Re-use old base and head gaskets

[HONDA NO MORE]

It looks like i am going to be tearing into my 2006 YZ450. The question is can i reuse the head and or base gasket? Money is pretty tight right now and i want to get this bike back up and running. Has anyone tried the Tusk top end gasket kit? I can get it for 15 bucks, but I am afraid i will get exactly what i paid for.

[123devinzz1]

It looks like i am going to be tearing into my 2006 YZ450. The question is can i reuse the head and or base gasket? Money is pretty tight right now and i want to get this bike back up and running. Has anyone tried the Tusk top end gasket kit? I can get it for 15 bucks, but I am afraid i will get exactly what i paid for.

i say pay the $30 and get the oem stuff. A head gasket is one that I CAN NOT recommend re using. What are you doing inside the engine? Alot of piston/top end kits come with all the gaskets needed at a package price.

[grayracer513]

As long as you don't mind pulling the top end down again to replace the gaskets after you put it together, there's no problem with reusing them. I don't see the point, though.

You are correct about the cheaper stuff. Use either OEM or Cometic. Do it right, do it once.

[Sqwid]

Tusk gaskets are good. I used them too many times to keep track of and never once had an issue. I use tusk stuff all the time and highly recommend the brand. Tusk products are technically other brands just rebadged and sold for less. For instance primary drive chain (tusk product) is made by DID and I also bought a tusk steel braided brake line and the bag said tusk but the line said galfer. Not sure who makes tusk gaskets but they never failed me once. With the reputation RMATV has and tusk being their brand I'm sure they wouldn't sell an inferior product.

Edited July 30, 2013 by Sqwid

[HONDA NO MORE]

Thanks for the comments guys, just what i thought it is worth a little extra to prevent a problem down the road.

@123devinzz1 i had the little bearing come apart on the end of the stopper lever that holds the shift drum in gear, and my motor was making some grinding noises, so i figured i might as well split the cases and get to the bottom of the problem rather than grenade the motor and possibly ruin cases/head/cylinder. So if all is well I just be chasing those last 3 ball bearings and inspecting for any other issues.

Please comment on my other post if you guys think this is overkill for 3 x 1/32" ball bearings floating around in my motor. Really looking for some advice from Greyracer on this whereas he has tracked this forum for so long and his ultimate wisdom.

[grayracer513]

You're going to have to decide that one on your own. Theoretically, one of the balls could get between the kick gear on the back of the clutch and the oil pump drive gears, break them, and blow the whole engine. How likely is that, or anything similar? Um......

By now, they've probably rolled down into the crankcase center area. You might go fishing for them by removing the LEFT side cover (flywheel cover) and working a magnet around the oil pickup screen that can be accessed through the port behind the flywheel.

[HONDA NO MORE]

Well, just got done tearing this motor all the way down. The internals look very good, cylinder and piston are a little beat up, so I'll decide one way or another.

My next question is what have people had luck substituting in for yamabond? Can i just use RTV from Autozone? I have to order all of my parts and missed the cutoff for this weekend and would like to get the bottom end put back together.

thanks,

[highmarker]

no rtv please

[f150jokerstyle]

Use some type of high quality anaerobic. Better yet use some three bond case sealant it is what my local Yamaha dealer uses and I have used in the past. Just spend the money on it, you will use it more than you think for other stuff. Also I know it's hard but read the directions you get much better results when you do.