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Edited Date/Time
5/28/2020 9:15pm
Short version: if you have played around with copper head gaskets, what is your preferred sealant? Any other tips? Do you anneal the new gasket before initial use?
Long version: I'm rebuilding my nephews YZ144 while being gainfully unemployed. It uses an Athena cylinder and head. We've been having crap luck with the Athena gaskets with a base gasket being visibly defected when new and a head gasket leaking on the initial start up. Reading some other forums and it seems there are other people dealing with their crap gaskets as well. Just as frustrating is that we have to buy a whole gasket kit and can't just get a head or base individually. Argh!!!!
We can use an OEM YZ125 base gasket and I've ordered some custom cut copper gaskets for the head. With a material thickness of 0.050", that should put us in a proper squish of right around .98mm - 1.01mm so we're good there. (We'll be running VP110) If this all works out, then pulling the top end will be easier and cheaper on the gasket side of things!
However, I've been reading that you still need to coat the gasket before use and am looking for some tips. Do you have a favorite sealant? Also, do you anneal the gasket even when new? What is your preferred annealing method?
Thanks!!
Long version: I'm rebuilding my nephews YZ144 while being gainfully unemployed. It uses an Athena cylinder and head. We've been having crap luck with the Athena gaskets with a base gasket being visibly defected when new and a head gasket leaking on the initial start up. Reading some other forums and it seems there are other people dealing with their crap gaskets as well. Just as frustrating is that we have to buy a whole gasket kit and can't just get a head or base individually. Argh!!!!
We can use an OEM YZ125 base gasket and I've ordered some custom cut copper gaskets for the head. With a material thickness of 0.050", that should put us in a proper squish of right around .98mm - 1.01mm so we're good there. (We'll be running VP110) If this all works out, then pulling the top end will be easier and cheaper on the gasket side of things!
However, I've been reading that you still need to coat the gasket before use and am looking for some tips. Do you have a favorite sealant? Also, do you anneal the gasket even when new? What is your preferred annealing method?
Thanks!!
https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/permatex-copper-spray-a-gasket-hi-t…
A long time ago, I would anneal copper head gaskets a time or two. Always seemed to work OK, but those bikes (mid-70s MXers) were not as highly stressed as today's bikes. There should not be a need to anneal a new copper head gasket -- only after a rebuild.
I'll 3rd that
The Shop
Old timers told me silver spray paint can be used also due to the aluminum in the paint?
Meaning you assembled everything and you were good till for 20 hours, or however long. You didn't
feel that after a certain amount of time you had to re-apply the stuff or anything?
Thanks!
Post a reply to: Copper head gasket sealant- follow up question