Parts to Replace in a Tear Down

[zbodan]

Hello everyone, new to the forums. My name is Zech and am just getting back into riding after about 8 years. This community is fantastic and I had no idea there was such a treasure trove of information. It turns my decision to buy this bike from a good one to a great one!

Just bought the bike last month in great running condition (and good cosmetic condition). There is a slight leak at the gasket between the cylinder and the crankcase. I did make sure that I wasn't mistaking it for the apparently common cam-chain tensioner leak (though, the tensioner is leaking slightly and I've already got parts on the way for it). (I used the powdered foot spray trick to pin point - what a great idea!)

I have a Clymer manual to walk me through taking it apart down to that gasket to replace it. I've read I should stick with OEM, despite the price, and avoid the headaches that aftermarkets produce.

Anyways, while I am taking this all apart, I want to replace everything I should while I'm in there, gaskets, seals, etc. I know I need to replace the head gasket, but what else should I replace? While I have it all torn down, I'd prefer to spend a little bit more cash and replace things that may currently be okay, but will eventually need replacing, in order to avoid having to go back in X miles or X years later.

By the way, the current gasket is blue. Anyone know if that is OEM or aftermarket?

[fastbysuzuki]

Oem gaskets for the cylinder base and head gasket for sure + the tear drop orings that fit between jugs and crankcase some would renew the orings that fit in the cylinder liners likely not needed. Personally I would lap in the valves and change the valves stem seals, use viton ones they can be found on eBay Here and are much better than Oem.
Myself I use a light smear of blue hylomar on the base gasket. Let it flash off for five minutes before assembly.

Depending on just how far you want to go expense wise light hone of the cylinders + new piston rings but if your happy with the ones fitted use those.

[zbodan]

Thanks for the suggestion, I'll lap the valves and replace the stem seals (thanks for the link). I thought I read somewhere though to not use any gasket sealing compounds because Suzuki's gaskets are meant to absorb oil and swell. Can anyone confirm this?

Never honed any cylinders before, so I'll need to read up more on that and see if I want to tackle it. Only 33k miles on the bike, so may not be necessary. Thoughts?

Edit: Just found where I read the portion about gaskets and sealants. It's in the Clymer manual on page 7. It reads:

When installing gaskets in the engine, always use Suzuki replacement gaskets without sealer, unless specifically designated. Suzuki gaskets are designed to swell when in contact with oil. Gasket sealer prevents the gasket from swelling as intended, which can result in oil leaks. Suzuki gaskets are also cut from material of the precise thickness needed.

[cowboyup3371]

Correct, you don't need any gasket sealer for any portion of the bike

[Grimly]

However, if you don't put a smear of Hylomar around the front left corner of the base gasket where it surrounds the stud, it WILL leak again, sooner or later. It might not happen next week or next year, but someday when you least expect it, you'll see that tell-tale sign of a damp patch, which will only get worse.
Seriously; I've stripped and re-sealed several of these 850 lumps for no other reason than to fix that damned leak. Once back together with a judicious smear of Hylomar, the same engines went on to do many more miles and never leaked from that particular area again. We won't talk about rev-counter drives or camchain tensioner gaskets right now , but they're easy to fix as you can get to them without a major strip-down.

[zbodan]

However, if you don't put a smear of Hylomar around the front left corner of the base gasket where it surrounds the stud, it WILL leak again, sooner or later. It might not happen next week or next year, but someday when you least expect it, you'll see that tell-tale sign of a damp patch, which will only get worse.
Seriously; I've stripped and re-sealed several of these 850 lumps for no other reason than to fix that damned leak. Once back together with a judicious smear of Hylomar, the same engines went on to do many more miles and never leaked from that particular area again. We won't talk about rev-counter drives or camchain tensioner gaskets right now , but they're easy to fix as you can get to them without a major strip-down.

Good deal, thanks for that. Should I just go ahead and Hylomar the whole gasket then if I'm going to do that corner? Also, should it be applied to both sides (never worked with the stuff before)? I try to look as much stuff up as possible, but I'm on a 16 KB/s connection... so just asking here is often faster for me.

[fastbysuzuki]

If your putting hylomar on you may as well do both sides a light smear and as Grimly suggest more on that corner let it flash off for 5-10 minutes before assembly.