Old gasket removal

[gs650gman]

Heelo all hope someone out there can help. I have a gs650 that was given to me so I might bring it back to life. My question is the previous owner laid the bike down and I had to replace the sidecovers to the engine and the problem is that the old gasket material seems to be left sticking to the engine in spots almost like it petrified to the engine. So if someone could help me out I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks guys

[Suzuki mad]

There are various ways to remove old gasket.

I use the trusty bone handle kitchen knife and cut the gasket off the case. The blades so thin and blunt that it cuts paper gasket but not engine casing. I have heard on here that you can get a solvent? that removes old gasket.

I've even seen razor/stanley blades, screw drivers used, but these can damage a case.

Suzuki mad

[gs650gman]

removing gasket material

Does all the gasket material have to be remove or can some of it be left on .

[Suzuki mad]

You really need to get all the old gasket off to make a good oil seal.

Suzuki mad

[SqDancerLynn1]

If you do not get all of the old gasket off it will Leak. doesn't have to be down to bare metal just smooth/flat surface. When you adjust the valves it is very important to remove all the gasket or you could crack the cam cover...Lightly spray the new gasket with WD40 & install NO sealer needed

[robertbarr]

I use Permatex gasket remover. It's an aerosol spray, so you'll want to mask off any surrounding surfaces like you would for spray paint. Old gaskets usually need multiple hits with the Permatex, but it reduces the effort and force needed, thereby reducing the risk of accidentally carving an escape path into your mating surfaces.

[hampshirehog]

Great new one I learned today. Bathroom sealant remover (for removing silicon sealant) - available from the DIY store. I used it on a lawnmower motor on the advice of a mate. I've always used paint stripper in the past but the beauty of this stuff is that it's not solvent based (smells of citrus) and won't attack paint or alloy. I'll be using this from now on - lifted the gasket beautifully.

[themess]

On Robert's suggestion, I've used the Permatex gasket remover. It works. The caveat is that it contains some really harsh and nasty chemicals that will destroy almost anything that isn't metal - it's basically a diluted paint remover. So use it carefully.

[Archania]

Thanks for the info..
I need to do this to put the engine back together..

[juicydangershow]

The Permatex worked pretty good for me on the base gasket and valve cover (DON'T use it on the head IMO)... However, if you don't want to mess up the engine paint, spray the gasket remover in a container and paint it on with a cotton swab - mask everything around it! There IS silver paint on most GS engine cases and engine covers have clear coatings over the aluminum. Permatex will melt the clear on case covers instantly (great if you want it off to wet sand and buff case covers, like I do). It will blister the silver engine paint which does not look so good. On the stator cover and clutch cover, I would just do it manually with a razor and scotch pads if its on the case, if it is on the covers - I would blast them with Permatex, remove the clear coating and gasket. Then wet sand with PB Blaster and 400 grit metal sandpaper. Shine with Mothers, looks great!

[boris]

bah i could of saved myself hours of hard work if i had looked for this thread
my gaskets on both side covers of my GS450E were fossilized and as hard as concrete.
must of taken me 6 hours to do one side (clutch side)
still got the stator side to do so im going to try to get some of removal stuff mentioned here (if i can find it in England)