leaking head gasketsleaking head gasketsHello, I have built 4 honda 305's in the last year. Heres the problem. 3 of the 4 I have run, which all sound fine and run great, thanks to Ed Moores secret recipe on fine tuning, but they all leak oil terribly out of the front of the engine between the cylinders and head. I used the dk gasket kits that are sold on ebay on these 3 and genuine o rings on the 2 outer studs to make sure they are right. I haven't ran the 4th motor yet, it will be awhile but it has a nos aftermarket gasket set in it that was made in the 60's. Now heres where stupidity comes in, After building the engines (I did them all at once as an assembly line) the 3 with the dk gasket kits leaked oil at this location when they were on the bench before I even ran them. I always preoil my top ends quite abit before installing the top covers, so I tried to convince myself it was run off from that, and stupid me put them in the bikes and guess what, yep, they leak like a sieve. Now 2 out of the 4 I surfaced the top of the cylinders and head surface on my work bench (heavy steel top) with 120 grit paper, yes this took a while and wore out several sets of shoulders, but non the less I wanted them right. The other one I did not surface and it leaks as well, so I've ruled out that being the problem. I torqued everything as according to Bill Silvers books, even retorqued them after break in. Do I need to tear the 3 back apart and buy genuine nos honda gaskets? My question is I guess has anyone used the dk set with similar problems, because if so, someone needs to refund my dough for cheap junk. Thanks for the help in advance, if I find that the dk gaskets are the problem, I'll definately post on here for a warning. thanks nutt
It's possibly leaking from porosity between the facings of the gasket rather than from the facings-to-casings themselves. I favour the blue Hylomar liquid gasket, as used by Rolls Royce for decades, but I think ThreeBond is a possibly a favourite in the US. Perhaps it would be more prudent to obtain an OEM set; are they still available or are they just NOS?
leaking head gasketsI did buy a nos honda gasket off ebay for 40.00 with shipping. Sounds high, but look at the alternative. I believe your right about the porosity of the gasket leaking, if I remember right, I sprayed hi tach sealer by permatex on both sides and it looks like it is leaking from one side of the front of the head to the other. I'll slip the nos gasket on and try it and let you know the results. Thanks for the info, nutt
leaking head gasketI fianally got the motor back off and apart on my cl77. After disassembly I did do like the book told and put some silicon on the inside edges of the oring area of the gasket. Looking at the gasket, it looks very porous compared to the nos honda gasket. The old gasket was completely logged with oil even on the back side. What a piece of ____ !! I did email the dude from ebay about this tragedy and he said the dk kits are made up of various gasket companies. The head gaskets are vesrah. Wish I would have known that to begin with, my xr200 I rebuilt with vesrah gasket kits leaked at the head gasket. Should have known. Oh well, I'm on my way to recovery. I'll let you know how the new nos gasket pans out. Thanks for the help. NUTT
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