GS850G engine gaskets

[Guest]

I have a 1980 GS850GLT engine that I am doing a complete rebuild on. Is there a kit for all of the engine gaskets and orings including the internal gaskets like the oil galley cover gasket? It would be nice not to have to hunt down 20 different parts.

Ah, so after posting this I of course found this:

http://www.newmotorcycleparts.com/gaskets/gaskets_suz.html

Athena - Complete Gasket Kits
GS850 '79-'81

This should be all the gaskets but, they are not OEM. Should I locate all of the OEM pieces or are these Athena gaskets as good?

[Wingsconsin]

Following for answers from the community as well.

[Nessism]

You might want to read through this thread about aftermarket gaskets...

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?t=215699

[bbjumper]

To remove all doubt OEM works best...

[azr]

Just to throw my 2 cents in there. I bought a Z1 gasket that according to them (talked personally to the salesman) their gaskets are made in the same factory in Europe that the Suzuki OEM gaskets are made in and they cant tell the difference, so he told me. I put that gasket set in a 79' 850 over 4 years ago and no leaks yet. I put a OEM set in my 80' 1000G less than 7 months ago, 7000KM, and it sprang a head leak......

[eil]

General consensus is: OEM only for base and head gaskets, aftermarket is usually fine for most others.

[Sparc]

I found this oem gasket set: 11402-45840

(It replaced 11401-45820 and a bunch of others). Does anyone know if this is complete and/or what parts it contains? My searches come up empty.

[bwringer]

If you look on the fiches under "OPTIONAL", you'll see the Suzuki gasket set. It's VERY complete -- every last gasket and o-ring you'll need -- and very high quality. (Gasket kits do not include shaft seals, so if you're doing a 100% complete engine rebuild you'd still need to add those.)

It's not worth farting around with aftermarket junk. The sets only include about half the bits you'll need and they are low quality. Ten years ago, Vesrah kits were mostly OK (although incomplete), but they started using low-rent materials. Athena gasket kits have always been even worse garbage than Vesrah.

In any case, you'd still spend a lot more if you started with an aftermarket kit and purchased the OEM parts to make it a complete kit.

If you're only doing a top end and don't need the lower end bits, then you can buy the gaskets and o-rings individually.


Here's why Vesrah sucks -- poor materials. Upon disassembly, the base gasket and the o-ring were simply crumbling. This is only a couple of months and less than 2,000 miles after the engine was assembled with Vesrah gaskets. To pinpoint this leak, I cleaned the engine, sprayed the area with foot powder, and saw the following after about two seconds of running:

[Sparc]

I'm trying to build a master list of all needed engine parts. Focusing mainly on gaskets/seals/orings right now. It would be great to buy a complete set and not have to do this though. If anyone sees a missing part let me know!

Making a google spreadsheet for each bike:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AkQuBr1lSKFGdEtqaEpCUVVmUU5uUFNNaEh6UEVmRkE&usp=sharing

If you look on the fiches under "OPTIONAL", you'll see the Suzuki gasket set. It's VERY complete -- every last gasket and o-ring you'll need -- and very high quality. (Gasket kits do not include shaft seals, so if you're doing a 100% complete engine rebuild you'd still need to add those.)

Oh, awesome, I will grab that set then. Thanks!

Do you know which seals it does not come with?

Valve Stem Seals 09289-07002 need 8
Tach Seal Band 26451-45000
Tach Oil Seal 09289-05002
Crank RH Oil Seal 09283-30021
Crank LH Oil Seal 09289-48001
Clutch Oil Seal 09285-10003
Clutch Lever Oil Seal 09285-12002 same as shifter
Driveshaft Oil Seal 09283-35015
Shift Lever Oil Seal 09285-12002 same as clutch

[bwringer]

I found this oem gasket set: 11402-45840

(It replaced 11401-45820 and a bunch of others). Does anyone know if this is complete and/or what parts it contains? My searches come up empty.

Yes, that looks like that the correct current Suzuki gasket kit part number:
11402-45840

This supercedes 11401-45820, which was the previous part number.


About $238 from my usual Suzuki parts source (my local dealer's online parts fiche), although you might be able to find it a few bucks cheaper, depending.

That's a bargain, since it includes EVERYTHING -- all you'll need to add are the various shaft seals (crankshaft seals, shifter seal, transmission seals). The kit inludes valve stem seals, all gaskets and o-rings, and even all the various bolt, nut, and plug seals needed.

One caveat -- nothing is labeled, and everything is mostly just dumped into a bag. Make sure you sort, separate and label all the non-obvious bits and pieces. For example, some of the o-rings look a lot alike, but once you match them up it should be clear what goes where.

There may be a few extra bits in the new part number so the kit can cover more models -- for example, I wouldnt' be surprised to find both the 32mm intake o-rings needed for 76-79 GS750/850 as well as the 38mm intake o-rings for the 80-81 GS850.

[Sparc]

That's a bargain, since it includes EVERYTHING -- all you'll need to add are the various shaft seals (crankshaft seals, shifter seal, transmission seals). The kit inludes valve stem seals, all gaskets and o-rings, and even all the various bolt, nut, and plug seals needed.

One caveat -- nothing is labeled, and everything is mostly just dumped into a bag. Make sure you sort, separate and label all the non-obvious bits and pieces. For example, some of the o-rings look a lot alike, but once you match them up it should be clear what goes where.

There may be a few extra bits in the new part number so the kit can cover more models -- for example, I wouldnt' be surprised to find both the 32mm intake o-rings needed for 76-79 GS750/850 as well as the 38mm intake o-rings for the 80-81 GS850.

