head gasket leak (cost of repair)

[grippper]

harley dealer told me you cant replace the head gasket without replacing the base gasket. is this true.anyone know what the cost of a head gasket repair from the dealer goes for&nbsp\\; and how long does it take them to do it. &nbsp\\;

[Javieret]

I don't see why you can't replace the head gaskets without replacing the base gasket. When my bike was in guaranty, the dealer replaced my head gasket because it was leaking and just that gasket.


Javi

[Dalton]

Yep, can be done.&nbsp\\; The gasket is about $25 and you could do it yourself in about 4-6 hours.&nbsp\\; I dont know what flat rate is at the dealer but should be no more than 4 hours I am thinking

[BAGGERDSM]

Is this an EVO or twin cam? By base gasket i assume evo as the twinkies had orings. If EVO, i would change out head and base.

[mtclassic]

If it is a twin cam I don't think any dealer is going to chance just changing the head gasket without changing the two orings at the base.&nbsp\\; If they leak they end up doing the job a second time.&nbsp\\; If you are doing it yourself you can pull the head carefully not to disturb the base oring.&nbsp\\; I know some reputable techs will say that if you have over 12,000 miles on the bike the oring should be changed and if lower than 12,000 miles it should be ok.&nbsp\\; It really does not take much longer to pull the cylinder and the piston can be left in the cylinder so the rings do not need to messed with or the cylinder does not need to be honed.&nbsp\\; Depending on model the biggest pain is removing the exhuast system (on a bagger anyway)&nbsp\\; the job is actually pretty easy if you have a service manual.