DIY or get the experts on it?

[spike]

My 750 Zephyrs gone and blown the engines base gasket, just a minor oil leak but it'll probably get worse. Question is should I replace it myself or take in somewhere? I'm reasonable with the spanners and have a bit of time but I was just wondering if anyone else has done it and would they recommend it? ...or a good mechanic?

[Gonzos Kustom Paint Shop]

base gasket you meen sump if so are the bolts easy to get too if so do it your self new gasket but dont over tighten the bolts ...dont tighten the bolts one by one put them all in 1st so the sump lines up 1st with all the holes

[Gonzos Kustom Paint Shop]

and are you 100% on where the leak is mite not be the sump its just the sump is the last place it will hit before the floor look higher up spray some carb cleaner all over the engine it will dry up in 2 mins and will clean the engine so you can find the leak

[spike]

It's what I thought was called the base gasket! It's where the barrels join the engine block. It's not the head gasket but the next big one down

[ZX6-Chris]

If you comfertable give it a go.

Or price it up then see if it worth giving it a go, I mean could be 50 save the hassle, where as 200 you could say it easy enough just do you research, read haynes/service manual a few times make sure you understand what you need to do

[muzzasv]

yeah thats the base gasket mate, get a haynes manual and a full gasket set, take the engine out and give me a shout. and no im not a poet but i think that was rather good lol

[Gonzos Kustom Paint Shop]

o i see now base gasket before i do anythink i would clean the engine down mask shur it is the base....so its head off camchain off pistons out of barrels then then clean then put back good luck and take up muzzasv up on the offer longs IT IS THE BASE GASKET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[spike]

It is

[spike]

Some sound stuff there, thanks lads! I thought I'd price it up before I barged in, I've got a Haynes manual and it looks straight forward. But... from what I've contacted so far I've found that our bike shops are mainly mot,minor repairs and polish! Is there anyone that can quote for the job?

[ZX6-Chris]

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[spike]

Thanks for that Chris, I'd already rang two of them from the sponsors list.
By tea time I'd given up! Five said they don't do major jobs, one said the job was too time consuming and another one said they'll do it in the autumn/ winter time, (and I'd actually spent £800 there last year!)
Thanks for all your replies lads but I'll have to do it myself, if I get stuck I'll take Muzzasv up on his offer. It's an eye opener how a complete stranger offers help but 'repair' shops can't or won't!

[muzzasv]

haha i love messing about with engines and stuff mate id be happy to help plus were all bikers here, we help each other

[ZX6-Chris]

Jul 1, 2014 23:11:30 GMT spike said:

Thanks for that Chris, I'd already rang two of them from the sponsors list.
By tea time I'd given up! Five said they don't do major jobs, one said the job was too time consuming and another one said they'll do it in the autumn/ winter time, (and I'd actually spent £800 there last year!)
Thanks for all your replies lads but I'll have to do it myself, if I get stuck I'll take Muzzasv up on his offer. It's an eye opener how a complete stranger offers help but 'repair' shops can't or won't!

your welcome. and i think you will find most bikers will offer a hand,. was the other year i offered someone help to cut down his exhaust (never attempted it myself in my life,. but love hands on type of work so will learn by doing.

Good luck, if you have any questions about anything then im sure one of us will advise you some how

[spike]

Thanks again Lads

[spike]

Well I got stuck in this week, with just a bit of experience and a Haynes manual I was surprised to have the engine completely stripped with pistons flopping about like flowers in the wind! I was very pleased with myself.
For the rebuild I got a gasket set, (£72!!!8-( Then I got the pistons back in the barrels in no time my son Sean helped and we had it all built back up and ready to torque the lot down in no time, we just had to be methodical about it. Then the trouble started, there are 10 domed nuts, the Haynes says 39NM, no bother but there are two 8mm bolts to be torqued at 28NM! We just knew we were tightening too much but trusted the manual...... then came that heart stopping moment when you know you've snapped a bolt. Well, the bolt had a waist and apparently it's designed to snap rather than strip the threads in the head, it came out easily, thank feck! Searched all over and finally went to Front Line Motor Sport at South Bank. Dave was a star, despite being busy he rummaged through his boxes of bolts and found me a replacement. I can't thank him enough. Anyway we went back, put the head back on and fitted the bolts and torqued it all down again. Then it snapped in the block!!!!!! We drilled it out and Sean helicoiled a new thread in. The bottom line is, what the hell are the correct torque settings, the Haynes a Manual is definitely out of order, I even bought a new torque wrench for the last snap off so it must be the Haynes! The whole job habeen a breeze till this cropped up. Total time was about 5 hours tops.

[Deleted]

Haynes Manuals are good for a guide but NEVER trust what they say about torque settings or really important stuff. The bikes workshop manual from the manufacturer is the only thing to trust.

[Mainjetmike]

Most head bolts are stretch bolts and as far as I can remember they're good for one torquing down .

Ie single use only , because if you torque them again to the required setting the bolt is weaker than the first time it was done .

I doubt very much that one would snap on the second fitting ( which contradicts what I've just said ) , but on the third or fourth time of fitting there's a very good possibility of snapping

[spike]

You're ded right Mike, they are, (were), stretch bolts. They have a little 'waist' on them, they go thinner in the middle for a bit!
Now get 10 out of 10 and tell me where to get them and what NM do I torque the wee buggers

[muzzasv]

just tighten them enough but dont go mental its the main head bolts that have to be the right torque setting the 8mm ones arent important for compression, i snapped one before and just left it with one bolt in and had no problems, as long as they are tight enough not to work loose they will be fine

[ROADRUNNER]

Great that you got stuck in I sorted 2 bikes to a degree and stripped the engine on one if then I learnt soooo much and it was a great experience despite spending a mint on tools and numerous different gadgets lol, just out of interest did you replace the head bolts first fine round ? If not I would have done it saves the bolts snapping wish I had I went through the same in the end I replaced all the bolts