head gasket! GGRRRRRRR!!!!!!

[woodsracer144]

ok this is really pissin me off! i just got my motor rebuilt aug. of 06, i ran Bel -Ray pex mix for about 2-3 Hr.s and then i did amsoil becasu i didnt have to do so far to get it, i took it trialin a few time and rode it on the track alittl e but never raced it, and i went campin with it and i get back and a few weeks later i blew my head gasket and i replaced it 2-3 weekends ago, and i was ridein it last night and i blew it again!!!!!!!!!!! and its pissin me off becaue it shouldnt be doing this! im runings 32-1 with yamalube. i dont know what im doing wrong, it was about -20 out and i rode it alittle bit but i adjusted every thing for the weather, and i let it worm up for about 15 min.s and when i started to drive it it ran just like it was runin all day it was nice and worm! i seill ahve my head gasked from when i reauilt it and im gonna try that, and see what happends,

thanks for your help!

[Kendall33]

Make sure your head is torqued to the right specs which would be around 20-24 lbs(depending on what mechanic tells you it is) to each nut...and make sure you check it every time you go ride. I would ride the crap out of mine in practice at the nationals and check them right as I can back and 9 out of 10 times one would be just a little loose

[woodsracer144]

is there a easyer way to check then to strip it all down?

[blasterfreak99]

you don't have to strip it down at all. he is talking about the very top bolts. make sure they are in spec

[woodsracer144]

yeah i know, butmy wrich is long i dont know how i can do it with out takin the tank and all that off, or can you use just a rachet and use that to see if one loose, thanks!

[blasterfreak99]

oh i see. you have to have a torque wrench. you could use a ratchet but it wouldn't be very accurate.

[pbblaster2]

dont ever just use any old craftsman ratchet make shure u use a torq wrench or else your bolts will never be tightend the same

[C-LEIGH RACING]

And!, dont retighten those nuts while the engine is hot either, easy to pull a head stud out of the cylinder that way.
Sence you already blown the head gasket before, more than likely theres a deformed place in the head where the gasket was leaking.
When a head gasket leaks on a air cooled engine, the place where the leak is at, that compression squeezing through the leak spot is super heated to the max & more than the head can disapate & causes a hot spot in the head.
You probably need to get the head gasket surface machined on the head.
When you reinstall the head, use some sealant on the gasket, the old air cooled engines need all the help they can get to keep running well.
Neil

[woodsracer144]

ok,can i use the nhea gasket that i had on it before i got it rebuilt? its in perfect cont. it doesnt leak, can i still use that on that i ahve in it? what do i have to do? to get it fixed, how do you set it up in the millin meachne(sp) to do it? thanks! its weird becasue i have have more power with the leak than without the leak. i pull wheeles all the time now in the soft snow. and i ever could.

[C-LEIGH RACING]

It can be machined on a milling machine, but would be better to do it on a lathe.

You can take that old copper head gasket, lay it on a thick piece of steel & heat the gasket cherry red with a torch & then quickly slide it off into a pan of cold water & it will make the gasket useably again.
I think the process is called anelling, any way the heating & then sliding it off into the cold water makes the copper soft again.
Neil