Author Topic: CB550 cylinder head O-rings  (Read 294 times)

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Offline brett_bike

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CB550 cylinder head O-rings
« on: March 31, 2025, 09:13:49 AM »
I seem to remember a member here selling cylinder head o-rings but I can’t seem to find anything.

Any ideas?  Or just order them online?

I found some (I think) in my parts bin that are the same size but can’t confirm if they are for the cylinder head. I’m bad a labeling stuff.

Is there is anything special about these vs tappet cover o-rings…like will fuel passing by from the carb to the cylinder break them down?


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Offline HondaMan

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Re: CB550 cylinder head O-rings
« Reply #1 on: March 31, 2025, 09:54:59 AM »
I seem to remember a member here selling cylinder head o-rings but I can’t seem to find anything.

Any ideas?  Or just order them online?

I found some (I think) in my parts bin that are the same size but can’t confirm if they are for the cylinder head. I’m bad a labeling stuff.

Is there is anything special about these vs tappet cover o-rings…like will fuel passing by from the carb to the cylinder break them down?


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Brett: if you're looking for the thicker ones to go thru the thicker head gaskets we get now, I have them. PM me with your address?
See SOHC4shop.com for info about the gadgets I make for these bikes.

The demons are repulsed when a man does good. Use that.
Blood is thicker than water, but motor oil is thicker yet...so, don't mess with my SOHC4, or I might have to hurt you.
Hondaman's creed: "Bikers are family. Treat them accordingly."

Link to Hondaman Ignition: http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=67543.0

Link to My CB750 Book: https://www.lulu.com/search?adult_audience_rating=00&page=1&pageSize=10&q=my+cb750+book
Link to My CB500/CB550 Book: https://www.lulu.com/search?sortBy=RELEVANCE&page=1&q=my+cb550+book&pageSize=10&adult_audience_rating=00
Link to website: SOHC4shop.com  (Note: no longer at www.SOHC4shop.com, moved off WWW. in 2024).

Offline brett_bike

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Re: CB550 cylinder head O-rings
« Reply #2 on: March 31, 2025, 09:59:13 AM »

Hi Mark

Are we talking about the same o-ring? I didn’t know there were different sizes.

PM incoming.

Thanks


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Offline HondaMan

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Re: CB550 cylinder head O-rings
« Reply #3 on: April 01, 2025, 07:01:28 PM »

Hi Mark

Are we talking about the same o-ring? I didn’t know there were different sizes.

PM incoming.

Thanks


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I didn't send them yet (diverted for wifey tasks), but the ones you have circled for the intake manifolds are the same size as the ones in the valve caps, if that matters. I have those, too, if you need them? The ones I am talking about are #37 in that same parts picture. The modern head gaskets are 0.2mm thicker than the OEM version, so the 'standard' O-rings found in gasket kits for those oil passages are too thin, and cause oil leaks soon after the engine is restarted.

Let me know?
See SOHC4shop.com for info about the gadgets I make for these bikes.

The demons are repulsed when a man does good. Use that.
Blood is thicker than water, but motor oil is thicker yet...so, don't mess with my SOHC4, or I might have to hurt you.
Hondaman's creed: "Bikers are family. Treat them accordingly."

Link to Hondaman Ignition: http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=67543.0

Link to My CB750 Book: https://www.lulu.com/search?adult_audience_rating=00&page=1&pageSize=10&q=my+cb750+book
Link to My CB500/CB550 Book: https://www.lulu.com/search?sortBy=RELEVANCE&page=1&q=my+cb550+book&pageSize=10&adult_audience_rating=00
Link to website: SOHC4shop.com  (Note: no longer at www.SOHC4shop.com, moved off WWW. in 2024).

Offline brett_bike

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Re: CB550 cylinder head O-rings
« Reply #4 on: April 01, 2025, 07:15:04 PM »
Got’cha. I need #38 in the pic.


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Offline HondaMan

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Re: CB550 cylinder head O-rings
« Reply #5 on: April 01, 2025, 07:20:54 PM »
I'll send a set of those then. Good thing I didn't get to it today? ;)
See SOHC4shop.com for info about the gadgets I make for these bikes.

