1981 GS650L Head Torque?

[Anonymous]

My 650 has a tiny bit of oil showing up on the fins below the head. It seems to be a head gasket leak. I'd like to try torquing the head bolts as a first attempt at a fix, but I don't have a manual yet for the bike. Can someone tell me the recommended head bolt torque and recommended pattern to tighten? Thank you.

[Jethro]

Dude, read my post in this thread PLEASE...

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/viewtopic.php?t=39084

Not saying this is the case here, but give it some thought. Oil travels from stange places on these air cooled motors...

[Anonymous]

Jethro - It looked like I could get at the head bolts without removing the valve cover - so I thought it would be an easy thing to torque the head. (Since I don't have the manual and am not very familiar with these engines I am probably wrong about that).

But - I will take your advice and look for a little thing. I will clean up the oil and try and pinpoint exactly where it's coming from.

Thanks.

[gspaul]

Cylinder head nut 17.5-19.0 ft lb

Cylinder head bolt 6.5-8.0 ft lb

[Jethro]

Not sure about the 650's, but on most bikes there are some bolts under the cover. Some are exposed, and some under the cover.

[LW_Icarus]

I know my 850 you could re-torque no sweat with the right extensions. if it needs retorqued it likely needs replaced though. if for no other reason than you need clean, lightly oiled threads to get an accurate torque reading.

[duaneage]

Some have broken off the studs retorqueing the head. If you can live with it I would leave it alone

[kalessin]

Retorque carefully.

I retorqued the head on my old '82 GS650GL when a small leak showed up. I torqued to the minimum spec, and a number of the head bolts were loose, two or three of them quite loose. I don't remember taking the valve cover off, I believe all the bolts are accessible without removing the cover. In my specific case, this stopped the leak.