MonoRT
MonoRT
I have an 85 R80RT. A few days ago, I noticed that the left head was shiny with oil around the head gasket - that area is normally as dry as a bone. The head gasket has no visible cracks or breaks in it.
I wondered if the head was not properly torqued, so I loosened and re-torqued each nut to 33 NM. Nothing seemed amis until I got to the upper exhaust rocker tower. The nut there came loose with way too little effort. I re-torqued that nut and the remaining nuts and noticed that that upper forward stud was showing one more thread than the other three cylinder studs.
After re-setting the valves, I buttoned everything up and cleaned the outside of the head with carb cleaner. The next day, I had oil around the head gasket. Today, not only oil on the head, but a fine mist of oil on my left boot.
I had been hoping that there was some sort of screwup last time the head came off (at least a year ago - stupid leaky pushrod seals). Now, I'm wondering if that upper forward cylinder stud is pulling out of the case.
I do suspect that the left head is a bit warped. I never could get the left rocker cover to stop leaking until I switched to a silicone gasket. I heard somewhere that the left head was cast in a way that made it more prone to warping. Is that true or just rumor?
I know I'm going to have to pull everything apart - and, if the cylinder stud is pulling out, I'll want to have a pro fix it. I have not had enough experience with helicoils or timeserts to have a go at that by myself. If the head is warped, how should I check it? What constitutes too warped? It does not look like there's much room to mill the head flat - is that even possible?
In the meantime, what do you all think? Anything else I should be looking for?
I wondered if the head was not properly torqued, so I loosened and re-torqued each nut to 33 NM. Nothing seemed amis until I got to the upper exhaust rocker tower. The nut there came loose with way too little effort. I re-torqued that nut and the remaining nuts and noticed that that upper forward stud was showing one more thread than the other three cylinder studs.
After re-setting the valves, I buttoned everything up and cleaned the outside of the head with carb cleaner. The next day, I had oil around the head gasket. Today, not only oil on the head, but a fine mist of oil on my left boot.
I had been hoping that there was some sort of screwup last time the head came off (at least a year ago - stupid leaky pushrod seals). Now, I'm wondering if that upper forward cylinder stud is pulling out of the case.
I do suspect that the left head is a bit warped. I never could get the left rocker cover to stop leaking until I switched to a silicone gasket. I heard somewhere that the left head was cast in a way that made it more prone to warping. Is that true or just rumor?
I know I'm going to have to pull everything apart - and, if the cylinder stud is pulling out, I'll want to have a pro fix it. I have not had enough experience with helicoils or timeserts to have a go at that by myself. If the head is warped, how should I check it? What constitutes too warped? It does not look like there's much room to mill the head flat - is that even possible?
In the meantime, what do you all think? Anything else I should be looking for?