Ah nice! So, it includes intake boot o-rings as well? Any carb or are those separate? I'm trying to do one big order so I do not have to wait twice as long.

Thanks for the help, this has just saved me a massive amount of time!

Edit: Putting together master list.

[bwringer]

Ah nice! So, it includes intake boot o-rings as well? Any carb or are those separate? I'm trying to do one big order so I do not have to wait twice as long.

Thanks for the help, this has just saved me a massive amount of time!

No, no carb o-rings -- just stuff for the engine.

Suzuki doesn't list most of the carb o-rings anyway -- you'll want to get the kit from our beloved Robert Barr: http://www.cycleorings.com/

Again, no shaft seals are included, so you'll want those as well if you're splitting the cases. I think you'll need to order the seal inside the tach cable fitting separately, too. I'm not 100% sure the flattened o-ring for the tach cable fitting is included either, so you might want to throw one in just for giggles.

And, of course, you'll want to add in the bits for the cam chain tensioner -- Suzuki only lists one o-ring, so that's all that will be in the kit.

[Sparc]

No, no carb o-rings -- just stuff for the engine.

Suzuki doesn't list most of the carb o-rings anyway -- you'll want to get the kit from our beloved Robert Barr: http://www.cycleorings.com/

Again, no shaft seals are included, so you'll want those as well if you're splitting the cases. I think you'll need to order the seal inside the tach cable fitting separately, too. I'm not 100% sure the flattened o-ring for the tach cable fitting is included either, so you might want to throw one in just for giggles.

And, of course, you'll want to add in the bits for the cam chain tensioner -- Suzuki only lists one o-ring, so that's all that will be in the kit.

I've split the cases but I am not pulling apart the transmission shafts, I don't see the need to.

Okay, awesome. The kit should include what I have boxed in (see the box around detail cell):

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AkQuBr1lSKFGdEtqaEpCUVVmUU5uUFNNaEh6UEVmRkE&usp=sharing

That means it would not include:
Tach Seal Band 26451-45000
Tach Oil Seal 09289-05002
Crank RH Oil Seal 09283-30021
Crank LH Oil Seal 09289-48001
Clutch Oil Seal 09285-10003
Clutch Lever Oil Seal 09285-12002 same as shifter
Driveshaft Oil Seal 09283-35015
Shift Lever Oil Seal 09285-12002 same as clutch

For the tensioner parts listed here:
Cam Chain Tensioner Rebuild
09280-06005, 09280-21013, 09284-10006, 12837-45000-H17, 09440-12017
oring lock screw, oring cap nut, oil seal, tensioner gasket, spring

Do you know which oring is included?

[bwringer]

I've split the cases but I am not pulling apart the transmission shafts, I don't see the need to.

Okay, awesome. The kit should include what I have boxed in (see the box around detail cell):
For the tensioner parts listed here:

<snip>

Do you know which oring is included?

On casual inspection, that list looks mostly correct. The kit may also include a few things that I don't think are on the list, like the 6mm sealing washers used in various places (for example, on the bolts holding the small upper rear cam chain guide).

The kit does include the copper head bolt sealing washers (four, IIRC), so you won't need to order those separately. It does not include the steel washers, so order new ones if you like things shiny.

The kit includes one oil filter o-ring. You can actually re-use these many times -- just replace it every year or two and it'll be fine.

I notice carb rebuild kits on your list. In case you didn't know already, do NOT order carb rebuild kits. They're a complete waste of money. Just get an o-ring kit from Robert Barr and clean and re-use everything else.

The OEM fuel and vacuum line is great quality stuff, so it's worth ordering some of that if you like. It's spendy, but you get a pretty decent length of it - at least twice as much as you need.

Also, the breather tubing (from the top of the engine to the airbox) is an oddball size, so it might be worth ordering that too. It's sort of expensive, though.

For the tensioner parts, it's unclear which o-ring you might get in the gasket kit -- only the small o-ring, 09280-06005, is on the parts list under the diagram, but the diagram clearly shows the large o-ring, 09280-21013. Personally, I'd just order both separately -- to me, three or four bucks and the potential for duplication is well worth avoiding the potential for serious aggravation later.

[Sparc]

On casual inspection, that list looks mostly correct. The kit may also include a few things that I don't think are on the list, like the 6mm sealing washers used in various places (for example, on the bolts holding the small upper rear cam chain guide).

The kit does include the copper head bolt sealing washers (four, IIRC), so you won't need to order those separately. It does not include the steel washers, so order new ones if you like things shiny.

The kit includes one oil filter o-ring. You can actually re-use these many times -- just replace it every year or two and it'll be fine.

I notice carb rebuild kits on your list. In case you didn't know already, do NOT order carb rebuild kits. They're a complete waste of money. Just get an o-ring kit from Robert Barr and clean and re-use everything else.

The OEM fuel and vacuum line is great quality stuff, so it's worth ordering some of that if you like. It's spendy, but you get a pretty decent length of it - at least twice as much as you need.

Also, the breather tubing (from the top of the engine to the airbox) is an oddball size, so it might be worth ordering that too. It's sort of expensive, though.

For the tensioner parts, it's unclear which o-ring you might get in the gasket kit -- only the small o-ring, 09280-06005, is on the parts list under the diagram, but the diagram clearly shows the large o-ring, 09280-21013. Personally, I'd just order both separately -- to me, three or four bucks and the potential for duplication is well worth avoiding the potential for serious aggravation later.

Thanks for the confirmation and all the tips! I will pick up oring kits from Robert Barr. I will just order the tensioner parts separately so that I make sure I get them all.