| Author | Message | ||
     Jtblast |
Hi everyone. This is my first post so I hope it's in the right place. I bought a blast last in the spring of 04' and I love the bike, especially with the way that gas prices are now. Anyway it has been leaking oil from what appears to be the top of the rocker box cover since about mid summer. Well being the cheepskate that I am, I decided to let it go until the weather broke and I would try to fix it myself. So far I have the gas tank and carb off of it (this is a big job for me as about the only mechanical experience I have is changing the oil in my car). I thought I was in real trouble when I read the procedure in the manual about having to tear the whole bike apart to get to the rocker box cover until I stumbled upon Ezblast's post about loosening the two isolator bolts behind the forks http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/20164/34972.html . Haven't done it yet but I'm gonna give it a go. I've heard people say on this site that this is a common problem and that there is a superior metal gasket that you should use when replacing the old paper one. My question is; does anyone know who makes the gasket and what the part number is? Any help would be greatly appreciated. This site has already been a great help. If I had known there were so many blasters out there I would have been here a long time ago. Thanks JT | ||
| Ezblast |
Middle isolator bolt - down to 3 threads past the top of the nut - then procede. GT - JBOTDS! EZ  | ||
| Swampy |
Welcome to the board JT! The parts are regular Sportster rocker cover gaskets, you only need one set though. The guys a Classic HD in Traverse seem pretty reasonable. Try there. If they give you the dumb look you can easily get any part you want delivered to your door from any of the sponsers that support this website....usually with a Badweb discount! I live in St Johns, but travel to Traverse City for work occasionally. My kids and I rode up there in June to test ride an XB at Classic this summer, River Road Rocks! | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
I find it hard to believe with an 2004 and 3000 miles you have a rocker cover leak are you sure its not just the PCV connection in the cover thats leaking? After early 2002, all gaskets are the new metal type. | ||
| Jtblast |
Hey thanks for all the info guys. I'll see if I can get a hold of the folks at classic motor sports this weekend swampy. The bike is actually a 2001. I got it used from a guy down state that bought it for his wife. He said that she rode it once and then never touched it again for 2 years. It only had 789 miles on it when I picked it up. I checked the PVC and it didn't appear to be leaking but its hard to tell because there is oil all over this bike. I shouldn't have let it go this long. Thanks again guys. I'll let you know how it goes this weekend. | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
Sorry, misread your profile. Its a rocker cover gasket! | ||
| Twisty_mcwrister |
soo i have the rocker box leak. funny thing is i had it fixed at a dealership about 1900 miles ago. the bike has 5108 miles on it now. its leaking right above the lower of the two engine mount bolts. theres also some oil spray on the front of the jug and crank case. i can see that the metal gasket "bridges" the gap under the rocker box. they used part #16800-84a. wtf?  | ||
| Twisty_mcwrister |
p.s. i know thats only one of the gaskets needed. they told me "we used the most up to date sportster gaskets available" | ||
| Reuel |
Maybe you could suggest that they use the Buell gasket, since it's a Buell. Just a thought.  | ||
| Twisty_mcwrister |
thats what i was thinking. the only problem is that the closest buell dealer is an hour away... but ur probably right. i just figured it would cross over ya know | ||
| Berkshire |
http://chicagoharley.com/shop/index.php?cPath=27 <-- good for looking up parts (enter part no. without the letter at the end and all versions will be shown) It looks the "A" is the newest version of the 16800-84 gasket. Here are the newest versions of the upper gaskets listed in my '00 P3 book: 16778-84B - rocker box gasket, pushrod side 16779-84D - rocker box gasket, valve side 17353-89C - rocker cover gasket, main 17358-84A - rocker cover gasket, inner 63858-49 - seals for rocker cover screws 17036-91A - full gasket kit, includes all above 11190 - pushrod cover o-ring (2 req'd) 26432-76A - oil return o-ring, between cylinder & head (2 req'd, but only the front one will leak) Those o-rings can POUR out the oil when they go bad! (Message edited by berkshire on July 11, 2008) | ||
| Berkshire |
oh yeah... 17606-00YA - pcv valve grommet If you can't find the source of the oil leak, remove the gas tank and whatever else you need to get access to the top of the motor and clean the #&*@! outta the motor - clean it up like brand new, then run it until the leak FIRST appears, then take a high reolution close-up picture of the leak and post it here. | ||
| Reuel |
I think someone else had no problem somewhere on this board with the Sportster gaskets. They might have torqued it according to Sportster specs, too, which may not be the same as the Blast. I'm grasping here ...  I learned the hard way that sometimes you should make sure to order the Blast parts from the most recently updated Blast parts book at your local HD shop that doesn't carry Buell stuff, but does get your Blast stuff, since they service the Rider's Edge Blasts.  | ||
