Head gasket

Sadly, welcome to the leaky gasket club.

My guy Ray Slocomb in Bend Oregon put my KZ motor back together from crank up. Like you, the head gasket leaked under static conditions. I'd have to review receipts to see if head gasket came from Italian dude. 

Too bad for me, pretty much every other gasket is leaking too. Both alternator covers. Crankshaft gasket (the big horizontal one). Oil pan. Pretty much every gasket. I'm so disappointed / pissed off. I'm going to pull the engine and re-gasket everything, even if I have to make them myself. And use 3-Bond.

My situation is compounded by I'm 1-over on piston size so OEM gaskets won't work. Just might get LA Sleeve to make 6 standard size sleeves, then run stock size pistons so I can get OEM gaskets, if available.

Sorry to read of your troubles Scotch, but Thank You for posting.

We, as consumers, DO have power via the internet.

Don

Curious if anyone has used a copper head gasket on these bikes.

Hi, i also have had the leaking gasket, exacly same place left and right, after that I got the original one. It seems to me that the coolant dribles through the gasket material where steel layer is.

Ah ha !   
Now there is potentially a trend and it is likely going to show a "common denominator".
Others?   Swallow your pride and anti-up.  No shaming here.  
Helpful to know; 1)  Gasket make/source. 2) Was the cyl-head surface shaved/trued at a machine shop?   3) How was the cly.-deck/fire-rings cleaned?  4)  Leaking from the "get-go" or after the first start?   5)  What was your final solution) .........and so on.
Any info on your individual experience is important.

In the mean-time ( pun intended) I'm still waiting for shims and of course my "Christmas present" from Japan !  

If all had gone the way it should have I wouldn't find myself polishing the Distributor housing (1980), just to keep Idle hands and mind from going crazy  !

And:  THANK YOU,  Daro and Don !

 




 

Back when I did mine I went with an OEM head gasket.  Condition was NOS, but as I was taking it out of the plastic bits of the coolant passage sealant stuck to the packaging.  Faced with two possibilities (order another expensive OEM head gasket and have the same thing happen or go aftermarket, which I've never had good luck with for ANY head gasket), I ended up using the OEM gasket, but not before adding my own ring of sealant to each coolant passage, both sides.  It was something like Yamabond, or an equivalent.  I didn't use much, and I'm pretty sure I intalled the heads before it completely sat up.  I've had many problems with that bike, but a coolant leak from the head gasket wasn't one of them.  Given the age of our bikes and the apparent state of head gaskets, I sort of look at beefing up the coolant sealer as just a matter of course at this point.

(Both the head and the bores for that particular bike had been decked, by a professional.)

dcarver220b wrote:

Sadly, welcome to the leaky gasket club.

My guy Ray Slocomb in Bend Oregon put my KZ motor back together from crank up. Like you, the head gasket leaked under static conditions. I'd have to review receipts to see if head gasket came from Italian dude. 

Too bad for me, pretty much every other gasket is leaking too. Both alternator covers. Crankshaft gasket (the big horizontal one). Oil pan. Pretty much every gasket. I'm so disappointed / pissed off. I'm going to pull the engine and re-gasket everything, even if I have to make them myself. And use 3-Bond.

My situation is compounded by I'm 1-over on piston size so OEM gaskets won't work. Just might get LA Sleeve to make 6 standard size sleeves, then run stock size pistons so I can get OEM gaskets, if available.

Sorry to read of your troubles Scotch, but Thank You for posting.

We, as consumers, DO have power via the internet.

Don

I would check with Cometic and get them to make you a new gasket with 63 mm fire rings. They have the template and can do this easily.