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head removal, stuck tappet

  • Thread starter Thread starter Guest
  • Start date Start date
G

Guest

Guest
So I'm in the midst of pulling the head off my 79 850. 1st question; All the tappets came out fine except #2 exhaust, it came up easy enough then bound towards the top and now won't budge. 2nd question; I've got all the bolts off the head including the one at the front of the timing chain area but the head will not pull up. The seal is broken all the way around the gasket but it will not pull up. I have not removed the Tach. drive gear as it is stuck so I just figured I would do it once the head is off, I don't think this would effect the head not coming out. I just let the chain drop down as I'm going to be replacing the base gasket as well (seems that's the consensus on here). I tried a bit of leverage at well supported spots but still no luck. I can tilt the head from back to front and front to back, maybe 5mm or more but it will not lift up. Any suggestions?
 
There are alignment dowels on each side of the head between the head and the cylinders. You have to pry the head up evenly from side to side for it to come up without these dowels binding.

I took the head off my '79 GS850 recently using using some wooden wedges you use to install doors. I put 2 wedges at each of the 4 corners between the cooling fins and and tapped one into the other to put upward pressure. Whatever you use pry the head up evenly.

It is similar with the tappet. It has bound slightly sideways in the lifter bore. You need to gently tap it straight with something soft like a rubber mallet or a piece of wood and hammer, so it slides freely again. Try and see or figure out which way it has bound and then tap it straight.

If you are taking the cylinder block off you can run into similar problems with the pistons binding in the bores just as they are about to slide out. Have someone help you keep the pistons straight as you slide the cylinder block off.

Has the timing chain dropped down into the crankcase? Can you hook it with something to get it back up again?

I hope this helps.

Brian
 
The timing chain has dropped down but won't I just be able to grab it once I have the head and cylinder block off? I read the warnings about not dropping the timing chain in the shop manual but I assumed that was if you were only taking the head alone off, I'm hoping I haven't done something I will regret. Thanks for the tips, makes sense. I'll have a go at it again in the morning.
 
You can pick the chain back out with a telescopic magnet.

Daniel
 
Tappet out, head and cylinder off. Now I no nothing about what I'm looking at here. First time I've ever pulled a head apart. Can someone look at these pics and let me know if anything says "danger Will Robinson, danger"


IMG_9922 by azr33, on Flickr


IMG_9921 by azr33, on Flickr


IMG_9920 by azr33, on Flickr


IMG_9919 by azr33, on Flickr

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/53529648@N07/5325774858/" title="IMG_9915 by azr33, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5123/5325774858_d0ff52c889.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="IMG_9915" /></a>


IMG_9913 by azr33, on Flickr
 
Image 9920 appears to show oil seepage into the combustion chamber. I would take a hard look at my valve stem seals and probably just replace them since they aren't that expensive. What is that stain in the last cylinder? Rust?
 
You need to measure the cylinders to figure out if they are within the service limit. A bore gauge is the proper tool for the job. Assuming the cylinder is okay, I suggest you bottle brush those cylinders and install new rings. For the head, remove the valves and install new seals for sure. I'd surface the head, and maybe the cylinder too while the engine is apart. For gaskets and seals, OE is superior compared to aftermarket, but expensive. There is lots of info in the archives about what gaskets to get so I suggest a search and read though the various gasket threads.

Good luck
 
There does seem to be a bit of rust in a cylinder, very faintly though. It's been sitting for a few weeks but I was surprised to see that. The bike wasn't pushing any smoke pre tear down but for sure I'm going to put in new valve stem seals while I've got it torn apart. I've read through all the info no gaskets, so it looks like OE for the head and cylinder then for the rest I was planning of going through Z1. I actually touched base with them about their gasket kits to see if they were OE and they stated the kits come from Vesrah and that Vesrah buy some of their gaskets from the same manufacturer as Suzuki does as well as from some others manufactures. Sounds like I'm going to have to buy some new tools to do all this. Surfacing eh, oh no I've read that digging into the engine gets expensive.
 
azr said:
(Snip)
Sounds like I'm going to have to buy some new tools to do all this. Surfacing eh, oh no I've read that digging into the engine gets expensive.
Click to expand...

Oh yeah. New tools will be in the budget. Unless you have someone do the work for you. If I have the skills and the tools are less than half the cost of the repair, I opt to purchase the tools. Otherwise, I job it out. As far as engine work being expensive, what part of bike ownership isn't?
Don
 
Rob,

At this point, you can rent a valve spring compressor. A bottle brush hone isn't very expensive.

Machining the head and barrels isn't very expensive either. You can have the machinist measure the bores for you

It was leaking from the base gasket only, right?
 
Big T said:
Rob,

At this point, you can rent a valve spring compressor. A bottle brush hone isn't very expensive.

Machining the head and barrels isn't very expensive either. You can have the machinist measure the bores for you

It was leaking from the base gasket only, right?
Click to expand...
The leak looked like it was coming from the front of the head gasket. I was shocked to find O-rings in there underneath both the head and the cylinder. I'll start the hunt for a decent machine shop and get a price on having the the head checked and surfaced. I checked out the gaskets, holy cow are they expensive. This is all a bit of a buger because I had decided to sell the bike this spring....arrrrr.
 
In a pinch Athena gaskets can be used, but don't use the base gasket or critical oil seal type O-rings, supplement the kit with OE parts there.
 
azr said:
The leak looked like it was coming from the front of the head gasket. I was shocked to find O-rings in there underneath both the head and the cylinder. I'll start the hunt for a decent machine shop and get a price on having the the head checked and surfaced. I checked out the gaskets, holy cow are they expensive. This is all a bit of a buger because I had decided to sell the bike this spring....arrrrr.
Click to expand...
Not until spring? be frugal and watch ebay Ca. you should be able to find the oem base, head, cam cover gaskets, cam tunnel o-ring and base o-rings (all 6 [4+2]) for around $75-80 with careful shopping. then order the stem seals from Z1 and (or) possibly the cam cover gasket and skip finding one off Ebay.
 
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