Help!! Cannot get my cylinder head off

[minimag79]

I have a 1980 GS850 GLT and am taking my cylinder head off because I tweaked the spark plug hole for the number 3 cylinder. The only problem is I cannot seem to get the cylinder head off of the cylinders, in fact when I gave it a yank with my dad this evening, we pulled it off the BASE GASKET not the head gasket...arg... Any way that I can separate them easily? I did not forget the little 10 MM bolt on the front in between the #2 and #3 exhaust header.

Any help would be much appreciated, and you guys have a great site here.

Shaun

[Buffalo Breath]

head

You dont need to pull the head to fix a sparkplug hole, a Tine sert works without pulling it, also called a keen sert, you should double check every thing if every thing removed you can use compressed air with a hand noozle by blowing air in to the plug holes, also of you look at the back outer corners you will see some vertical fin reinforcements on the head and the cylinder, you can carefully pry between these points also but be careful

[bwringer]

Since you've moved the base gasket, you need to finish getting the head off and replace the gaskets anyway so it doesn't leak.

The only other bolts are the two 10mm head (6mm thread) bolts on the left and right, but I don't know how you'd miss those.

Probably just stuck.

[RacingJake]

What about the one's on the side's of the head ? And the cams have been removed right?

[Buffalo Breath]

bolts

If he remembered the one at the front I figured he got the rest, I have had to replace ones that had been run a lot while they leaked and
man they can be a bear to get off, also be sure you have the washers off as well, a couple if cocked washers can make it hard to pull off

[RacingJake]

Good one on that washer thingy Buffalo Breath.

[minimag79]

Thanks on the washers... I'll check that right now.. I do have the cams off, and the chrome dome nuts on either side have also been removed.

[minimag79]

all washers are off... still no joy...arg

[Ghostgs1]

Dead blow from each side using plastic or rubber mallet? Ray

[minimag79]

are there any locator (dowel) pins between the cylinders and the head? I can see the gap now (its separated) but they dont want to part company

[Jethro]

Yes. There are usually two locator dowels at opposite corners of the head bolts. If you kept track of what bolts go where, there are two that are longer than the rest. Those have the locator dowels.

[robinjo]

are there any locator (dowel) pins between the cylinders and the head? I can see the gap now (its separated) but they dont want to part company

You are allmost there, keep going!

[Buffalo Breath]

head

Ok so count all the nuts and bolts you took off of the head there should be 15 all toll,not counting the valve cover, you can use a rubber mallet but I would pass on the dead blow hammer, if you still cant get it iff as a very last resort you can use hydro pressure to get it off but it is messy and you have to know what your doing, let us know and we can go from there if need be.

[minimag79]

ITS OFF!!! Wahoo!!

Problem though... as I look into the cylinders, 1,2 and 3 look pristine, number 4 has a nasty looking rust stain inside. I showed it to someone at school, and he says that is characteristic of water getting in there. I have no idea when this happened, perhaps before I got it. Any procedure for honing out the cylinders? Can I hone them without going to oversize rings?

Thanks guys

PS The mileage on the bike is just under 18,000

[bwringer]

Don't tell anyone, but twice I have cleaned up cylinders in good condition with a Flex-Hone and a cordless drill, just enough to get that lovely crosshatch pattern, then dropped in new rings and called it a day.

Both times, my bike had great compression and uses no oil, so it must have worked. (Both times, I was taking it apart to fix other problems.)

No need to overbore until you get a zillion miles, and maybe not even then.