Cracked head cover

GoldenMotor.com

Redbiker

New Member
Jun 21, 2014
22
0
1
Michigan
Lost compression around 45-50the miles after break in and found crack from the edge through the fins and to the spark plug. Opened it up and seen it was cracked all the way through.. ordered a slanthead from kings to replace standard head along with a couple new gaskets.. hopefully no damage to piston may have rode it alittle hard for break in, running 16/1 mix and hopefully can add some pics of plug and piston soon. Seemed to be backfiring out of the carb at the end. Any thoughts or tips are appriciated :)
 

2door

Moderator
Staff member
Sep 15, 2008
16,302
175
63
Littleton, Colorado
Borrow or buy a torque wrench and when installing the new cylinder head don't exceed 150 inch pounds. Same for the spark plug. About 80 inch pounds will do. Tighten the fasteners in a cross pattern, moving one side to the other. Replace the chrome acorn nuts with flanged hex nuts and check the tightness of the studs.

Lap the new head to assure a flat gasket surface. You might also want to lap, or at least check the cylinder gasket surface to make sure nothing is warped.

Drop your oil ratio. 16:1 is TOO MUCH OIL. This subject has been covered here many times. No more than 24:1 and even 32:1 has been found to be safe, even during break in. All kit instructions will tell you 16:1. Ignore that.

Tom
 

maniac57

Old, Fat, and still faster than you
Oct 8, 2011
4,484
22
0
memphis Tn
2 base gaskets is more reliable, plus it corrects timing a tiny bit.
I HATE the angle plug heads. They have a horrible chamber that makes them prone to detonation and overheating. If you must run one, run it with the plug towards the rear for best cooling.
A puch head is not much more expensive and is a much better head with a decent combustion chamber.