sx 700 head gasket and reed notch mod

REDMATER

REDMATER

New member
tya
Joined
Dec 20, 2003
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Age
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ny
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First off i like to say hello to everyone getting ready for the new season.my question is with the head gasket mod when this is done are there any reliabilty issues when this is performed,also the reed notch mod does this help alot. i am just concerened with losing relability with the head mo or having problems with it leaking :yam: thanks
 

You can do a search and if the stuff ported over you will find last years thread all about it. In a nutt shell, I consider myself an expert in the gasket/notch field. I ran the thin gaskets for 2 seasons and I blew it out twice. Once it left me on the trail. I posted phots of the pre-prep and it was done perfect. I ended up with about 150psi on each with the thin gasket. Well, after fixing the waterpump issues and installing new gaskets (and reading a very good article on pipes and compression) I decided not to go thin. I notched my reeds instead (the reed spacers on the SX push the carbs into the steering column and the float bowls rub). Well, I have to say I think my sled is faster now than before. I also NEVER over heated last year and I did the year before. I was able to discover 2 cracked reed stoppers before they snapped off and destroyed my engine as well. I posted photos in last years forums. IMHO notch don't mess with the gaskets unless everything down stream is setup for the new sound wave. Doug
 
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No problems and yes, it did the same thing the spacers did. The only difference is that my carbs no longer rub on my steering column and I was able to put the crank case volume back to original size. I think the spacers add li 5-6cc's to that. Doug
 
Reed Notch and the head gasket mod are a must on a 600/700 sx...and bore the silencer too...the whol package is worth close to 10 hp
 
I did the same on my 01 SX700R. Head gasket mod, bore stock silencer, I went with the spacers because at the time I didn't know about notching. I put 5200 miles on mine. I also had the water pump seals leak on mine. Thanks to Doug, I was able to recognize the problem right away. My dealer fixed it under warranty. I didn't have any problems with the head gasket mod, the first time. I had put triple pipes on it, and stayed with the stock gasket. When I took the pipes off, I went back to one thin head gasket. I used the same gaskets and one had a spot where it looked liked it was knicked, I didn't think it would matter, but it did. It leaked. Replaced with new ones, and no problems. I sure miss that sled. :o| :beer: Later, Sxrlar.
 
well my 98 sx has quite a few miles on it 6300 miles i just want to be sure that i dont have any problems with it,i am going to do the reed notch it doesnt sound difficult,but the head mod i am leary about unless i get new gaskets does anyone know where i can order them cheaper then from the dealer
 
If you remove your head and all the black is still left on them when you split them, they will be fine once you spray them with permatex....or try Port Washinton or even Maxx Perf.
 
Did the head gasket mod. Took off just the middle gasket. Didn't see anything about using permatex in my shop manual. got about 500 miles on it this way. Do u think it's gonna be a problem without the permatex? Everything looks good so far. :rocks:
 
if the gaskets are almost new with all the black finish on them , you should be fine, just watch the overflow bottle if there is a leak it will run really dirty and push the over flow bottle full...
 
I'm also worried about the headgasket mod not sure if I'm gonna do it but well see I have a friend that has done it to his 97 sx I may just wait and see if he has any problems just my 2 cents
 
I did the head gasket work last year, everything seemed fine but noticed some anti freeze in my belly pan last trip, level still up, only a table spoon or two....What about the Waterpump gasket issue?

Iam a part time reader, have not heard anything prior about waterpump. Anypne know more about this?
 
Did the head gasket mod 3 years ago, went with one layer reusing my old ones. Did not use any permatex. Completely tight and not a problem what so ever. I have put 5500km:s on the machine since the mod.
Be thourough and keep everything clean during this operation, use the correct torque for the head and tighten it in steps in a criss cross pattern.
Always use the torque wrench carefully, it is extremely easy to overtighten even when using a torque wrench.

I also found some antifreeze in my bulkhead 1 year ago and it was the O-ring for the waterpump cover that was leaking ! I could not find anything wrong with it upon inspection but it was quite hard so I changed it and it`s been OK thereafter ;)!
 
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