Liquid 250R headgasket issue

[Micahdogg]

I took apart a running/good condition 250R motor to paint it nicely. When I reassembled it I made sure to clean the mating surfaces well with solvent. I slapped a new headgasket on, made sure the studs were in good shape, even bought new honda nuts for the head. Torqued it to spec and now after about 5 hours or riding I noticed that coolant is slightly weeping from the front and it's between the head and cylinder.

I took the tank off, put a socket on each bolt and got a little more stank torqued down on each nut. Went for a ride, and damnit...it's still weeping. I think it's much less of a leak, but still there. Is it possible that the gasket was already breached and now it's junk? Because I cannot imagine putting any more torque on each nut.

Micah

P.S. I didn't use any copper HG spray or anything...just slapped the gasket it there.

[seadoo650]

Might wanna try decking the head. I could be warped. I've done several 250R motors and never had any leakage. And I've never used any sealant. Just the gasket.

[Micahdogg]

I would think it would have been warped on the old motor as well, but seemed to seal fine on the dirty motor.

[3Razors]

Its not warped if it was fine before you took it apart. What brand of headgasket did you use? And yes putting it on dry is the correct way.

[Micahdogg]

I think it was a K&S gasket kit? Some kind of initials like that. Even though dry is the way the factory calls for it....has anyone used copper HG spray on them just for some added seal?

[3Razors]

Oh brother that tells me alot. Those K&S gasket/seal kits are the worst quality. I've seen those leak always. Go get a OEM head gasket or Vesrah and put it on dry. You should have no more problems.

[Micahdogg]

Glad to hear it. I used the cylinder base, kicker seal, clutch cover and water pump gaskets as well. Knock on wood, those have been ok.

[3Razors]

Def keep an eye on the cylinder base. The other ones aren't as critical, but go with only OEM for seals and oem or vesrah for the gaskets in the future.

[Pafrig]

over torque head bolts. good idea.

[Dammit!]

I've used copper spray on a 250r head gasket before. Never had any problems but that was with a quality head gasket to begin with.

[3Razors]

Doug, the thing is with the oem, vesrah, and some cometic? gaskets is they are a multi level steel gasket with a rubber viton sealant coated on both sides already on it. If you add sealant on top of that it can reduce the sealing property.

[Micahdogg]

I wasn't aware that OEM was a MLS gasket. I definitely don't recall this K&S gasket being MLS.

[Thorpe]

Ah... A bottle of BAR'S LEAK and good as new... (extreme sarcasm) I like bars leak as much as jb weld

[Russell 350X]

Try a Cometic gasket. If that dosent solve it get the head checked, it's probably warped.

[Micahdogg]

Well, I picked up a Cometic top end gasket kit and installed the new MLS headgasket this weekend. I rode it around the block and got it good and warmed up....wouldn't you know, no more leaking coolant. It's been sitting in the same spot in the garage and been fine for a couple days now.

NOTE TO ALL OTHERS, DO NOT BUY K&S HEAD GASKETS - THEY ARE JUNK!!!!

The old K&S headgasket was about 3 times as thick and a made out of traditional type material (kind of soft on each side). I don't know what was so bad with it, but things just didn't seal up good with that piece of junk gasket.

Thanks for the tips everyone.

Micah

[Tecate250]

Ah... A bottle of BAR'S LEAK and good as new... (extreme sarcasm) I like bars leak as much as jb weld

How well does bars leak work? Seen it work in cars but was told it will clogg up the smaller motors. Ive had major problem with head gaskets too and am tired of buying head gaskets.

[Micahdogg]

I can't think of a time when I would ever resort to using any "rebuild in a jar," "smoke-b-gone," "compession-b-back," or bars stop leak. It's just less work in the long run to fix it right.

[Tecate250]

I have about 6 blown head gaskets in all different kinds of blow outs. 200+ dollars to keep blowing it up.

[Russell 350X]

I have about 6 blown head gaskets in all different kinds of blow outs. 200+ dollars to keep blowing it up.

Bar's stop leak won't stop this problem at all, you have existing problems elsewhere.

[Micahdogg]

I have about 6 blown head gaskets in all different kinds of blow outs. 200+ dollars to keep blowing it up.

Case in point. If I followed this logic, I would have simply added coolant every so often to my three wheeler and not tried to fix the problem.

I can't knock you for buying headgasket #2, or even #3.....but at that point you should have realized the headgasket isn't the problem. Something else is causing it to blow and you need to investigate.