Cylinder Head Interior and Exterior Gasket Replacement

[rolandj727]

How often do people replace these gaskets?

 

The R1100RT has 108,800 with no replacement and no leaks. I am thinking it might be a good idea to replace these when I do a valve adjustment on Saturday.

 

Thoughts?

 

Part 11121341708 cost $32.04

Part 11121341707 cost $8.75

[TimberGuy]

Easy to do anytime, so I would inspect both and replace if necessary (torn, chipped, bent bad, heat degraded, etc) - but not automatically. I've had the inner one get misplaced on assembly a couple of times (you'll know when it happens) - comforted to know I have one on the shelf ready instead of waiting for delivery. I'm a frugal bum and probably wouldn't replace if they look / feel good, but also wouldn't hesitate if in any doubt. Other view is to get the parts and replace - then keep the old one in a tote (label "used") in case you need one in a hurry. Deeper inside, harder to reach, I might decide differently - these are easy fix.

 

On my R1100RT rebuild winter 2015 I found the cover bolt rubber washers were a bigger issue, in awful shape - chose to replace all of them.

[rolandj727]

Thanks for the great response.

 

I think I will spring for the new external, internal, and bolt covers since I have the funds at this moment.

 

Excellent idea to put the others aside, just in case they need to be pressed into service.

[Christo]

Why replace these if they are not leaking? If you have an R1100 with that many miles and the head gasket is not leaking, it's probably already been replaced with a 4 layer gasket and should be good to go. Removing and replacing the head bolts to to replace a non leaking gasket just risks stripping one of the bolt-holes in the engine block unnecessarily.

[Michaelr11]

The Subject line of this post is unclear, but all of the previous posts are addressing the valve cover gasket and doughnut. If the original poster was referring to the head gasket, that should be made clear and I agree with you, why tear into it if it isn't leaking.

 

[lkchris]

The Subject line of this post is unclear, but all of the previous posts are addressing the valve cover gasket and doughnut. If the original poster was referring to the head gasket, that should be made clear and I agree with you, why tear into it if it isn't leaking.

 

No, I think he used the wrong terms and did mean in fact the valve cover gaskets.

 

It's a pretty big deal on an Oilhead to separate the cylinder head from the cylinder barrel to replace the head gasket--not something easily done at "next oil change."

 

[dan cata]

It's a pretty big deal on an Oilhead to separate the cylinder head from the cylinder barrel to replace the head gasket--not something easily done at "next oil change."

Why wait till next oil change when you can do it right now

The R/H side was leaking on my RT so I changed both. It is not that hard, the only concern would be not to drop the timing chains inside the engine.

 

Dan.

[Lowndes]

Don't forget to clear all the air passages in the head to and from the spark plug. Both sides on mine were plugged up with bugs, pebbles and grass after only a few thousand miles. Best to do it with the valve covers on to keep the debris out of the oily parts.

 

AND, DO NOT strip the threads on the valve cover screws!! It's VERY easy to do. These are BOTTOMING screws to prevent over-tightening on your new gaskets. Snug is all you need unless you want to get familiar with helicoils.