blown head gasket?

[3leggeddog]

well my first real ride on the r today was not to inspiring.it would not clean out,and billowed white smoke.so i pulled the plug and shure enough the plug was wet.not with gas but with antifreeze.can this be anything but a blown head gasket?

[TeamGeek6]

Yep, can be cracked or warped head, top of jug warped, gasket that didnt seal because the head or deck were not clean, improperly tightened head nuts, loose head stud (seen that one!) or head nuts not retightened after installed and break in. The stock gasket has sealant thats supposed to melt onto the metal to seal. A metal gasket should have Copper Coat sprayed on. When I rebuilt my R, the head was warped around the rear water passages, had to grind it down.

Hard to tell which one unless you can find cracks or warps. Just have to start at zero, clean thoroughly, inspect for cracking or warping then properly install a new gasket by cross tightening up to about 18 foot pounds in 5 pound steps.

[3leggeddog]

i did the proper tightning,and retightning after the warm up and cool down to seat the new rings.i think i may have just not a good seal.i am going to replace the gasket next week.i am sure that everything is clean,and straight.

[TeamGeek6]

If the seal did break around the water passages, the water still has to get past the steel ring next to the cylinder. Below that seal is the steel cylinder sleeve, above the ring, the aluminum head material. If it was pumping white smoke, Id print the head out and see if its flat. IT can be out of flat and not visible to the eye.

If the gasket didnt seal, you might see it when you take the gasket off, the gasket wont stick to the metal where the leak was.

[phil53]

my 86 R can only use a OEM gasket or similar. I tried several K&S gaskets one time. they all leaked except the honda gaskets. I believe the vesrah did work once before on it. my 85 can use any aftermarket top-end kit.
my cylinder was warped at one time and got resurfaced .003" but still have this problem.

[03 ORANGE SHEE]

must be the same for suzuki oem head gaskets, i used three moose brand ones on my quadzilla, blew every one in minutes, put a new oem one on, no leaks!

[3leggeddog]

well i think the problem was that i did not relive the gasket to allow for the oversized piston.i hope thats the problem anyway.

[BigGreenMachine]

Chances are thats why. My experience is Moose head gaskets suck, Cometic is the way to go.

[OldSchoolin86]

Did you have the matching oversized head gasket for your over size bore? Also when you assembled it did you use any type of coating? Coppercoat is the best thing you can do for a head gasket and if you don't have that even a thin layer of spray paint can make the difference. If you don't have coppercoat I highly recommend getting some though. One can will last you a LONG time. I put it on all my gaskets. All it does is fill in the tiny voids and helps with the heating and cooling.

[3leggeddog]

thanks frank.thats very helpful info,i'll try the copper coat.i didn't order the proper oversize head gasket.