The demons are repulsed when a man does good. Use that.
Blood is thicker than water, but motor oil is thicker yet...so, don't mess with my SOHC4, or I might have to hurt you.
Hondaman's creed: "Bikers are family. Treat them accordingly."

Link to Hondaman Ignition: http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=67543.0

Link to My CB750 Book: https://www.lulu.com/search?adult_audience_rating=00&page=1&pageSize=10&q=my+cb750+book
Link to My CB500/CB550 Book: https://www.lulu.com/search?sortBy=RELEVANCE&page=1&q=my+cb550+book&pageSize=10&adult_audience_rating=00
Link to website: SOHC4shop.com  (Note: no longer at www.SOHC4shop.com, moved off WWW. in 2024).

Offline brett_bike

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Re: CB550 cylinder head O-rings
« Reply #6 on: April 01, 2025, 07:56:47 PM »
Thank you!


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Offline Oddjob

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Re: CB550 cylinder head O-rings
« Reply #7 on: April 02, 2025, 03:59:31 AM »
Same part number as the tappet cover caps, as Mark says. They are an odd size, 30.8 x 3.2mm. These are not usually available off the shelf, special order to have them made and usually a minimum of 500 before they'll do them. Most sellers sell ones which they say are correct but are in fact just close enough (in their opinion) to work. I've personally had some which were so bad I refused to fit them in a customers bike, so bad I removed 4 old tappet cover rings and used them instead, it's easy to replace the tappet cover ones, not so much the manifold ones and if they leak it causes running problems. If you have a genuine Honda top end set you'll get 12 of them in there, I'd advise using them ONLY in the manifold and using close enough ones for the tappet covers, that way you get 3 sets of manifold ones, enough for the lifetime of the bike normally. Most sellers provide something like 31 x 3.0mm.

Offline HondaMan

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Re: CB550 cylinder head O-rings
« Reply #8 on: April 02, 2025, 05:18:33 PM »
I have the local seal shop make them (sometimes they can order them instead) and I buy them 200 at a time. It is an unusual size in the Parker standard O-ring realm, so finding them is real hit-and-miss in the USA.

Of note, though: for the intake manifolds on the 500/550 they can accept the 30.8 x 3.5mm size (not so much in the valve caps, too thick there) because of the way those intake manifold grooves are laid out. They have lots of extra space on the outside of the O-rings. I've also removed some (that were sealing OK, just old) that were obviously the 31mm x 3.5mm size, which is more easily found. They filled in the whole groove, snugly!
See SOHC4shop.com for info about the gadgets I make for these bikes.

The demons are repulsed when a man does good. Use that.
Blood is thicker than water, but motor oil is thicker yet...so, don't mess with my SOHC4, or I might have to hurt you.
Hondaman's creed: "Bikers are family. Treat them accordingly."

Link to Hondaman Ignition: http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=67543.0

Link to My CB750 Book: https://www.lulu.com/search?adult_audience_rating=00&page=1&pageSize=10&q=my+cb750+book
Link to My CB500/CB550 Book: https://www.lulu.com/search?sortBy=RELEVANCE&page=1&q=my+cb550+book&pageSize=10&adult_audience_rating=00
Link to website: SOHC4shop.com  (Note: no longer at www.SOHC4shop.com, moved off WWW. in 2024).

Offline Oddjob

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Re: CB550 cylinder head O-rings
« Reply #9 on: April 02, 2025, 09:12:31 PM »
Fair play to you Mark for having them made specially for you. Far too many sellers these days just in it for the quick buck, they don’t care if the bike breaks down a few months or years later. Same can be said about carb oring sets, you buy them only to find the main jet ones are either slightly too big, so you need to force them down the tower or they are too small and the jet falls out. I did investigate getting them all specially made in Viton but the cost was over a thousand pounds here in the uk, that money would be slow coming back in as well. I have wondered if the manifold ones should be Viton, they are exposed to the ethanol in fuel these days, even if the exposure is minimal, tappet covers are fine in Nitrile of course, although one person reckoned Viton ones would be too hard to crush in that location, considering there are only 10 shore difference in the composition I really don’t think that argument holds water. What’s your opinion?