Maintenance & Technical > KX500 Original
BASE GASKET BLOW OUT
BDI:
At one time I had some head work done by RPM, they shaved my head flat on a lathe then I put the motor back together, I rode the bike for a couple of hours and it blew the head gasket. I assumed It was due to the high compression so I tried again and again but It kept blowing the head gasket, so I had a copper head gasket made I even used hylomar but after I put the copper head gasket on I could not get It out of the driveway without It spiting water from the head. What had happened was, my cylinder and head had spent so many years together they had become warped but they were mated so they did not leak. Once I had the machine work done they were no longer mated and It leaked like hell. It was not until I fixed the warped deck that my problem went away. A copper head gasket does not compress on a kx500, there is to much surface area, the sealing work is done by the sealant and not the gasket itself that's why you can use the steel shim head gasket. The metal part of the gasket will never compress it is only a spacer, it is the coating that does the work. The moral of this story is if all the surfaces are not flat It will not seal and a copper head gasket will make It worse because it will not compress and fill the voids like a fiber head gasket will. If a gasket blows there is a root cause, first you must find that cause and fix it.
P.S. silicone Is a good way to keep two part that do not fit together very well from leaking, for awhile.
FactoryPhil:
--- Quote from: BDI on September 25, 2007, 06:05:15 PM ---The moral of this story is if all the surfaces are not flat It will not seal....... If a gasket blows there is a root cause, first you must find that cause and fix it.
P.S. silicone Is a good way to keep two part that do not fit together very well from leaking, for awhile.
--- End quote ---
Bingo!! You have the patience of a saint BDI. RTV silicone is for the backwoods, redneck, bandaid, demolition derby type applications. No offense anyone. :-D
monster malibu:
Before I put the base gasket on I coated it in a thin layer of silicone to help seal it up and it still blew out. I'm going to call Cometic and get a new gasket on the way, and it won't be one of there paper ones again. When I replaced the topend I couldn't find my torque wrench so I did it by hand, this time it will be done right.
Hillclimb#42:
Skip the silicone. Just get it super clean. Surgical Clean. Finger tight on nuts. Then go a half turn on each in a crossing pattern until torqued. That silicone will not help base gaskets.
kaw rider:
when i install a cylinder, i install the cylinder with out the piston and base gasket. And torque to spec. and look for gaps around the surface. and use small feeler gauge for clearance. Kawasaki stud are known to be on the soft side. we had this problem on the jetski motors. the problem most of the time are high spots around the area of the stud. I just had the buttom of my cylinder cut and it was .004 off.
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