TOPIC:

It's tough to see, but the pitting is still there near the oil galley after a lot of sanding with 100 grit.

No eBay APP ID and/or Cert ID defined in Kunena configurationI'd use the copper head gasket spray on it. The base gaskets I get are thicker than OEM. Up till now I've had good luck with them. I suspect I didn't clean well enough this time around. Have a minor leak, May not work for your engine. Contact Stan and he will give you the right one.
Steve

I have faith in the OEM base gasket. The sealant coating covers up a lot of surface flaws. The location of the worst pitting around the dry studs shouldn't have an effect. More worried about what's left near the oil galley.

I'll take a little more off then sand smooth and check with a straight edge. What I took off may help with the squish clearance??

Maybe but be careful.
Steve

I sent back the case I got. The pitting on the block deck was too much, and deep grooves in the gasket surface for the oil pan. Like they dragged it on concrete with the pan off.

Just got another one for $49 in much better shape. Came from a KZ1100 shaft with 19k miles. I checked and the case part numbers are the same for shaft and chain.

That sucks. Good luck on this one.
Steve

Update:

Can't get the OEM paint off the new case with paint stripper, and trouble finding someone local to soda blast it. So I went ahead and assembled to check the squish.

It was tough placing the solder because there's only a few mm of head deck that overlaps the bore. But I have about .041" squish with the Cometic composition gasket, which is .043" thick after torque. This means I'm already a couple thousandths negative piston deck clearance. I confirmed that after pulling the head and the piston at tdc is still flush with the block deck.

Now here's the decision. I don't like the Cometic comp gasket. I can use the OEM gaskets at about .050" thickness giving me .048" squish, or the Cometic MLS gasket with a thickness of .040" giving me .038" squish.

What is the compression? I wonder if I cost myself grinding the ridge out of the head.
Steve

Don't know the actual compression without cranking or volume testing, but these are MTC 10.5:1 pistons. I'm no engineer, but I don't see an advantage in grinding off the head deck to equal combustion chamber to bore size. Correct squish is a good thing, and these heads have very little squish area to begin with. Taking that metal off definitely lowers compression. How much, I don't know.

I read it would help "burn". I noticed they did it with other heads from the factory.
Steve

Don't know. Maybe better with flat top pistons?

These are 10.25/1 pistons. One in front is a stock 903 piston. Yours look taller than mine.
Steve