cyl. base gaskets-what else to look for

[stevea]

Hello. This my first time posting, hope some of you professionals can help. Took 46 yrs. but I finally got my H-D. A 92 heritage with 33k. Don't know much about the history, I'm at least the 4th owner, was apparently bought from a used car dealership at some point. Appears to have been well taken care of. Runs good, 1000 mi. trip to north wis. with no incident. Cyl. base gaskets leaking. Have james base gskts., HD top end gskt. set. Mechanic by trade, but 1st time I've torn into one of these. I've been reading stuff about reversing the cyl. studs so the shoulder is at bottom, replacing piston pin clips, replacing lifters at this mileage,etc. I have a factory serv. manual. What should I look for/be aware of? Any suggestions/directions would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks. 

[Reddog74usa]

The base gaskets leaking is common. If I were going in to replace them this is what I would use http://www.haydensm6.com/tof_single.htm. The Hyden oil fix. If it's not smokin or using oil and you just want to R&R the base gaskets just pull the cylinders up enough to remove the wrist pin clip to remove the wrist pin this way you will not have to re ring it when you remove the cylinders. Evo's are well known for long life when maintained correctly. I would leave the cylinder studs alone as I have seen some tear up the threads on the aluminum cases upon removal. As far as the lifters go, I have also heard of guys saying they should be replaced every 20 or 30K miles however I have seen untouched early evo's go 100K on the original lifters with no issues. I guess it depends on luck and what cam your runin. If you feel as though you have to change em out I have had good luck with the ones from Ultima. there made in the U.S.A. by Johnson, the same mfg. for Harley and others. Being a mechanic gives you an advantage but these engines go together a specific way so pay attention to details, Take yer time and ask question when ya don't know or aren't sure about something. The know it all techs are the ones that seem to break more things than the ones that are always asking questions and learnin. This is a straight up job so you'll be ok. 

[JBarrettB]

Make sure that the cylinder base surfaces are flush/flat..Have the cylinders surfaced if necessary and use good gaskets. I'd change out the sylinder studs too, if it were mine.

JB

[1997bagger]

Harley B lifters work fine, check the cam bearing and those base gaskets can be mothers to get off the jugs, be careful not to gouge the gasket sealing area. Alot of repair info out there and plenty of upper knowledge chimes in on here. Welcome aboard

[Buddy WMC]

In addition to what the other members have mentioned, DO NOT use the Hayden Oil Fix base gaskets supplied with the kit. Use the Genuine James Base gaskets instead. They fit like a glove and will accomodate the brass jets without any interference.

[Reddog74usa]

Great point Buddy. I didn't know the gaskets that came with the kit were junk.

[Buddy WMC]

Great point Buddy. I didn't know the gaskets that came with the kit were junk.

RD,
They are a thin paper type maybe a little thicker than the stockers that leak. Just to be on the safe side when I did mine, everything was squared up (cylinder bases and cases), cleaned and the brass jets/James base gaskets installed dry. The key is the brass jets fit inside the cylinders and cases allowing no oil to weep between the gasket seal.

[ridemyEVO]

I changed my lifters over to HD lifters and work fine.
Does that really work leaving the pistons in the jugs by pulling the clip? I would think a simple ball tooling would break down the surface and make the old rings ready to make there own seal again? Just a thought as I'm also flipping back and forth between rering new pistons or deglazing.

[stevea]

 Been offline for a few days but thanks for all the input guys. Ill order those oil sleeves/jets and hope to get her back together soon (as time allows)  Thanks again.