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Need a head gasket but not the kit...

  • Thread starter Thread starter Biker326
  • Start date Start date
B

Biker326

Guest
Hi there,

I recently went through the top end of my 1980 GS1000E replacing all of the gaskets from the piston block up. The engine had developed leaks in the usual places- cam cover, head between #2&#3 near the tach cable, etc... I purchased one of those complete gasket sets to do this and things seemed to go just peachy. When I got everything put back together the bike ran beautifully, but after running a bit I noticed that the head gasket was weeping oil badly around piston #1. I checked all the torqe levels on the head bolts and the tightening order. I suspect that I just didn't get that part of the old gasket cleaned off well enough (it was a real bear to get off!). Anyway, now I'm trying to find a good source for purchasing just a replacement head gasket, without having to cough up the $ for the whole kit again. Suggestions and comments welcome.
Thanks!

p.s. I checked through the forums for suggestions already posted and tried "realgaskets" and the cycle-recycle page but haven't found what I need there yet- maybe I missed it... all suggestions welcome.
 
I get mine from my Suzuki dealer. He always has the basics in stock- head gaskets, cam cover gaskets, cables.

Get ready, head gaskets are typically the most expensive of all the gaskets!
 
ok,
checked the local suzuki dealer... $88 but none in stock. If I can't find anything better, they will get it for me. I've got the ebay auction on my watchlist -thanks for the tip chiphead!- have to keep checking around while the auction runs on. I'll post a summary of what I find at the end of this thread for anyone else who may be interested... so check back.
 
Last edited:
If you lift the head you should replace the base gasket and o-ringsagain as well.go genuine.

Dink
 
Biker326 said:
ok,
checked the local suzuki dealer... $88 but none in stock. If I can't find anything better, they will get it for me. I've got the ebay auction on my watchlist -thanks for the tip chiphead!- have to keep checking around while the auction runs on. I'll post a summary of what I find at the end of this thread for anyone else who may be interested... so check back.
Click to expand...

Complete set avail here for about $60.00
https://www.partsnmore.com/cat_index.php?model=gs&category=engine
 
conclusion...

conclusion...

Wow, thanks for all the help... Here is a summary of what I've come up with for all those who may come along with a similar question:

Suziki Dealer: Head gasket alone= ~$90
Dennis Kirk: Complete Gasket Kit= forget it:shock:
Bike Bandit: didn't have it
e-bay: have to do some searching but well worth it on a budget -downside is it's not usually very fast.
partsnmore.com: complete gasket kit= $60

I'm sure there are other good places to look. I personally went with the partsnmore.com option because they offered free shipping to the US and I didn't want to wait any longer- summer's fly'n by my leaky bike!
Thanks again to all for the advice!
 
Keep in mind the OEM Suzuki stock gasket is likely much better quality than the kit from Partsnmore.com. If I can, I always replace engine gaskets with OEM stock regardless of cost. However, many folks have used the Vesrah and alike kits with success.
 
cometic is rumored to make the best head gasket. But they are not cheap.
 
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