VintageVmax.com

So having a few issues with my 86 vmax. Before trying to take it out this year i replaced all the head gaskets, the old ones were dry and shriveled. Put it all back together and it started right up! Then i took it out for a spin and after about 5 minutes of riding it bogged down and would die if i tried to give it any gas. after a couple of minutes it started to run properly again for another couple minutes and then bogged back down. It is just a continuous cycle. after getting it back to the garage took the plugs out and steam was pouring out. Took the head off and sure enough there was coolant all over the pistons. Any ideas? This has been a ver frustrating problem!!

I am sure you torqued the head bolts to spec and in the service manual sequence ? After market head O-rings are a pain to hold in place (warm them up a little) and I have used a small dab of silicone to position while during assembly. The head should be checked for trueness.

Taken from jdsleds.com http://www.jdsleds.com/community/viewto ... 12&t=17695
I'm a firm believer in surfacing the heads and jugs. Most of the time they are not flat. I picked up a 9 x 12 granite surface plate from Woodcraft http://www.woodcraft.com/Product/144838 ... oCjjPw_wcB

I like to use 400 grit wet dry and finer paper with a little solvent (kerosene or similar) the capillary action will cause the paper to stick to the surface plate. I have a ground bar that I use to check things over to see if it's flat. You can get a piece of barstock pre-surface ground from places like fastenal or McMaster Carr (might need to buy more than you need though). It's recomended to apply Yamabond or 3 bond case sealer to the head gaskets when you install them. Also make sure the acorn nuts do not bottom out when things are tightened up. Finally (this is my opinion) use Cometic (Weisco) head gaskets.