Hi all , I am new to this posting threads etc so a little help from the experienced is appreciated. I am currently in the throws of overhauling the demons power plant ( top and bottom) . After failing to find a new head gasket I took the advice of one of our member an cleaned up the old one in readiness to receive a coating of Coppercoat all good so far however, can someone tell me which side faces up when on the barrel ? When I got the bike it came with a spare engine ,as I had not worked on these engines before I thought I would strip it down for practice. I noted that the head gasket had the raised portion around the pistons faced up yet when I disassembled the other engine the raise portion faced downwards. So please someone out there tell me which of the two is correct! Thanks Bago
Sensible question. If you haven't yet completely cleaned the surfaces of the head and barrels yet have a look for where the marks are from the gasket if they are still there. Knowing which engine may have had the gasket replaced and put in upside down is another puzzling aspect. There may also be some logic behind which way faces, up or down, I have some FZR250 head gaskets downstairs that I can check in an hour or so. Would love it if you could measure the conrod length if you're doing that much disassembly to check bearing shells
Thanks for the reply mate and yes I agree it's a puzzle that's for sure. I haven't yet split the crankcase but it is on the to do list. I will get back to you when it's apart with the dimensions. I have checked the yet uncleaned gasket and it appears that the raised portion is in the upward orientation. Mention is made within the service manual regards orientation so there must be a right way and a wrong way however, i can see no indicative markings on the gasket. Thanks Bago
OK, so I've searched out the FZR250 head gaskets I have here, one new, one used, both are the same as there's still the legible ink stamp on the used one also, the raised portion around the pistons faces down on both EDIT - for @Linkin's post - the word head is printed on the FZR250 gaskets also, so if it's legible facing up it is also on the correct orientation Worth noting that the Yamaha head gaskets have the raised portion around the perimeter facing up Hope this helps
From memory, a lot of Suzuki gaskets will have the word "HEAD" visible cut into the gasket somewhere on a bit that overhangs the cylinder, when you can read the word it's in the correct orientation ie not upside down.
Thanks mate for your input toward solving my problem. Many thanks I will let you know when the puzzle is solved. According to Linkin there a marking of some kind on the gasket indicating correct orientation, so I will get out the Magnifying lense and have a closer look . I will let you know the outcome. Bago
