Top end gasket

[fruehjames]

I noticed an oily mixture on the cooling fins of my 2000 blaster. After some valuable information from members on the site I was told I needed to replace the top end gasket set. The parts have just arrived and seems to be a bit more work that I expected. Anyone know if this is an easy repair and if possible the steps I need to take to successfully install the new gasket. Thanks a lot

 

[speedracinshift]

if its only the head gasket not the jug gasket not hard at all. first pull of the gas tank plastic and then remove the gas tank so you can get to the head bolts. then u will need a 8 or a 10 mm socket take off the 6 bolts on the head. then when taken off check the gasket surface make sure that they look good and clean then put the new gasket in finger tighten all six nuts. then at this time u will need a torq wrinch u can get just a cheaper one from a auto parts store. then start to torq cris cross pattern about a half turn at a time until at 20footpounds

 

[speedracinshift]

oo ya after a few heat cycles you will need to check the torq on the six head nut to make sure they are holding the torq. and how old is the gasket in there?? did u ever just try to retorq the head gasket in there so see if that will fix prob first. but if i were u i would just replace it. wish u luck if u need any more help feel free to ask.

 

[fruehjames]

Thanks alot for the help man I am going to do the repair tomorrow morning and report back. What is the jug gasket you mentioned. Also would a faulty head gasket be the reason there is the oily mixture on the bottome end cooling fins?

 

[speedracinshift]

if u can get a pic of the area i will know better. leaky head gaskets cause to to run lean and hot most of the time sounds like u may need a base gasket

 

[fruehjames]

ill try and post a pic tomorrow. Where is the base gasket located? The blaster was running fine and i noticed the oily mixture coming from where the top end and bottom end of the engine come together. Right after i noticed this the blaster began to idle poorly and die after idleing for only about 20 seconds. Is this a sign it is running lean?

 

[speedracinshift]

CYLINDER - HEAD - 1998 Yamaha BLASTER / YFS200K if u go here the base gasket is # 12 and the head gasket is #8 if u have to replace #12 thats a little bit harder to do

 

[fruehjames]

No its definately coming from the head gasket according to your picture. Do you think I should repair it myself following the directions you previously gave me as apposed to paying a shop to do it? Also if I do it myself are there any things I should do before taking the top end off such as draining the fuel or plugging any lines or anything like that? Thanks so much for the help man really appreciate it.

 

[speedracinshift]

if its is just the head gasket it not hard if u have never done it. if it the base gasket there a lot more u have to take a part. you would have to take the whole cylinder off to get to it base gasket. do u have a torq wrench?? if not u can get a cheap one for like 15$ that has a manual gage on it and the head gaskets like around 10$

 

[speedracinshift]

i can wright up step bystep and pm it to u if u want me to let me know thanx

 

[fruehjames]

Thanks so much for the feedback. I also wanted to mention I just bought the blaster about 3 weeks ago and have ran about 4 tanks of gas thru it. The previous owner was the original owner and it is in pretty good condition. He told me he had rebuilt the top end about a month and a half ago. Could it be possible the head nuts just need to be retighted to 20 ft lbs of torque? Also do you know if this problem could be causing the idle issues? Thanks so much again

 

[speedracinshift]

ya if he rebuilt it thatmore than likely the prob u would just retorq the head and jug probly never been done i would think if u wanna do that i can give u a right up of how to do that to if u wanna try that first

 

[fruehjames]

Thanks man. Yeah a write up on how to retorque the proper bolts would be GREATLY appreciated. Would I need to drain the gas tank before removing it to retorque the nuts. Thanks SO MUCH for the help really appreciate it.

 

[speedracinshift]

it will more than likely cause a air leak so it will cause funny idel what colors the plug look like??

 

[fruehjames]

One other quick question. Could the oily gunk that is leaking from the head gasket area create future problems should i remove the top end and clean the gasket before retightening the bolts.

 

[speedracinshift]

i would drain it down a little if its full just make sure the gas valves closed and if it like half way just try to keep it up right so no gas will come out the breather hose on the cap

 

[fruehjames]

Sorry for my ignorance im new to the atv world but what do you mean by what color does the plug look like.

 

[speedracinshift]

step needed as follows: 1 take off plastic around gas tank four bolts, 2 take off two front bolts that hold down the gas tank, 3 take off gas line to carb then remove the gas tank from frame- this will gve u axes to the six nuts on the head, 4 take torq wrench torq in criss cross pattern until the are held at 20foot pounds. and if u wanna torq the jug nut u can do them too. they are 20foot pounds too u will have to just hand torq them with a normal wrench bc the torq wrench will not fit. this should fix the problom if not then the head gaskets shot just put a new one i and torq the same way as i told u before

 

[speedracinshift]

if u pull the plug out of the bike the electrode part of the plug that fires in side the motor if black it mean to rich if white then to lean-meaning not enough gas or possible air leak, black to much gas or to much oil u want it to be light tanish brown like a woffle color. color tells a lot on a plug

 

[speedracinshift]

here a sight to help explain a little bit on plug color http://www.themopedjunkyard.com/knowledge/plugcolor.jpg i hope this helps explain a little better.