


Does the head gasket pn 11141-49410 still require the o-ring? I've read several other threads stating no, but parts houses still list the o-ring as available.

Do I need to remove the breather cover to get the valve cover off?

This is a list of the parts I'm ordering, chime in if I missed something:

valve cover gasket
breather cover gasket (do I need this?)
half moons inserts
cyl head nut gaskets (callout #13 on parts fiche)
tach drive seal (callout #27)
tach drive seal (callout #28)
cyl head gasket (pn 11141-49410 )
o-ring (?)
cyl base gasket
cyl base o-rings
smaller cyl base o-rings
exhaust gaskets

clutch springs, (it's slipping)
clutch cover gasket

tach cable (been missing for years)

 

[matt1100]

Your not really gaining anything by seperating the breather from the valve cover service-wise. It does, however, make getting the valve cover off easier on my 1100. You could do a lot more, it depends on how thorough you want to be....

 

[gustovh]

Well if you need clutch springs, you might as well take the clutch apart and measure the steels and fibers just in case that is your problem with the slippage. The breather cover makes removing the valve cover easy. While you have the head off it would be a good time to replace the intake boot O rings and even the boots if they are hard...not really cheap though. It is also a good time to replace the valve seals and do a valve lap.

Just a couple thoughts.

V

 

[mikerophone]

This is a list of the parts I'm ordering, chime in if I missed something:

valve cover gasket
breather cover gasket (do I need this?)
half moons inserts
cyl head nut gaskets (callout #13 on parts fiche)
tach drive seal (callout #27)
tach drive seal (callout #28)
cyl head gasket (pn 11141-49410 )
o-ring (?)
cyl base gasket
cyl base o-rings
smaller cyl base o-rings
exhaust gaskets

clutch springs, (it's slipping)
clutch cover gasket

Subscribed...I'll be doing this soon.

 

[sclark900]

Charles - did you ever figure out how to clean up that gasket surface? I'm in the same boat w/ my GS750 and am stumped. Thanks.

I just got back in from 3 solid hours of trying to scrape the base gasket off the head of my 850. Holy smokes that is not a fun chore. And I'm not even done yet, the mating surface is still about 1/3 covered with the remnants that didn't scrape off easily. Fascinating that Suzuki chose a gasket material that is almost as hard as aluminum.

I'm off now to search the forum about the best way to clean this mess up because I know I must have skimmed dozens of threads about the process.

 

[JTGS850GL]

Do I need to remove the breather cover to get the valve cover off?

Yes, it's almost impossible to get the valve cover off without removing the breather first. You'll want to include a breather gasket if the gasket doesn't remain intact once the breather comes off. If you haven't done it recently you'll probably have to replace the intake O-rings that go between the head and the intake boots.

While the head is off you might want to consider replacing the valve stem seals and re-lapping the valves.

 

[Big T]

While a tear down is commendable, are you sure you don't just have a leaky valve cover gasket, or a cam chain tensioner gasket?

Both are very common problems

 

[four_shot]

Intake and carb o-rings are recent (within the past 5 yrs) carb to airbox boots as well.


Ive been waiting till the garage warms up enough to go out and actualy take a good look. Honestly i saw a line at the cyl head line and kinda just went with it. I'll update more when i can get eyes on it and physically see.

 

[ShadowFocus603]

Another suggestion would be to loosen the head bolts a turn or two then re-torque them according to the manual pattern and add say 5lb/ft per bolt. After that clean the engine and just observe for a few rides. Quite possibly you will save yourself a teardown on an engine with relatively low miles. I have similar leaks on both our daily riders andd will be re-torquing before chasing anything more serious. I've gotten several suggestions to do this as well.

 

[four_shot]

Another suggestion would be to loosen the head bolts a turn or two then re-torque them according to the manual pattern and add say 5lb/ft per bolt. After that clean the engine and just observe for a few rides. Quite possibly you will save yourself a teardown on an engine with relatively low miles. I have similar leaks on both our daily riders andd will be re-torquing before chasing anything more serious. I've gotten several suggestions to do this as well.

Probably wouldn't hurt, I still need to get out and look at the cottonpicker. F@ckin' honeydo list keeps getting longer the min I look at the garage.