| Swampy |
Find out where the leak is before condeming things. I have the Sportster gasket set on both Blasts and have had no problems. If it is leaking they should have the chance to make it right. | ||
| Berkshire |
Torque is based on fasteners, and Buell/Sportster fasteners are the same size. I don't even bother with torque specs on things like that (couldn't get a torque wrench on some of them without pulling the motor anyway), but I think I have good instinct about tightening things. Also, I've re-used my top-end gaskets and didn't have any leaks except for the o-rings mentioned above, so I replaced the o-rings and re-used the other gaskets yet again, and it's sealed up tight now. So... my theory is that either the parts weren't CLEAN when the guy put it back together, or the new gasket had some sort of damage or defect, or the guy f'd it up during assembly, or forgot to tighten a screw and now it's backed out. I guess the question is whether it's easier to fix it yourself, or take it back under warranty, or just keep adding oil until you do a 510cc kit or cams or something. Swampy has a good point - chances are they'll stand behind their work if given the chance. Take the twisty back roads to get there, so even if they don't fix it, it still won't be a wasted trip! | ||
| Twisty_mcwrister |
you guys are great. makes me smile everytime i get on here. the gaskets seem to be right and i'm grabbing for the torque spec difference aswell. spoke to the service manager and he said they will warranty the parts but not the labor... so i dunno | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
The gasket 'kit'(17036-91) is the same part# for a Sportster, Blast and XB9R! -91 = 1991 first year used. "A" letter added to the part number usually means updated part. 63858-49 is NOT the full kit, but 4 fiber (or rubber) washers. If you've got the part numbers wrong its probably because the parts books are labeled wrong. They forgot to change the corresponding numbers when they changed model years with minor alterations to gaskets or diagram. Also what you see in the diagram may not look like what you're getting. | ||
| Berkshire |
no, the book was right - I just suck at typing lists! LOL WOW - so many of the parts date back to the original '83/'84 design! From '00, the main rocker box cover gasket was the only revised part - it was just a plain "-89" in my book. ...the screw seals are unchanged since '49  fixed above list. (Message edited by berkshire on July 11, 2008) | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
The 16778 & 16779 are old style gaskets and the 1 piece gasket #16800-84 is usually included in the kits and easier to use! Some head gasket kits eliminate those troublesome O rings. | ||
| Twisty_mcwrister |
so i got the sportster kit. gonna tackle it tonight. it seems i need to go back and get the o-rings mention as they didn't come with the kit. | ||
| Twisty_mcwrister |
oh i read to use some gasket sealer on the metal gasket. so i'm going to pick some of that up. do i need any loctite for any of the bolts? i'm going to to the loosen the engine mount trick. oh and i read to remove the lower front mount at the engine. and to remove the upper right bolt from the upper mount. is that "right" on the bike or facing the front of the bike. i.e. driver or passenger side? | ||
| Bluzm2 |
If you got the all metal rocker box gasket, it's not the current one. The latest and greatest is metal coated on both sides with a red rubber like film. The new ones are now marked front on one side and rear on the other. I just put one on a Blast last Friday during Homecoming. I also put one on my S2 the same day. You do need to tilt the motor down. Just remove the isolator bolt from the frame. Do NOT remove the motor mount from the head. You will need a cut down 3/32 allen wrench to get the left front bolt out. AS I mentioned elsewhere, you will probably spend more time scrapping off the old coked on gasket than anything else. Be carefull not to gouge the soft aluminum on the head and rockerbox gasket surfaces. Good luck! Brad | ||
| Twisty_mcwrister |
ok i'm confused. is the intake side of the head the "front" because the dealership put the new red metal gasket on there. and in the "gap" near the intake i can see that gasket number and it says head front on it. could it be that the gasket is on backwards...  this picture was taken with my camera right under the carb | ||
| Twisty_mcwrister |
or let me ask another question. the metal gasket has a "raised" bead. should that "raised" part be facing up or down? | ||
| Twisty_mcwrister |
yeah umm so i went to the shop with the picture and yeah its upside down. so they are redoing it for free. good to know. | ||
| Twisty_mcwrister |
oh yeah and i thought this was funny. the mechanic that screwed up my bike: a: works at a harley dealership b: is a certified buell mechanic c: rides a suzuki gsxr hmm.... | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
Okay, so you were going to do the work yourself and now the dealer is doing it for free? So I guess you dont need to know the O rings arent necessary unless you pull the cylinder head. And its never sat well with me when the mechanic (or salesmen) rides to work on a Jap bike. PS Thanks Brad! The best advice is usually from someone who just did the same repair. |
