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I believe Blown head gasket

10K views 107 replies 12 participants last post by  ceasefire49 
#1 ·
Haven't ridden bike for nearly a year because I have been gone. Now that the cool weather is upon us i Charged the battery and fired it up noticed it was hard to start and also i immediately Noticed Anti freeze being blown out the kickstand side pipe and anti freeze dripping out of the exhaust where it connects to the exhaust pipe. I am pretty sure its the Head Gasket.
I am going to replace and know about cleaning and truing heads and block.
Now that I am having to take it apart do you think its a good idea to do both sides No water in Oil at all. Haven't pulled plugs yet but I have scout school this week. so wont get to it for at least a week. I was looking at Randacks kit hard finding new bolts but is there a good arp stud anyone has used? Of course Ill change the belts but do you think I should do Springs and seats and anything else.It only ran Hot twice since I have owned it and I replaced water pump with OEM a few years ago with new hoses and tstat.I guess if I pull everything apart and get the crank to T1 everything should be good just realigning the marks back up on the can belt wheels is that true or should I be doing something different?
84 interstate
thnanks
 
#3 ·
It really isn't an issue of how many times it overheated. What is more damaging is how much did it overheat. I would look at the plugs. If the gasket has failed or coolant is getting in the combustion chamber any other way the bad cylinder will have a steam cleaned spark plug. Same after you disassemble. The top of the piston will be nice and clean compared to the others. If the bike got really hot you might want to have the heads checked using the Zyglo process to be sure the heads did not crack. Cracks almost always originate at the exhaust seat or spark plug hole then the go outward on a radius.
 
#9 ·
I guess I should have worded that different. The gasket can blow from the combustion chamber outward. It can/does burn out the sealing ring on the gasket a little or a LOT. :wink2: If you see a little steam at startup only then the seal is only slightly failed. If you have coolant out the exhaust (like yours) you have a major failure of the gasket, head or block. A compression check either by thumb or a gauge will give you a clue. If the bike really got hot check the heads for cracks. Some people overlook that part and do a lot of work and money only to do it again. I hate when that happens!!!:frown2:
 
#10 ·
Thanks everyone now that I am back I am leaning toward the Randack kit they seem like legit guys I purchased the oil filter adapter from them in the past and they seem to sell quality stuff. Probably do both sides any suggestions on where to get new head bolts or ARP bolts?0:)
 
#12 ·
As Dave said, no need to replace the bolts. If you are used to replacing head bolts those are torque to yield and can only be used once. These are not TTY and can be used over. Clean threads on block and bolt then apply moly as instructed and torque them up.
 
#14 ·
Okay

Called Randakk He uses oem honda gaskets and would not suggest anything else although he said the Italian one and the one made in Japan by their(honda's) supplier were great parts and he makes a copper one for racing applications. I was going to order from western but their site has changed and you have to fill out a request for parts now and you just cant go down and look at the expanded view and order by number so I ordered from Babbits Honda warehouse.
Got the gasket O rings and new alignment studs as he recommended I do this. Even though the belts are only 3 years old like I said its been sitting for a year and for a few bucks I will change em. Hope the head is okay like I said it got hot a few times but only went to the 3/4 or a little more never went to the red danger, danger will Robinson area.:grin3: Thanks for all the suggestions I will post when done. Got some good suggestions on using moly and cleaning out the head bolt holes.
 
#16 ·
Got the plastic off, radiator loose got the left side timing cover off.pulled the valve cover. Noticed what appeared to be small strands of melted rubber they were black.
So it must have become hotter then I thought it could be some sort of sealant
Wont know until I get the engine at t1 and get the cams correct so I can get heads off. Hope its not serious. The strands were stuck on metal parts not loose.

.
 
#17 ·
Discovered after a close inspection that the pieces of rubber came from the valve cover gasket whoever installed it previously did not align it correctly. So I am assuming it's been replaced before and the head gasket may be a aftermarket gasket.
 
#18 ·
Pulled head off. Gasket gave way and water was getting into cylinder. It blew between cylinders. It's an after market and it appears someone used sealant on it as there was sealant that was stuck under head where it adjoined to block. Inside of the one cylinder looks good no ridge and look like it still has the cross hatch. But no scratching. I did get a few small very small pieces of gasket out of the head. Exhaust valves were white. But intake and exhaust looked pretty good.
So its cleaning and trueing time .lol
 
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#19 · (Edited by Moderator)
Pic. measured gasket against Honda OEM

Close but not exact looks like it blew between cylinders.
Looks like I have been running lean gonna buy the Randakk master kit and rebuild the whole set up. Lol.

Hell they have been on there since new. 150 fun tickets for the master kit with I instructions.

EDIT: AZgl1800, I enlarged that to make it easier to see

 

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#21 ·
Actually looked like it was not running lean it was tan.
Been cleaning head and combustion chambers with scotchbrite and with a mixture of gasket remover first then a mixture of marvel mystery oil and seafoam mixed in a spray bottle . Got the head surface pretty clean but some small dark spots do not seem to want to be removed. I rub my finger across them and it feels flat I dont want to scotchbrite a dip in the aluminum. The carbon on the valve chamber and valves came off pretty good with the solution I used and a little brass tooth brush.
Also when I removed the oil restrictor there was only one o ring on it. The small one. Still cleaning the hell out of tops of piston and block surface.
 
#24 ·
Yep one of the little tubes came out easy the other I am working on just have to get the correct implement of destruction on it.
Wish I would have known about the scotchbrite it was recommended in a number of posts and on a few different forums. Here are a few pics. Still working on the block as you can see.
 
#27 ·
I used maroon scotchbrite I'll blow it out real good before install. I'll put a straightedge on it. If its warped what's the level of warpage that acceptable. How much can be removed. After i put it on I'll clean bolts go clean threads and put moly 60 on threads. Before torque.
 
#29 ·
I used maroon scotchbrite I'll blow it out real good before install. I'll put a straightedge on it. If its warped what's the level of warpage that acceptable. How much can be removed. After i put it on I'll clean bolts go clean threads and put moly 60 on threads. Before torque.
Hold up! Moly 60 on bolt threads? Why? You want to maybe pull the threads out of the aluminum?
 
#32 ·
Book says just a little Moly under the heads of the bolts and on threads.Just a little! Always be sure the threads of the bolt and on the block are clean, Torque in order to 40 Ft/Pounds on proper order. You will want to change the oil shortly after start up. Moly is not good for the engine long term.:wink2:
 

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#33 ·
Yep okay just the bottom of bolts I will be purchasing a thread chaser what size is that. How does the head look for being clean.
 
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