Advice please

Hello John,

There may be different opinions of what to do here. Personally I wouldn't use gasket goo prior to fitting the barrels, it certainly wasn't done at the factory assembly stage. As you know whether the joint will leak has to do with the mating surfaces, any highs or lows ahd oil will find its way through. I cannot recall whether Norton specified a torque setting for the barrel studs, surely it would be beneficial to tighten the studs down evenly.

Rightly or wrongly I personally wipe oil on to the gasket before seating it. Come to think of it is the barrel base an area where oil seepage is a problem, other opinions needed? I am not saying my views are correct but I am sure that others will have their line on it, from these you will hopefully make an informed decision.

I usually use grease on the barrel side and a thin coat of Wellseal applied with a brush on the crankcase side.

I use a gasket with wellseal

I use a gasket with wellseal.

Mine is Wellseal with no base gasket an no problems. Plus once you have tightened the four cap head bolts that cannot be accessed to check once head is on they stay tight as no gasket to crush an cause things to loosen with repeated heat cycles.

Just be sure all is flat clean and as it should be.

Use a decent gasket and dry install. Ensure mating faces are completely clean and free of old material. Check to ensure no obvious high spots. I usually use some thinners to wipe the metal surfaces beforehand. I have yet to understand the reasons for using oil or grease on a dry paper gasket where you want to stop oil seepage but I am not too old to learn.

The theory is that the grease allows it to slide a bit allowing for any imperfections. I've also heard people recommend leaving paper gaskets to soak in water for similar reasons but haven't tried it myself.

I agree with your other points but mating faces which are 50 years old or more and have probably been dismantled by less than skilled people are rarely true.