• Required reading for all forum users!!!

    Welcome!
    Register to access the full functionality of the GSResources forum. Until you register and activate your account you will not have full forum access, nor will you be able to post or reply to messages.

    A note to new registrants...
    All new forum registrations must be activated via email before you have full access to the forum.

    A Special Note about Email accounts!
    DO NOT SIGN UP USING hotmail, outlook, gmx, sbcglobal, att, bellsouth or email.com. They delete our forum signup emails.

    A note to old forum members...
    I receive numerous requests from people who can no longer log in because their accounts were deleted. As mentioned in the forum FAQ, user accounts are deleted if you haven't logged in for the past 6 months. If you can't log in, then create a new forum account. If you don't get an error message, then check your email account for an activation message. If you get a message stating that the email address is already in use, then your account still exists so follow the instructions in the forum FAQ for resetting your password.

    Have you forgotten your password or have a new email address? Then read the forum FAQ for details on how to reset it.

    Any email requests for "can't log in anymore" problems or "lost my password" problems will be deleted. Read the forum FAQ and follow the instructions there - that's what we have one for...

  • Returning Visitors

    If you are a returning visitor who never received your confirmation email, then odds are your email provider is blockinig emails from our server. The only thing that can be done to get around this is you will have to try creating another forum account using an email address from another domain.

    If you are a returning visitor to the forum and can't log in using your old forum name and password but used to be able to then chances are your account is deleted. Purges of the databases are done regularly. You will have to create a new forum account and you should be all set.

stripped cylinder head bolt?

  • Thread starter Thread starter bikerfox
  • Start date Start date
B

bikerfox

Guest
I just got my '80 GS850 today, and it leaked like crazy all the way home. I get home, tryin to find the leak's source (its dripping like crazy off of the exhaust flanges) and when i poke the cylinder head bolt under the spark plug, its loose! Its all the way down in, and i pulled it right out with some resistance.

Not only that, the far left (sitting on the bike) plug is completely clean, like it was brand new! Could this be the source? And can it be repaired on the bike or does the metal have to fly?

I have been riding a GS500E basket case before this one :P wondering if i should have kept it and its driveshaft leak/blown fork seals :)
(though i do love having the bigger bike)
 
Probably why the head gasket blew. No choice but to strip the top end
We are talking about the head bolts Not the cam cover bolts Yes??
 
Last edited:
i believe so, its the one right under the spark plug on the far left. Useless without any pics i know, no working camera tonight :(

Its not one of the huge acorn nuts, though. Its a smaller bolt.

Bummer, how hard is a head gasket job on these?
 
If that bolt is stripped I don't beleive it would account for your leak unless some of the 8 cylinder head studs were stripped as well. You could probably get away with helicoiling that one without removing the head.

Also if the oil is dripping down off the exahust flanges then that would seem to me to show that the leak is actually higher than head gasket joint. Check the cam cover and also the tacho drive.

It doesn't neccesarily mean blown gasket it could be that the valve stem seals have gone and are allowing oil through, it could also be that the piston rings are stuck and allowing oil into the cylinders stopping the bike from firing and forcing the oil out through the exhaust.
 
The bike runs, and boy does that engine sound BEAUTIFUL!

That clean looking spark plug now shows a somewhat lean but still ok condition (leaky, cracked carb boots, gonna change em) and with the tank off but still connected, running the bike seems to be leaking the oil from the valve cover gasket, but its quite a bit of oil, will it normally leak this much? It probably leaked a quart in 25-30 miles of riding! :mad:

Theres no smoke from the exhaust, and doesnt smell like its burning any oil through it. Even at a good load still no smoke. All the smoke comes from the oil burning ON the exhaust :p

Other than that, this bike is like a cadillac compared to my GS500E :D

i love how smooth the engine hums :)
 
That bolt doesn't do a great deal in tightening down you cylinder head - it's a low torque spec (I normally replace them with stainless bolts and don't bother getting the torque wrench out). If the thread has gone have you got enough room underneath to slide in a 10mm nut - on some bikes you can do this and I think that's fine as a fix.

Your cam cover shouldn't leak any oil at all. You're gonna have to pull it off and replace. Be careful when removing the old gasket that bits don't drop down in to the motor and be careful torquing down the bolts that hold it on - loads of fellas on here have stripped the threads.
 
thanks for the help everyone :D glad i joined up!

Im going to order a new gasket from bikebandit (i get it overnight, even on the cheapy ground shipments, i love being 2 hours from their warehouse)

Ive made mistakes like that on cars, a chrysler new yorker is oversensitive to over tightening the valve cover bolts, cuts gaskets with ease!

Im looking forward to many miles with my new friend, and my new friends ;)
 
Check to see if the breather system (hose running from valve cover to airbox) is clogged. Sometimes the steel fitting on the 79-81 airbox rusts shut. This can allow the engine to pressurize and worsen any leaks.

You may have also lost or displaced one of the half-moon shaped seals -- take the decorative caps off the ends of the valve cover and take a look.

I use lifetime silicone RealGasket valve cover gaskets on 850 engines:
http://realgaskets.com/files/motorcycle.htm

You'll need the RG-GS850-G1 valve cover gasket and the RG-SBC-2 breather cover gasket.

Just PLEASE pay attention to the extremely low torque spec -- it's given in Inch-pounds, not foot-pounds. 15 inch pounds is just barely past finger-tight, but it's plenty to compress the silicone perfectly and make a great seal.




Here are instructions for fixing couple of other very common GS850 leaks, although these just seep enough to be annoying rather than the gusher you're dealing with now:

http://bwringer.com/gs/tachcableseals.html
http://bwringer.com/gs/camchaintens.html
 
Theres an idea, come to think of it, it does take a couple miles of riding to start leaking. Ill check that tomorrow, thanks!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top