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You are doing great. Thanks for posting.

Got a stock head gasket today in the mail. Unfortunately, the white seals were stuck to the paper backing... Asking for a refund. 30% of the purchase lost in taxes, shipping and custom fees. I hope the seller will not run me around.




And I got another set of gaskets for covers etc. Those will be handy. But comparing the included head gasket to stock, I can see a huge difference. Just by visual inspection, the oem is so much more solid. No way I'd go for anything less than a stock for that vital part of the engine. If it's one in piece that is...

That is typical for an OEM headgasket that has not been produced in decades.

You should remove that old sealant as a matter of coarse. Use Hondabond, threebond, or yamabond (they are all the same product) and put a thin bead of sealant around the coolant apssages on both side of the gasket. Even of the factory sealant was still intact, remove it and use a much better modern product. That old silicone is a leak waiting to happen.

Torque the nuts and bolts according to the manual and it will not leak.

Yes, not unexpected, but short of ready to use an oem gasket as advertised. It's a lottery for sure. I already contacted the seller and I will be refunded.
For now it will sit in my shelf. I ordered another original gasket directly from Kawasaki here. Let's see what arrives.

Tyler, I think it's a very good course of action you suggest. Some parts on the gasket I got were quite firm. I am just going to see what I get from Kawasaki and if all is firm, I will apply the sealant you suggest on top of the white oem regardless. I will just see how it goes.

Does that sealant you mention make a firm sealing line or it's just a gooey line that will flatten like a sealant supplied in tubes?

The state of my bike as of yesterday. I just forgot to bring the socket for the rear wheel so it had to stay on. Going back today. Looking forward to have just the engine and the frame together. One last step will be removing the engine. Then I can finally transport both to my living room

Doing some small stuff in the meantime.

The oil pan. All cleaned and painted with PlastiKote engine enamel. I am considering spraying a coat of clear 2K just on the oil pan. I've read for best heat exchange it's better not to use it over other coats, but I want the pan to be better protected because of where it sits. Obviously. The oil filter element cover I am leaving shiny polished aluminum.

I already installed a Subaru oil drain plug with a magnetic element - fits right on.





I am putting the oil pan on the shelf like this for later 2K paint coat.