started tear down on gs 1000-have questions

[ron bayless]

I took the plunge.I tore into my gs 1000L today.I had been dreading it immensely.I have an oil leak to fix around the front head 6 mm bolt.it took me 3 hours to get the enigne apart which i didnt think was too bad.Now I have some questions.
1.getting the fron cam chain guide,the plastic black thing,was almost impossible.It comes pretty far out then hits the frame.Tryuing to go sideways,up and down,never could get it out that way.I had the head completely off the studs and with enough daylight between the head,the frame, the studs i was able to pull it out finally.i cant imagine getting it back in.Any hints?
2.the cylinder base gasket was not disturbed and i am thinking aobut leaving it as is.Bad idea? i worry about getting the cylinder block down over the rings.
3.my athena gasket set had been opened by the previous owner.he had used the valve cover gasket.I had already ordered a new one that was solved.But,the square ring that goes under the head gasket the most likely reason for the leak in the first place was missing.Why i cant imagine.i can order just that?
4.Copper crush washers-under every head bolt? I will need some of those too.I am thinking about ordering a whole new gasket set.
5.One of the studs came out when i tried to remove the head nut.I suppose if i put the nut back on and tighten it down the stud will get tight again?Number 5 i think,on the exhaust side at the front.
6.if i do take the cylinder block off,there isnt anyone here that could hone the cylinders.i will just go back on with the block as is.

Observation: My oil was so clean, I was proud of that.It didnt even leave my hands black.there was also no appreciable buildup om top of any of my pistons and all my plugs were burning perfectly.33,000 miles.Wish me luck in reassembly.Ron b

[crag antler]

I'll help where I can, just having gone through the same and finishing up with almost the same.
The best advice is to replace the base gasket now,while you have it partly apart.
You don't want to put it back together only to have it leak from the base. Common wisdom is if you pull the head, pull the block and replace the gasket.
I too was worried about remounting the block but don't think it will be as difficult as first believed.
Then again I haven't remounted mine yet.
Best bet would be to order a Versah gasket set

http://www.z1enterprises.com/detail.aspx?ID=2695

Comes with every gasket, o rings that you would need to do the top end. Really glad I got mine as there are parts in it I don't think I would even thought about replacing.
My personal thought was if I was going to do the work myself, I might as well do it thourough and right.
Best of luck with the labor of love and let us know if we can be anymore help.

[madjack57754]

Should be able to snake the chain guide up through the frame. It's a bit tricky but should work. The studs have come unscrewed many times on me. I clean the threads with a wire wheel, then use locktite to reset the stud.

[mark]

Wish me luck in reassembly.Ron b

That I can do. Get the block off and we're basically in the same place. Following advice above I'd pull the block and put on a new base gasket. Make sure your gasket surfaces are very clean before re-assembly. Look in your book and put your rings in the correct position when you put the block back on. Not all my washers on the head nuts are copper on my 850, but I ordered all new nuts and washers anyway because they were very corroded. Make sure your stud bolts are good and clean (again, noted above) so when you put your head back on and torque it you'll get correct readings.

Again, good luck!

[louisciccoli]

5.One of the studs came out when i tried to remove the head nut.I suppose if i put the nut back on and tighten it down the stud will get tight again?Number 5 i think,on the exhaust side at the front.
6.if i do take the cylinder block off,there isnt anyone here that could hone the cylinders.i will just go back on with the block as is.

as far as the stud coming out with the nut, you can clean the threads that go into the head & double nut that end & remove the nut for the head while holding the double nut end with either a vise or just another wrench. I have used this method on this type of problem in the past & it seems to work quite well. About the matter of honing the cylinders, you can purchase a honing kit at your local automotive supply fairly reasonably. They are designed to fit into a drill & if you are unsure about how to use it, all you need to do is ensure that you are honing the cylinders fast enough to have a 45 degree cross hatch pattern. If your cylinders are not very bad off, it should not take much to complete this procedure. I appoligise if you already know how to do this, but I try & not assume what I do not know.

[SqDancerLynn1]

You may be able to rent cyl hone from local Auto Zone or ?? I have always found It is cheaper to do it right the first time. Rather than do the job twice trying to cut corners

[Suzuki mad]

There should only be 4 copper washer's. You can heat them up in a gas till they are cherry red and drop then into cold water to re-aneal them and re-use. You can buy new washers but I'm not too sure about the 4 dommed nuts.
The studs come out so no worries.
I agree with the cam chain guide problem, it should go back in with a little bit of fidling.
You can get the cam chain tunnel 'O' ring seperate and the rocker box gasket so buying a whole new set seems a waste of money to me. If you are not happy with the set you have then get a brand new set.

