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Oil leaking from head gasket!

  • Thread starter Thread starter Sunburn
  • Start date Start date
S

Sunburn

Guest
83 GS1100E. 13,000 miles. Oil is leaking around the typical area on the head, burns off on pipe and leave drool marks on the motor. Pulling the head installing a new gasket should resolve it? Thinking about doing this repair myself. What?s the biggest issue for a novice. Cam alignment, Cam chain tension?

While I have it apart should I look at making any parts replacements performance or stock? Any known areas of wear or weakness?



Thanks
 
Check the easy stuff first!

Check the easy stuff first!

Mr. Sunburn,

Does your tach cable connect to the top of the motor, perhaps right above where you are noticing the leak? By your description I would suspect the tach cable seal first. Take a look at this page on Mr. bwringer's website.

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff
 
I wish it was around the valve cover or Tach cable. It's much lower around the center bolt between the headers pipes. I'll take a closer look to be sure but I don't remeber any oil between the top and bottom of the head only below, then dripping over the oil filter cover then onto the header.


Mark
 
Mark,
The 1100 isn't that much different than the 850. That being said, get ready to spend some long hours cleaning gasket areas, and above all, make sure when you remove bolts, nuts, etc. that you put them on a cardboard sheet to make sure they all go back in the same place as you removed them. Get the carb boot o-rings, cam timing isn't hard if you follow the books or steps on this site, when you re-assemble it, check your valve lash, and adjust with shims as neccesary. I don't really understand a head gasket leak with that low of miles though.....:confused:
 
I'll bet it's perished O-rings that reside around the inner pair of front head bolts. Go to here on AlphaSports and part# 17 is the one that you'll need to replace.

You'll need two of those rubber rings, one for each nut. 8-[
 
tfb said:
I'll bet it's perished O-rings that reside around the inner pair of front head bolts. Go to here on AlphaSports and part# 17 is the one that you'll need to replace.

You'll need two of those rubber rings, one for each nut. 8-[
Click to expand...

That's a real good guess, it's around the number 10 bolt on that fig link. The rubber went bad after 23 years, makes for a good cause.

What's the best tool for scraping old gasket off?
 
What's the best tool for scraping old gasket off?
Click to expand...
You won't need to be scraping any gasket off -- unless you're talking about the cam-cover gasket, that is.

OK, I know the purists are going to baulk at this, but the head won't need to come off. You just need to remove those two central front nuts to get to their respective O-rings. Undo one at a time, replace the O-ring, and then re-torque.

A small smudge of your favourite goop around the O-rings is probably a good idea, too.
 
tfb has a point. The oil will leak down the cylinder studs and out the front or rear of the motor. Shine a flashlight between the cylinders and see if the stud is covered in oil. There is a passage between the cylinders so air can flow since these are air cooled motors.
If that's not it and a head gasket is required don't sweat it too much.
You'll need to replace the base gasket also since you will disturb a 20 something year old gasket and it will leak if not replaced.
 
tfb said:
You won't need to be scraping any gasket off -- unless you're talking about the cam-cover gasket, that is.

\.
Click to expand...



It's been a while the last time I replaced a head gasket was in the 80's '77 Camero. I remeber the gasket being that hard not so flexiable product comparied to the paper or cork products for other areas of the motor, is this true for the GS?

If so it would just pop off whole.


I like your O-ring sneak attack idea.
 
The head gasket will often lift away fairly cleanly, leaving only a minimal amount of material that will need to be carefully scraped away. A decent splodge of gasket stripping goop is always a good idea.
 
Before you pull it apart do a compression check...
Not that much harder to replace rings or do a valve job while you are in there if it is required.
With 13,000 they should be fine but it doesn't hurt to check.
 
When I replaced the head gasket on my 850, parts of the gasket around the studs were stuck very hard, and I had to scrape them off with a razor. I also cleaned all the carbon off of the pistons (not really a lot, but it needed to be done). I didn't do the base gasket as I was running out of time, I had to have the bike ready to ride in less than a week, as I was teaching an ERC the following Saturday. I still have a few drips, but it doesn't blow oil all over me any more. I'll be doing the valve shims before I put it on the road this year.
Oh, the overhaul gasket set I got had the wrong size o-rings for the studs, so I had to find some that would work. The o-ring for the tach drive is also not in the overhaul set, but I understand forum member Robert Barr has those. I still need to order one from him.
 
chef1366 said:
You'll need to replace the base gasket also since you will disturb a 20 something year old gasket and it will leak if not replaced.
Click to expand...


That's another thing I did not think about. Just more work :(.

Gasket's alone are going to cost.:confused:
 
PO approach

PO approach

I'm just glad that I probably won't have to have the head welded and have the thread retapped. When I originally saw the goop, I assumed that a PO had tried to remove the head in the dark and had forgotten/not seen the lower bolts and broke off or otherwise stripped the head bolt.

I'm relieved as it must just be a quick fix for the old O ring (#17) which also means the motor is probably original and not bored. If the compression test is good then the motor probably just has high "HIWAY" miles.

Posplayr
 
Tbf

Tbf

Just so I got this right by replacing the two front center o-rings on two front center bolts (under the valve cover) bolt #10 should stop leaking?
In the manual these two O-ring bolts are labled as "B"

By the way the goop was on the GS1100 which I saw when I bought it is partially the reason I think I got it for $1300. It now appears that I'm in luck as the PO simply did not know why it was leaking and figured a head gasket was in order. Ironically if it is the 0-rings then even if he had gone to all the trouble of pulling the head, then the 0-rings would still leak.

Posplayr
 
Just so I got this right by replacing the two front center o-rings on two front center bolts (under the valve cover) bolt #10 should stop leaking?
Click to expand...
If it is the O-rings, then the oil will run down to the front of the engine, and drip off bolt #10, or thereabouts.
 
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