Changing the Head on Your Jetski

Many people modify or change the Head out of their jetski. First lets talk about pulling the head off. Depending on the craft you will have to take off the Exhaust System brackets like on a Yamaha. Once you have the brackets loosen the head bolts or nuts off from the outside in. (The opposite way you torque them down) Doing it this way will help any warping to the head that might happen.

Once the head is off you can clean the old head or replace with the new, but before that you need to clean the surface of the Cylinder off. Use a new razor blade to get the old gasket off and then use Acetone or similar to clean the rest of the Cylinder.

Now when your ready to re-install the Head make sure it is very clean also. Install the new Head Gasket on top of the Cylinder making sure that it is on the right way. One trick is that the larger holes on the Gasket will always be on the opposite side of the exhaust manifold or where the cooling water comes in from. Most Gaskets tell you Up and Exhaust side.

Now that you are ready to put the Head on and then install the bolts or nuts and torque. Make sure to follow the Manufactures recommended installation requirements like Seadoo says to add anti-seize on the threads of the bolts.

On the cap nuts install alittle lock tight. Now when you install the bolts/nuts torque them half of the total and then on the second time around torque to the final number... If you need your torque specs you should consult the manufacturer.