Rant! Engine Assembly, Read this Newbs.

[Yard Dogg]

Man am I learning my lesson today. I'm reassembling my engine and causing myself a lot of grief. Last night I installed my jug and head on the upper case half thinking I could put the pistons in through the bottom. NOPE! Pistons will not fit between the main bearing journals. So I think, okay, I'll just take the head off and put em through the top, NOPE, after destroying my new head gasket cause I used Ultra Black, I discovered the rods won't fit through the cylinder holes, WTF! I have never come across an engine that the rods were too large to fit through the cylinders. So now I will have to destroy my jug gasket and make a new one. Luckily, I still have my old head gasket and it's in decent shape, better quality. Let this be a lesson to those of you who make too much sense. I'm sure there are others doing engine rebuilds this winter also. Pass this valuable info along to them so they don't make the same mistakes, thank you.

[Yard Dogg]

Here's a question. The jug gasket at the base is so thin, I'm tempted to use ultra black in it's place. I'm fairly certain that the piston the head and valve clearance should allow for this, but we can see how my certainty has worked out so far, so, can I use ultra black in place of the jug gasket without problems?

[crazy steve]

Pick up some Yamabond from the local dealer (about $10 for a tube), you can use that in lieu of gaskets everywhere except the head, anyplace there's an o-ring, and maybe the middle drive.

These are like the old VW motors; there's a set assembly order and trying to skip a step or cut a corner will come back to haunt you....

[Yard Dogg]

I'll just cut a gasket, thanks steve.

[ViperRon]

When you cut a new gasket there are also 'o'rings that go in the groove of the jugs. These orings help reduce oil leakage from arround the jugs. If you seal with a hand cut out gasket do not cut it extreamely tight against the flange sleeve of the jugs. If you do is may tend to tear when torqued down. Also it is supposed to be a thin material gasket there. If you use the standard thick material from auto stores it will raise the jugs slightly reducing compression slightly. Using yamabond gasket cement will create a very thin seal and raise the piston slightly increasing compression slightly. If you have not shaved the head there is plenty of clearance that you do not need to worry about the valves hitting pistons but more care should be taken adjusting mechanical timing.

[bikerphil]

Well you have just learned the hard way, never use any type of gasket sealant when installing the head gasket on the XS11 motor. Good luck with your project.

[natemoen]

Use an anaerobic gasket maker for the base gasket. The anaerobic sealant will not harden when it is open to the air. It will only harden once the parts are torqued together. That way you can take your time getting the jugs down over the pistons.

[BA80]

The o rings and some Yamabond or Tree Bond 1194 should be all you need on the base.

Actually, with the base gasket out of there the piston will travel up that much more and raise your compression very slightly.

[Yard Dogg]

Thanks yall, that's the response I'm looking for. I tried to cut a gasket and it was a failure. If the stuff actually came flat it might have worked out. I'm just going to use sealant. Thanks for the help.

[Yard Dogg]

Okay then, the pistons, jugs and head is on. I hope it holds together. I'm so ticked at myself, I had done such a nice job sealing those gaskets up and they never would have leaked, now the question will be on my mind later down the road. Bummer.

[Shacknasty]

Silicone sealants really should not be used anyplace that it is around engine oil. Pieces of excess sillycone get squeezed out during assembly, break loose and clog oil passages. Yamabond/Hondabond/Threebond are the only products I will use around a motor.

Dry gaskets and Indian Head shellac are my faves. Yeah, I know, it's old school.

I almost forgot about Hylomar. Good stuff. Used for assembling Rolls Royce motors. 'Nuff said.

[BA80]

The o rings and some Yamabond or Tree Bond 1194 should be all you need on the base.

Actually, with the base gasket out of there the piston will travel up that much more and raise your compression very slightly.

That should say THREE BOND 1194.

[LoHo]

Another poster mentioned coppercoat spray for the head gasket, and I just reinstalled my head with the spray. Is that a mistake or a difference of opinion?

[crazy steve]

Another poster mentioned coppercoat spray for the head gasket, and I just reinstalled my head with the spray. Is that a mistake or a difference of opinion?

Well, you've guaranteed that you'll have to replace the head gasket if you pull the head for any reason.

If I use anything, it's a heavy coat of aluminum-colored spray paint, installed 'wet'. The powdered aluminum helps seal minor imperfections, and the gaskets will usually release cleanly if you pull the head.

[natemoen]

Silicone sealants really should not be used anyplace that it is around engine oil. Pieces of excess sillycone get squeezed out during assembly, break loose and clog oil passages. Yamabond/Hondabond/Threebond are the only products I will use around a motor.

Dry gaskets and Indian Head shellac are my faves. Yeah, I know, it's old school.

I almost forgot about Hylomar. Good stuff. Used for assembling Rolls Royce motors. 'Nuff said.

Well lets look at where the pieces would go if they broke off. There are 4 places I can think of that you could use silicone on these engine that are in contact with oil, oil pan, cases, valve cover, and cylinder base. Where does the oil flow from each of these places.

Oil pan: the silicone pieces need to go through the pickup screen, then through the oil pump, then it would need to get through the oil filter. Probability of clogging oil galleys: very unlikley.

Cases: same as oil pan. Probability: very unlikely.

Cylinder base: same as previous two. Probability: very unlikey

Valve cover: Any pieces would flow across the top of the head in the cam area and then fall down the cam chain tunnle and into the oil pan and then follow the same path as all the others. There is a chance a piece may fall on a cam lobe but would get flung off as the lobe turned. Probability: very unlikely.