I have to replace the bottom gasket on the motor. I have to take of the head to get at it. Does anyone have any tips to get through this. Looks to be pretty straight forward, just time consuming
thanks

 

if you are talking the base gasket on the cylinder it is easy just make sure you have a 5mm round tip allen for the intake bolt that is on the top. do you know about the access point on the right side of the engine for the crank allen to turn the engine over?

 

you can remove the head and cylinder together without seperating them if all you are doing is replacing a base gasket on the bottom of the cylinder. this will save you from buying a $50 head gasket, because you do not want to reuse a head gasket once its seal is broken.
just carefully slide the head/cylinder assembly off without disturbing ring position on the piston, then mark a line through the rings and piston with a marker and be sure to slide it all back together in the same positions that they were in when removed. this will help maintain the original ring break-in since you cannot re-hone the cylinder for another break-in if the head is still attached.

 

hey sandman, what are you talking about with this access point? crank allen to turn the engine over?
thanks

 

looks pretty tight to get the cylinder out of there. Any hints to make this easier?
thanks

 

does anyone know the torque specs for the head, cylinder and base for this?
thanks

 

do you have to take the timing chain off?

 

Yes, the timing chain has to be removed. Also don't forget to put the lock bolt in the crank at TDC. The torque for the bolts are as follows, 44ft.lb. for the 4 main nuts, 24ft.lb. for the small bolts that hold the head on, 89in.lb. for the Allen head bolts on the cylinder. Hope this helps.

 

Thanks,
what is this lock bolt in the crank that you are talking about and how the heck are you suppose to get the timing chain off?
Thanks

 

Look under the clutch cover there should be a Allen head bolt that goes into the bottom of the eng. Remove it and roll the eng over until you see the crankshaft counterbalancer , there should be a groove cut in it by the factory, take a 8mm blot that is about 2-3in long and grind a point on it then screw it in and the crank should not move. This puts the piston at TDC and your cams should have two arrows pointing at each other. Remove the bolt in the back of the head, that is the cam chain tensioner, and remove the slide on top of the cams. You also need to remove the cams to get the head off, sorry this is so long.