Hi, Long time, so my head gasket on the fl250 was leaking (2 head bolts were loose) i took the head off, cleaned the carbon build up on both head and piston and am going to put everything back together..... gasket looks excellent from my previous top end build. Should a guy be using any of the copper spray seal when i put it back together? THANKS, and if you were/ are a member of the military, thanks for serving!

What kind of head gasket whats it made of?

hi Hoser, thanks for answering. The gasket was of a metal fiber type..... i had someone else rebuild the top end a few years ago and i don't know what gasket it was. Was wiseco piston though. Anyways, had a little air leak and took off the head, scraped/cleaned off the carbon and then re assembled it. (head bolts were totally loose on one side causing leak) The gasket that was on there looked like new and head came off easy so i thought i would reuse it. i went ahead and sprayed the copper gasket sealer on both sides of the gasket and then replaced the head. Seems to work fine. gained probably 10-15 lbs compression lol. these little motors can handle quite a bit as i am almost betting the mechanic who did the top end didnt torque the head bolts down good enough and it had been running questionable for the last two years. if i get a few more rides out of it before i rebuild or sell ill be happy.

Also wanted to point out that after i got the head back on and took it for the first few runs and then checked the plug, i discovered that i finally had an even dark chocolate color all the way around the ceramic, First time since rebuilt top end. Normally it would show a cleaned off side and a chocolate side. The things a guy learns.

Those type gaskets are pretty easy to seal I have reused them before without the copper coating.

Check the torque again after a few Engine heat cycles.

Thanks, will do!