SuzukiSavage.com - Cylinder Head Assessment Help

ThumperPaul

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Cylinder Head Assessment Help
07/19/24 at 15:27:08

Decided to dive in and start removing the head today. Can I get some eyes on these photos and your assessments.

My notes:
1) Dry condition. Not much oil up there.
2) Looking around the exhaust springs/valley, you can see evidence of burnt oil. Running hot, low oil or oil pressure, too much idling on the side stand??
3) Aside from being rather discolored, I think the cam looks pretty good.
4) Pads on rockers look like normal wear.
5) Overall it seems like normal wear.

I'll actually pull the head tomorrow so we can see the valves and more.

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ThumperPaul Serious Thumper Offline SuzukiSavage.com Rocks! Posts: 2154 Houston, Texas Gender:	Re: Cylinder Head Assessment Help Reply #1 - 07/19/24 at 15:28:02 another view.
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ThumperPaul Serious Thumper Offline SuzukiSavage.com Rocks! Posts: 2154 Houston, Texas Gender:	Re: Cylinder Head Assessment Help Reply #2 - 07/19/24 at 15:28:52 more
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ThumperPaul Serious Thumper Offline SuzukiSavage.com Rocks! Posts: 2154 Houston, Texas Gender:	Re: Cylinder Head Assessment Help Reply #3 - 07/19/24 at 15:30:52 exhaust side, springs, plug. Hey, the plug wasn't leaking (maybe it needs oil up there to actually leak).
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ThumperPaul Serious Thumper Offline SuzukiSavage.com Rocks! Posts: 2154 Houston, Texas Gender:	Re: Cylinder Head Assessment Help Reply #4 - 07/19/24 at 15:32:01 Cam bearings (or are those journals) in the head. I mix those up.
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ThumperPaul Serious Thumper Offline SuzukiSavage.com Rocks! Posts: 2154 Houston, Texas Gender:	Re: Cylinder Head Assessment Help Reply #5 - 07/19/24 at 15:32:52 rocker pads and more.
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ThumperPaul Serious Thumper Offline SuzukiSavage.com Rocks! Posts: 2154 Houston, Texas Gender:	Re: Cylinder Head Assessment Help Reply #6 - 07/19/24 at 15:34:07 Dropping bread crumbs to get me back home.
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Dave YaBB Moderator ModSquad Offline SuzukiSavage.com Rocks! Posts: 18313 Camp Springs, Kentucky Gender:	Re: Cylinder Head Assessment Help Reply #7 - 07/19/24 at 18:17:42 Where are the traces of oil? That thing looks really dry. So far the head looks good. Those rockers appear to be the old style used prior to 2005 - they look a bit worn. The newer style with the brazed on pads are much more durable.
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DragBikeMike

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Re: Cylinder Head Assessment Help
Reply #8 - 07/19/24 at 22:35:11

Paul, you need to show us the nose of the cam lobes, not the base circle.

I agree with Dave that the interior is exceptionally dry, almost as if someone cleaned it with solvent, let it dry, and then assembled it. Only way to tell for sure is to disassemble it and measure everything. I don't see any showstoppers at this stage. The shellac in the exhaust pocket is difficult to assess; it gets pretty hot in that location. The only LS650 heads I have worked on that had coking in that area were melt downs, but that doesn't mean that any evidence of coking is bad. It might be just normal deposits. I wouldn't worry about it if the head checks out dimensionally. Visually it looks pretty good.

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ThumperPaul

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Re: Cylinder Head Assessment Help
Reply #9 - 07/20/24 at 04:19:36

Thanks guys!

Dave, you’re right. It is a 2000 model year. They are probably the original rockers.

Mike, the photos are after I cleaned up the mating surfaces and I probably did wipe some brake parts cleaner in the whole area. But it was dry when I opened it up.

I’m going to plow ahead with disassembly today. I also need to take a pic of what I can’t tell are “hairline cracks” or imperfections in the casting mold (or both).

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ThumperPaul Serious Thumper Offline SuzukiSavage.com Rocks! Posts: 2154 Houston, Texas Gender:	Re: Cylinder Head Assessment Help Reply #10 - 07/20/24 at 05:39:43 A pic of either hairline cracks or imperfections in the casting. Using the pick to point out the area only. I can feel it with my finger, but I can’t tell if it’s just how it was cast or if they are cracks. If they are cracks, they seem superficial, but I’m far from an expert.
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ThumperPaul Serious Thumper Offline SuzukiSavage.com Rocks! Posts: 2154 Houston, Texas Gender:	Re: Cylinder Head Assessment Help Reply #11 - 07/20/24 at 05:43:23 The outside looks fine.
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Fast 650 Senior Member Offline SuzukiSavage.com Rocks! Posts: 410 Valrico, FL Gender:	Re: Cylinder Head Assessment Help Reply #12 - 07/20/24 at 06:26:58 That looks like it is just casting marks to me.
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ThumperPaul Serious Thumper Offline SuzukiSavage.com Rocks! Posts: 2154 Houston, Texas Gender:	Re: Cylinder Head Assessment Help Reply #13 - 07/20/24 at 07:03:48 Thanks Fast650! I like that answer!
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ThumperPaul Serious Thumper Offline SuzukiSavage.com Rocks! Posts: 2154 Houston, Texas Gender:	Re: Cylinder Head Assessment Help Reply #14 - 07/20/24 at 07:05:08 Glad I found some black gold in the well!
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