advice on head gasket

[scottsgs]

Hi all,

I am in the process of replacing the base gasket on my 81 GS 850 G for the 2nd time. I am to the point where I am about to pull the head from the motor. Keep in mind I replaced all the o-rings and gaskets last spring, so, none of the o-rings or gaskets are very old. So here's my question; can I re-use the head gasket? it's one of the newer 3 ply sheet metal types. I do have some Suzuki-Bond gasket sealant which I planned on using fro the base gasket. Any advice is great.

Thanks,

Scott

[SqDancerLynn1]

You take your chance with reusing the head gasket, On the base gasket
PUT IT ON WITHOUT ANY GASKET CEMENT.. Make sure the surface is clean. if anything a lightcoat of WD40 or oil

[hampshirehog]

You might get lucky with the head gasket, you might not. However, if your not on your uppers I'd replace it with new as it's a PITA if you have to strip it down again.

You shouldn't have to use any sealant on you base gasket. I prefer just to give it a very light smear with grease to help it bed in. Cleanliness is essential down there before installing.

[ianralph]

I rebuilt the motor on my 79 GS1000S and used the head gasket as supplied in an Athena gasket kit. I know the head surface was flat as I had the head reconditioned and I used a torque wrench to make sure it was bolted down to the correct torque.

But, as soon as I started using the bike, it started to weep oil from both ends of the head - nothing serious, but not something I could live with.

I've now purchased a genuine Suzuki gasket - it appears to be multiple layers of aluminium. I hope it will fix the oil weep problem. From my experience I'd advise you to spend the money and buy a new gasket at the very least and maybe even a genuine Suzuki gasket at that.

Removing the head to fix an oil weep from a bike that is going well is not something you want to do if you don't have to.

[asetech]

I used athena and my base gasket and valve cover gasket started leaking when I replaced them with oem no longer are leaking. the athena gaskets seemed to be separating like they were a paper mls gasket.

[flyingace]

I re-used my head gasket, that was 14K miles ago. No leaks, good compression. The one thing I did was to tweak the head bolts down a tiny bit more than spec. But that is not something I'm saying you should do.

[chef1366]

I wouldn't reuse a head gasket. Too much work to tear back apart for what? $75 or less?
Do it right and ride.
If the base gasket is fresh I'd resuse that as long as you didn't disturb it too much.

[bwringer]

New gaskets, Suzuki OEM only.

As I've learned the hard way, Cometic, Vesrah, and Athena all suck. And leak.

[trippivot]

You take your chance with reusing the head gasket, On the base gasket
PUT IT ON WITHOUT ANY GASKET CEMENT.. Make sure the surface is clean. if anything a lightcoat of WD40 or oil

hell no do not do this.. wd 40 on a new gasket???

you can use glue on base if it will not seal up. hell of a job cleaning next time..

gaskets seal as good as YOU install them veshrah -good athena-good cometic-good do not over torque!!! better to under torque if any thing.. it is possible to indent the gasket or cut it by improper installation.

all metal head gaskets are reusable. after you anneal it. ( apply heat with a propane torch to open metal pores )

[chef1366]

I doubt he has a metal gasket.

I like Cometic gaskets. Whats wrong with them? I can't use OEM cause I'm punched out. The Cometic works just fine for me.

[7th day]

I used Athena gaskets in my 750 last spring .... no leaks so far.

[Agemax]

cometic are the best, but i would never risk using ANY gasket twice. its not worth the risk and a pain in the butt to have to strip anything down again if a used gasket leaks. for the cost it is i replace any gasket with new whenever i remove one.

[bwringer]

I think Cometic sells lots of 1100E gaskets to the drag racers, and I'm sure they're wonderful and all, but the 850 head gasket I got from them was apparently manufactured on a Friday afternoon after their gasket chimp had four banana daiquiris for lunch and their QC inspector (assuming they even know what QC is) had already passed out from the pills.

It was very, very obviously a wavy, warped, badly made POS, sort of a bad hallucination of a GS850 head gasket. But like a dumbass I cleaned up the worst of the defects with a Dremel tool and installed it anyway. I guess I had hopes that it would mash flat under torque and seal.

Surprise, it's now leaking oil.

Really, it's my bad -- I knew better. I should have sent it back the second I saw it and ordered a Suzuki head gasket.


I'll spare you my complete rant on Vesrah gaskets (you'll find it in the Reviews forum), but I had several material failures in the last set I installed -- o-rings that crumbled or swelled, and a base gasket that turned brittle and cracked after less than a year in service. The head gasket was also very badly made, but at least it was flat. Vesrah gaskets used to be good quality, and I have installed several other Vesrah gasket sets in years past, but apparently they've slipped badly.

[chef1366]

I'm glad monkeys on acid didn't make my gaskets.

[TheCafeKid]

I think Cometic sells lots of 1100E gaskets to the drag racers, and I'm sure they're wonderful and all, but the 850 head gasket I got from them was apparently manufactured on a Friday afternoon after their gasket chimp had four banana daiquiris for lunch and their QC inspector (assuming they even know what QC is) had already passed out from the pills.

It was very, very obviously a wavy, warped, badly made POS, sort of a bad hallucination of a GS850 head gasket. But like a dumbass I cleaned up the worst of the defects with a Dremel tool and installed it anyway. I guess I had hopes that it would mash flat under torque and seal.

Surprise, it's now leaking oil.

Really, it's my bad -- I knew better. I should have sent it back the second I saw it and ordered a Suzuki head gasket.


I'll spare you my complete rant on Vesrah gaskets (you'll find it in the Reviews forum), but I had several material failures in the last set I installed -- o-rings that crumbled or swelled, and a base gasket that turned brittle and cracked after less than a year in service. The head gasket was also very badly made, but at least it was flat. Vesrah gaskets used to be good quality, and I have installed several other Vesrah gasket sets in years past, but apparently they've slipped badly.

Brian, Steve and I ran into the same problem with Athena gaskets on his sons 850 rebuild. I have used Athena and Vesrah gaskets (and even Cometic, tho they should be called COMAtic, cos whoever cut them must have been in one) on other bikes and never had a problem with them. But that set for the 850 was ALL jacked up. Everything was odd if i remember it right. It was almost as if it was for the OLD 850 block rather than the 1000G/1100G based one, and vice verse...So dont feel alone. On Cometic, what garbage, two tensioner gaskets from them, everything torqued to SPEC, and they both leaked like there was nothing there. Peice of cork gasket material replaced them both, and not a weep since... Hell, ive had good luck using that same cork gasket material (bought from autozone) making a valve cover gasket. Used it on a 550L i rebuilt, and its holding like a champ...