Author Topic: 350F head gasket leak - ?Cause?Solution?  (Read 774 times)

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Offline jimbojangles

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350F head gasket leak - ?Cause?Solution?
« on: March 22, 2019, 01:26:36 PM »
I don't know if this will help anyone, but I think I stumbled across part of why my 350F was leaking oil at the head gasket. I may be completely wrong, but I replaced my head gasket and seals without worrying too much about mating surfaces and have had zero leaks. (knock on wood)

I know this topic has been beat to death, so I don't want to start a discussion on copper coating, head gasket thickness or warped heads. I'm sure all of the information has it's own merits. I just want to point out one thing to check while you have things apart. Make absolutely sure the oil flow jets that sit between the head and the block are completely clear. Then check the oil spray bars in the head that actually shoot a stream of oil on the camshaft. Make sure each hole in the bar is clear. Spray cleaner and compressed air through to confirm. Don't just do a visual inspection. Treat these parts like you would a carburetor. In my case these bars appear to have started rusting and the individual holes were getting clogged. I also noticed that some of this rust has traveled back down into the oil control jets and they looked pretty bad. I'm sure the reduced flow had to increase back pressure along the oil flow path and surely made things harder on those O-rings between the head and block.

This may not be a holy grail solution, but it can't hurt. If it doesn't solve your leak it will at least make sure your camshaft gets proper oil.

Cheers

 
1974 CB350F
2013 VFR1200F

Offline jakec

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Re: 350F head gasket leak - ?Cause?Solution?
« Reply #1 on: March 23, 2019, 08:28:07 PM »
I read a Hondaman thread where he said that the new head gaskets that you can get are thinner (no more asbestos), while the O rings are the same as they used to be. So the head gasket will leak. This was about 750's though. I am about to rebuild my 400 which is basically the same so I'm interested to know what kit you used.
1970 CB750 K0
1977 CB750 Chop
1997 XR650L

Offline robvangulik

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Re: 350F head gasket leak - ?Cause?Solution?
« Reply #2 on: March 24, 2019, 05:34:57 AM »
You wrote that before somewhere AND you were corrected than.
Modern headgaskets are THICKER, and the standard rubbers are then not high enough!

Offline jakec

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Re: 350F head gasket leak - ?Cause?Solution?
« Reply #3 on: March 24, 2019, 09:37:01 AM »
Hahaha you’re right! Sorry about that. I knew what I was saying didn’t make sense because it should have been the O rings that leaked...

Still, I am curious to know if the original poster of this thread took that into account
1970 CB750 K0
1977 CB750 Chop
1997 XR650L

Offline robvangulik

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Re: 350F head gasket leak - ?Cause?Solution?
« Reply #4 on: March 24, 2019, 11:54:25 AM »
Quote
I knew what I was saying didn’t make sense
Why did you post that then?
If everybody did that these forums would be totally useless!

Offline jakec

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Re: 350F head gasket leak - ?Cause?Solution?
« Reply #5 on: March 24, 2019, 01:23:45 PM »
I don't know why I keep getting it backwards every time I type it out. I just do! Anyways let's derail this thread... I am really interested in this topic as I'll be doing a top end rebuild soon.
1970 CB750 K0
1977 CB750 Chop
1997 XR650L

Offline jimbojangles

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Re: 350F head gasket leak - ?Cause?Solution?
« Reply #6 on: March 24, 2019, 07:13:48 PM »
I did use a NOS Honda kit out of fear from all of the other posts I read. I only wanted to do this once.  But after getting in there, I wanted to know why it started leaking in the first place.

It seems like the O-rings do 99%of the work here. I don't think it's necessary to have the head milled flat or to copper coat the gasket on this engine. However, I can see the posts from Hondaman making sense. I'd be curious to measure some aftermarket gaskets after they have been compressed and see how they compare.

I mostly just wanted to point out that I'm sure I would have got a leak again if these parts had not been cleaned and beleive they were part of the cause. It's worth spending some time on while things are apart.
1974 CB350F
2013 VFR1200F

Offline jakec

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Re: 350F head gasket leak - ?Cause?Solution?
« Reply #7 on: March 25, 2019, 09:02:41 AM »
I have one of the gasket kits from 4into1. I got the kit because I wasn't able to find everything I needed separately. I'm going to get some calipers and measure the gasket thickness. I'm not sure if anyone knows the correct thickness (oem).
1970 CB750 K0
1977 CB750 Chop
1997 XR650L