Engine repair

Hey guys,

I need to replace a piston and a head gasket on my '84 vf500f. I was just wondering if anyone else had done this and what the degree of difficulty would be?

The shops around town have generally refused to do it (i've gotten the feeling it's because they won't make enough money on the general rebuild) and will only replace the whole engine.

My dad and I are pretty mechanically inclined just lack a little experience with work on motorcycles. Any insight would be appreciated.

 

To replace the piston, you need to split the engine case - which means replace both headgaskets - which means resurfacing the block. You'll need the case gaskets plus the headgaskets.

Headgaskets run about $40 ea. Don't know what case gaskets run.

If you can get away with just replacing the headgasket, it would be work the time and effort to do it yourself. As far as replacing the piston - that may not be worth it.

Get a manual and read what it takes to replace a headgasket.

Headgasket
If you've adjusted the valves successfully, then you've done 1/2 of the work already. I replaced the front and back headgaskets of my '85 VF700F and had never done it before. Neither leak and the bike is running fine. Since it was my first time, I went slow and detail-oriented.

 

Hey State; I have to say you are a bit courageous to get into the motor to that degree. Why do you need to replace a piston, is it burnt,broken or
something else? I am not sure if your block is a sleeved or a conventional type. Anyway if you need to replace a piston,it probably means that something is wrong with that cylinder, so you most likely will need to have the cylinder boared. In most cases an experienced engine builder would remove all the pistons and have all the cylinders boared to the same spec.
Anyway, I would say that you have a challenging job ahead of you.
eddie

 

Well if I am not sure if I will end up doing it myself. I'm just getting a feel for what it would take. So far it looks way too far over my head.

On another note; I've been told the magna engine will fit into the interceptor frame. Is that right? I'm still looking for a complete replacement engine for a good price. If not the magna, does anyone know of any other engines that will fit?

Thanks for the notes guys; I really haven't done any motorcycle work but I figured to see what it would take.

 

Make sure it is a "V-30" engine. As far as fitting, I really don't think so. The Magna uses a double backbone frame design - while the 'Ceptor uses a perimeter frame design.