so far, so good tearing down my top end...

[Road_Clam]

Well I am down to bare pistons. Not as bad as I expected. My pistons look to be in excellent condition, with only very light scuf*@%^$*@%^$*@%^$e indicitave of a 17K bike. Compression was perfect, so I see no reason, (and am out of money) to replace the rings. What a prik of a job removing the 24 year old base gasket!!!!!! I've got about 5 hours into getting that sucker off and clean, mainly because it's challenging to get a scraper between the sleeves. Any tips for reassembly would be great. I have been inching my way aided by the factory Suzuki manuall (which I might add is SPOT ON for details and incramental dissasembly tips). I am now getting the cyl., and head ready for some SILVER paint. YES I did just say SILVER (for you PIA black guys).
Rich

[flyingace]

I must have missed something. Why are you tearing down a bike with 17K miles and good compression?

[Road_Clam]

I must have missed something. Why are you tearing down a bike with 17K miles and good compression?

Oil leaking past the head gasket into the #1 cyl.

[flyingace]

Oil leaking past the head gasket into the #1 cyl.

Then why did you remove the cylinders? I'm just curious.

[hungryman]

Then why did you remove the cylinders? I'm just curious.

Probably to replace the base gasket. It's the right thing to do as it will probably leak from there after a reassembly anyway. Those old base gaskets are brittle and hard.

[flyingace]

Ouch. I would be very sure I had actually broken the base gasket before I would go thru the pain of getting the cylinders over the pistons/rings. When I did a ring job, I broke the base gasket in two places, it still doesn't leak.

[crag antler]

I am now getting the cyl., and head ready for some SILVER paint. YES I did just say SILVER (for you PIA black guys).
Rich

Ouch Rich, that hurt:-D

[hungryman]

Ouch. I would be very sure I had actually broken the base gasket before I would go thru the pain of getting the cylinders over the pistons/rings. When I did a ring job, I broke the base gasket in two places, it still doesn't leak.

How did you get so lucky! My base gasket leaked before I took the cylinders off. :-D

[Road_Clam]

Then why did you remove the cylinders? I'm just curious.

You almost always "disrupt" the seal of the base gasket when removing the head. The base gasket is a $9 gasket, involving 7 hours of labor to remove.I think i'll replace it weather it needs it or not, it's only a matter of sliding off the cyl block where i'm at right now. I am GLAD I did, my base gasket was definately showing 24 years of age, as was the sleeve base o-rings !!!

[Cajun Cycler]

Have you tried using a Dremel type tool with the little wire wheel to get the gasket off? It has worked for me on a number of occasions.

[flyingace]

You almost always "disrupt" the seal of the base gasket when removing the head. The base gasket is a $9 gasket, involving 7 hours of labor to remove.I think i'll replace it weather it needs it or not, it's only a matter of sliding off the cyl block where i'm at right now. I am GLAD I did, my base gasket was definately showing 24 years of age, as was the sleeve base o-rings !!!

Well, have fun just 'sliding' the cylinder block back over the pistons.

[hungryman]

Well, have fun just 'sliding' the cylinder block back over the pistons.

It's pretty simple if you have an extra pair of hands to help you. That's about the only time in assembly that I want some help. Granted, you can do it alone, but it's much more difficult. It's not so bad, however, that I won't take the extra time to do it right.

[Road_Clam]

I was able to get the cylinder back in place. I was a royal PIA, but with patients and carefully working one ring at a time, I was able to get it to go with nothing but my fingers. The tricky part is you are working two pistons at the same time. One piston can easily get cocked and jam. Luckily Suzuki machines a large i.d. chamfer in the base of the sleeves to aid the piston rings in getting started up into the bores.

[Road_Clam]

Have you tried using a Dremel type tool with the little wire wheel to get the gasket off? It has worked for me on a number of occasions.

What I ended up doing was using Zep gasket and paint remover. I would spray the stuff on a paper towell, dab the goo all over the gasket, wait about 1/2 hour, then carefully razor blade off the softened gasket. %$%^# !!! what a painstaking long process!

An update, I am coming down the home stretch, as the head is all back on and torqued. I should have the bike finished tonight! One tip for anyone tackeling a weeping head gasket: DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT USING THE OLD BASE GASKET!!! My bike had 17K on it for mi., and when I did pull the cyl. off, there are 4 o-rings at the base of the sleeves, that were seriously rotted. I also hand lapped all my valves, and replaced all the valve seals. Another labor intensive job, BUT in hindsight, all my seals were excessively "hard" (compared to the new pliable ones) from age.

[Jethro]

What I ended up doing was using Zep gasket and paint remover. I would spray the stuff on a paper towell, dab the goo all over the gasket, wait about 1/2 hour, then carefully razor blade off the softened gasket. %$%^# !!! what a painstaking long process!

That's how I did it. Used the same stuff too- Zep. Worked like a charm!

I always found that some big zip ties and some strips of beer can work well for retaining the rings. Did you replace your head studs too? Those are fun to get out!