Hopefully the head gasket will arrive today and the rain will stop so I will be spannering in the b&b car park.
I have Ians instructions for fitting composite head gaskets but is the procedure the same for solid copper ones. I need to get over some tricky hills later today.
I've been using a copper gasket for a while now and haven't needed to retighten after the initial fitting. Hasn't blown yet!
Much easier than with the composite.
Do not trust it
If the gasket is full soft you can indent the surface by rolling your thumb nail hard into it.
If not then it is not soft
Ignore 99% of the tosh & OWT about having to quench , and wire brushing making it hard again, all rubbish .
I like to leave mine to cool slowly between two fire bricks then give the surface a quick run with stainless steel wool
All sorted and back home 250 miles after fitting new head gasket in B&B car park.
Drags sent a solid copper gasket DHL amd it arrived by noon next day.
It was very well anealed. Tightened head nuts in correct sequence. Thankfully I could access Ian Wright's tech article on this website on my phone to get the sequence.
Once the gasket was fitted I let the engine tick over for ten minutes holding a large sheet of cardboard to deflect cold, strong wind. Then turned off engine and went for a cuppa. 45 minutes later with a cold engine I re-checked head bolts and they only needed a slight nip up. Set off home and re-checked after 10 miles and found bolts still tight.
It was the Welsh hills that did for the original gasket. Lesson learned ....change down sooner and keep the revs up.
I've found, to my surprise, that it is worth checking torques again a few times after rides - on more than 1 occasion I regret not doing so. And +1 for Trevor's comments.