If you pull the barrels off and do the base gasket I'd have a full set of rings also. There should be a base gasket in the set you have. Check the barrels to see if you have a lip or wear inside the barrels that will tell if you need to do have work done then trying to find somebody or the tools to do it your self. If there's no scoring and the barrels have no lip other than carbon at the top that's great.
There are places that sell mail-order honing tools.

The next problem is compressing the piston rings (got to be done in piston pairs either 2+3 then 1+4 or other way round.)

USE THE ENGINE TO TURN THE SECOND SET OF PISTONS INTO THE BARREL.

Most modern day bikes and car piston compressor tools pull off after use these GS's need a tool that splits to remove. (Check Apls sports web site for tools but there not cheap for an idea.) Try an borrow or make a pair of tools for the job that will help you and you won't struggle. The rear cam chain tensioner can get stuck on the barrels when going back down which make you think that the pistons aren't locating.....

I would also agree with SQDancer, do the job right and it will run for years. Cut corners now and you will be re-doing your work in a few months.

Suzuki mad

1981 GS1000ET
1983 GS(X)1100ESD
2002 GSF1200K1

[ron bayless]

That I can do. Get the block off and we're basically in the same place. Following advice above I'd pull the block and put on a new base gasket. Make sure your gasket surfaces are very clean before re-assembly. Look in your book and put your rings in the correct position when you put the block back on. Not all my washers on the head nuts are copper on my 850, but I ordered all new nuts and washers anyway because they were very corroded. Make sure your stud bolts are good and clean (again, noted above) so when you put your head back on and torque it you'll get correct readings.

Again, good luck!

Thanks mark.Good advice,just didnt want to do it.But now that I'm this far...

[ron bayless]

5.One of the studs came out when i tried to remove the head nut.I suppose if i put the nut back on and tighten it down the stud will get tight again?Number 5 i think,on the exhaust side at the front.
6.if i do take the cylinder block off,there isnt anyone here that could hone the cylinders.i will just go back on with the block as is.

as far as the stud coming out with the nut, you can clean the threads that go into the head & double nut that end & remove the nut for the head while holding the double nut end with either a vise or just another wrench. I have used this method on this type of problem in the past & it seems to work quite well. About the matter of honing the cylinders, you can purchase a honing kit at your local automotive supply fairly reasonably. They are designed to fit into a drill & if you are unsure about how to use it, all you need to do is ensure that you are honing the cylinders fast enough to have a 45 degree cross hatch pattern. If your cylinders are not very bad off, it should not take much to complete this procedure. I appoligise if you already know how to do this, but I try & not assume what I do not know.

Hey,no apology necessary.I am afraid i would not hold the hone thing steady and take too much off somewhere or oval something.My cylinder walls look good.

[ron bayless]

one more question

1.When I was taking off the valve cover,the acorn nuts on the outer most head bolts were not even torqued.They had maybe 5 pounds of tightness.Is this because they are considered valve cover nuts and are supposed to be torqued just that much?
2.I checked on shims,they are only 57 cents each from Z1 enterprises,but you cant order just one.I hope I dont need them.I ordered a Vesrah gasket set today since I am not sure if my other set had something else missing like it did the square o ring.But,I saw absolutely nothng wrong that would have caused my oil leak.The square rubber ring did look really worn out,but i dont know how much it looked like originally.I can say as far as head gasket residue left behind,there was more around the front of the head than anywhere else,plus there were some mild indentations in the old gasket a couple places.I bet the prior owner had a leak,retorqued the head bolts,over torqued some of them.The one indented place was definitely the tightes head bolt,maybe 5 pounds more.Plus he had replaced the valve cover gasket so I bet that is what happened.Ron B

[ron bayless]

one more question,sorry guys

I saw here where one guy says once the bike is running,let it warm up,then cool down and retorque the head bolts.Seems like you would have to take the
valve cover off and a lot of otehr stuff to do that.Doe the carbs have any connection to the valve cover area.I know the throttle cable and choke cable would be in the way of taking the valve cover back off.

[PB_Maine]

Honing

If you are going to replace the rings it's a very good idea to pass a hone thru the cylinders a few times to score it up. Basically you need to remove the glaze to give the oil a place to sit during breakin to help seat in the rings. I have never replace the rings on my GS but have on a number of other engines. If the hone is the right grain (fine but not too fine) you will be hard pressed to take it too far. I used to use a small amount of something like diesel fuel or kerosene to as a lubricant for the hone and to take away the particles. Don't rush, just set the hone in the cylinder and at moderate speed run it slowly ( about 3 seconds to go from top to bottom) up and down the full length taking care not to have it pop out and break the hone. A few cycles is all you need.
If you are worried about this bring the cylinder in to shop because if you're going to the trouble of replacing the rings it's worth it.

[ron bayless]

tHANKS.GOOD INFORMATION.