oil leak/new head gasket

I have this really minor oil leak at the top of my (engine) head, it's on the left hand side and is just bad enough to spray a tiny bit of oil on my pants when I ride. I'd like to fix it and I wonder if it's this easy. :get a new gasket, back all the bolts out of the top and remove it, clean the old gasket off, put the new gasket on,put the head back on, tighten all the bolts back down with a torque wrench to spec. My fears are that I could drop something into the engine and cause a (big)problem or do something else along the way that would kill my motor. I also wonder if there is any maintenance work that should be done while the head is off (like valve adjustment) that a shop would be able to see and do if I went that route. - any thoughts anyone ??????

82LTD1000 with over 100,000 km

Christo... Based on your initial query, I would guess you are not that comfortable with mechanics at this point but willing to give things a shot. I think before disecting your bike's engine to fix an oil leak you FIRST confirm where the oil is coming from. You MAY THINK it is the head gasket but it can also be coming from a variety of other locations... oil tends to work its way away from where it actually leaks from and makes diagnosis confusing. So.... Clean the engine. Get some powder deodorant spray and spray the gasket line, the cam end plugs, the tach drive, the OUTER stud nuts and anyplace else where there is any potential for oil to leak. Start the bike and let it run for a minute or two and then shut it off. Look for the powder to be dampened by the oil. NOW YOU HAVE FOUND THE OIL LEAK. It may be in the valve cover or cam end plugs or oil may be leaking from the stud nuts or elsewhere that are EASY to fix.

If you find that the problem is that the head gasket is leaking, your biggest issue will be the cam shafts. You first remove the valve cover. Take off hoses and reed valve covers. Then you will be able to lift the valve cover clear of the cam chain tower while removing the valve cover by sliding it a bit to the rear and then out the side. The you will remove your cam chain tensioner. Once the valve cover is off, you will first remove the bolts holding the cam caps which are used to retain the camshafts. Once they are loose, the cam chain will loosen. Take off the upper cam chain idler assembly which is held by four bolts. This is your best opportunity to drop something to the bottom of the engine. If you do, it can generally be retrieved by removing your oil pan and fishing it out. In any case, take care because once the bolts are removed, there are a steel plate and rubber pad under the bolts that are loose and can drop in the engine. It isn't very difficult to keep track of these parts if you are aware they are loose. Once you remove the idler assembly, you pull the cam shafts out. The cam chain needs to be tied up to an engine stud or the frame so it doesn't drop down into the engine. It can be a chore to fish out with a coat hanger. Then you just loosen and remove the nuts on the engine studs and two bolts on the end of the head. At that point, you can pry the head a bit up at its pry points as shown in a Factory Service Manual (FSM) and then lift the cylinder head off while holding onto the cam chain. Once the head is off, tie the cam chain again. Then clean the gasket surfaces of both the head and block. Put a new gasket in place. I would highly recommend using NAPA Gasket Sealer. It is spray on stuff in a blue can and comes out red so you can see it. Follow the directions and spray the mating surfaces as well as both sides of your gasket material. When the stuff starts to tack up, put your cylinder head back on (hold that cam chain so it doesn't drop in the engine). At some point, re-anneal the copper washers that go under the stud nuts. This means heat them till they are red hot and drop them in water. This restores their ability to seal oil. Use a propane torch. Torque the head according to the pattern and to the specs given in your FSM. You will torque each fastener twice with the second pass tighter than the first. Again, refer to your shop manual for reinstalling the cam shafts so that cam timing is maintained properly. Failure to do so will result in bent valves. Reinstall your cam caps in the order described in your FSM. Once installed use the PROPER torque wrench and torque the cam cap bolts to the exact spec given. I would clean these bolts with a wire wheel when they are out to ensure no problem reinstalling. These bolts tend to strip the thread when overtorqued and that is why the torque spec adherence is critical. Then you reinstall your idler assembly and loctite the four bolts holding it and at THAT POINT, check your valve clearances per your FSM and replace any shims where clearances are incorrect. Reinstall valve cover (using a new gasket there too!) and ride!

Wow! That was impressive just to read, never mind to DO! I was going to suggest keeping the oil topped off, and wear your pants backwards part of the time, to equalize the amount of oil sprayed on each leg. Just don't sit on your wife's new couch after a ride...

Nevin, I like to take a technical approach but the diplomatic approach you suggest has merits if you treasure a marriage! Bwhahaha

Great response to his question. I am curious on the part of the spray on gasket sealer from NAPA. When you spray it on to the lower case how do you keep it out off the crank and out of the other parts. Do you have to cover/wrap them? Or do you just spray the gasket only on each side?

The reason I am asking is that as soon as I get my hands on a service manual (and not until then) I am pulling the head and cylinder block off mine to have them reconditioned. I haven't had a KZ engine apart since the Reagan days!

I'd be more "Curious" as to why you didn't tell him to replace the base gasket as well?

i dont think hes telling him to remove base gasket he said to clean head and cylinder gasket surfaces and install head gasket;) ive used copper coat for sealing gaskets tractor mechanic turned me on to it,i figure if it holds up on cat diesels it must be good stuff!goodluck,happy wrenching!

wireman wrote:

i dont think hes telling him to remove base gasket he said to clean head and cylinder gasket surfaces and install head gasket;) ive used copper coat for sealing gaskets tractor mechanic turned me on to it,i figure if it holds up on cat diesels it must be good stuff!goodluck,happy wrenching!

Let's not start an arguement here. Think about what happens to the "Base Gasket" when you effectively remove the torque load from it by removing the head. This is just common sense to replace the "Base Gasket" as well. He's already removing the top end. We wouldn't want him to do this job over again (possibly immediately) because of a simple oversight. This is not even metioning all of the other little parts that should be inspected and possibly replaced. It also says in his signature line the bike has over 100,000km.

IMHO, NOTHING happens to the base gasket if you don't remove the block. The seal remains and the gasket remains compressed. I have removed the cylinder head many times from a variety of bikes and changed head gaskets but not messed the with the base gasket. If you are not comfortable doing that, then by all means replace the base gasket.

As far as spraying the gasket sealer, I use a piece of cardboard as I go around the mating surface and attempt to keep any of the stuff out of the engine innards. You can cover the piston tops with whatever you like... clean rags would work or tape them with masking tape. I have done both. The NAPA stuff GREATLY adds to the gasket seal. I discovered this stuff when I had sealing problems on one of my engines. Even though I had cleaned the mating surfaces, the finish of the mating surface on this particular engine was not as smooth as I have seen it elsewhere. I had one exceptional problem sealing the inner countershaft cover... it leaked using a thicker gasket I cut myself out of heavy paper. I also tried some of the Permatex liquid gasket maker with a heavier paper and it still leaked a tad. I then used this spray stuff with a normal Versah (thin) gasket and it sealed perfectly. The stuff doesn't make it hard to remove the cover either if you dissasemble.