[Howie]

Hope all is well with all the old iron butt riders. Got a question.  I have a slight weep in the head gasket of my 2007, 500.  Anything I can do to head this off such as a retorque of the head bolts or is it just a matter of time to pull the head.  Thanks for any input
Howie

[Arizoni]

You might want to check out your crankcase ventilator system to make sure it is open and working right.

If it is plugged or too restrictive, pressure will build up inside the engine and the increased pressure can cause the oil to leak more than it normally would.

The oil that was sent to the rockers on the cylinder head isn't under any real pressure as it dribbles back down thru the push rod tunnels so except for a slight seepage past the gasket, it shouldn't be a major problem.

If you do decide to re-torque the head bolts/nuts, most agree that 20 lb/ft (240 lb/in) is about right even though the book says the head bolt/nut torque should be 24 lb/ft (288 lb/in).

[ace.cafe]

In most cases, the leaks arise because the head gasket is too thin to seal the gap at the pushrod tunnels. The Bullet barrel has a "spigot" on top, which is basically an extension of the barrel liner, and it sticks up about 1/4" above the top srface of the barrel. The spigot is supposed to seat into a round recess in the head, and this seals compression. Oil is sealed when the head is torqued on to the barrel, and crushes the head gasket. If the spigot is a little too tall, it holds the head from coming down far enough to crush the head gasket, and it leaks. No amount of torqing can cure that.
The prescribed method is to remove the head, remove the head gasket, push the head back down on the spigot, and measure the head gasket gap between the head and barrel with some automotive feeler gauges. The gap should be .025". If it is more, then turn down the spigot on a lathe until a gap of .025" is achieved. Use the OEM copper sandwich gasket, torque to 20 ft-lbs, and it will be permanently solved. Any replacement of head or barrel will require this fitting process once, when the replacement is installed.

In some circumstances, over-torquing may have warped the mating surfaces of the head or barrel. Check them for flatness, and  correct if necessary. This should be done prior to machining the spigot because machining the flat surfaces will change the gasket gap.  Then machine the spigot afterwards to get the .025" gasket gap.

[dginfw]

What if the spigot is just a hair too short? I measured the gap at .020

[ace.cafe]

What if the spigot is just a hair too short? I measured the gap at .020

Then the spigot MIGHT not seat all the way home into the head recess. Then it would depend on how much the head gasket can crush down. It might seal the compression okay, if the gasket can crush down 5 thou more than usual.
Typically, we would cut 5 thou off the gasket mating durface of the barrel, if it was here where we could do it easily. In your case, you could put some valve grinding paste on that gasket mating surface, and twist the head around like a washing machine agitator until you take 5 thou off, and the you should have your .025" gasket gap.