Solution to photos of my blown head cover

V

vhatley

Member
Took a minute, but I think I have it now...About the blown head gasket/cover, here they are. The first two are the cover and the gasket, pretty obvious. I feel like an idiot.
 

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Wow! Looks like the nuts were really loose. You may want to dress the jug too. The head bolts pulled out of my BGF motor too when I tore it down but I just re-used 'em.
 
Yeah, I guess I didn't realize that they would loosen off, in bigger motors they don't. Gonna buy upper and lower gaskets, exhaust and intake, too I think. BTW, will the sandpaper on glass thing give me a good enough seal, or should I buy a new cover? Oh, yeah...except the head nuts and loctite.
 
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It should work just fine. If you've ever had a head decked it's the same process only on a smaller scale.
 
vhatley said:
Yeah, I guess I didn't realize that they would loosen off, in bigger motors they don't. Gonna buy upper and lower gaskets, exhaust and intake, too I think. BTW, will the sandpaper on glass thing give me a good enough seal, or should I buy a new cover? Oh, yeah...except the head nuts and loctite.
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The most important thing is keeping the surface flat as you clean up the gasket surface area. You don't want to sand an angle into it or have high or low spots. Go slow and don't apply too much pressure but concentrate on keeping the mating surfaces flush with each other. I hope that was understandable.
If I can make one more suggestion it would be to discard the chrome acorn nuts that come with most engines and use shouldered hex nuts in their place; especially on the cylinder head. There have been reports of the acorn nuts tightening on the stud before they make good contact with the head which can lead to blown gaskets as easily as loose nuts. Proper torque is also important. 10 to 12 foot pounds (110-120 inch pounds) is a good figure to shoot for. Criss-cross your tightening pattern...side to side.
Many of us shy away from LocTite but if you feel you need it, do not use the red lable product. You'll have trouble later if you ever need to disassemble anything. Use the blue label type only...if you must. It's not necessary.
Tom
 
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Hey, tom, excellent advice, and i have seen a resurface job, kevlar. Thanks for such precise instructions. Didn't know about the loctite, but you can never be too sure. I'll not use it on the cyl studs. I am glad for the torque specs though, I would have went for around 20 ft.-lb. Your instruction was quite understandable. Give yall a report when I get her done, just need the patience for the gaskets now.
 
Why all the hate on the locktight? Get the blue and and its easy to break , and your bolts don't loosen off. I see no reason not to lock tight everything.
 
muddybike said:
Why all the hate on the locktight? Get the blue and and its easy to break , and your bolts don't loosen off. I see no reason not to lock tight everything.
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We only advise against the red lable product which when used with aluminum castings can be next to impossible to remove without applying heat in excess of what the aluminum can take. If installed/ assembled correctly there is really no need for thread locking products on these engines and kits. Vibration can be an issue nevertheless proper installation and tightening of fasteners will negate the need for LocTite or any other thread locking materials.
Tom
 
There's no hate Muddy, it was just a warning of the red! Which is understandable because you have to torch the red to get'r loose. Blue doesn't need quite the intensity to get'r loose like you said, bro.

Good luck re-surfacing your mating points vHately! Keep her even!
 
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Personally I use blue Loctite on just about everything I bolt together, never had any thread stripping issues in Aluminum, steel, cast iron, stainless or even brass fittings, I dont use a load of it but just a dab is great insurance for not having something come lose on ya and cause a big problem, and especially on these little hunks of massive vibration we call the HT China Girl Engines, they need all the help they can get for keeping them together......LOL

Even good old gasket sealer or the flexible weather stripping adhiesive makes fairly good thread locker that is held in place but will also come lose pretty darn easy when need be.

Just my 2 cents here, dont really mean nothing just thought I'd ring in.... Good luck all and happy safe riding always
Shan
 
headtrama said:
How often do you check the head bolt torque.
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Initially torque them to the specs given above then again after the engine has reached operating temperature. From that point do not try to tighten them again. Use a torque wrench, if available, and only go to the recommended value. People get into trouble when they believe that there is no difference between 'checking for tightness' and 'tightening'. The ones who usually strip threads are those who think that 'checking' means getting the nut to turn 'just a little more'.
Typically, once torqued then retorqued after heating is sufficient and no further 'tightening' is necessary, or recommended.
Tom
 
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