Help me take my Lopi Leyden Apart (not with sledgehammer)

Ok, so more problems with my brand new leyden.

I took my uneven, not over fired, lid off tonight to take to the dealer tomorrow, and started poking around inside.

I reached between the bypass damper and the stove and found a two inch gap where the gasket has sagged/ fallen off. So I don't know how long there has been a lack of a seal there.

Worse, I reached behind the bypass damper and found a one inch deep pile of black crunchy stuff along the whole length of the damper that must be creosote.

So I'm thinking I'm done for the year.
I've got a warped lid, no gasket on the damper, unseasoned wood, and a pile of chimney fire risks.

I've been studying the schematics, and it seems pretty reasonable to unscrew and unbolt the panels holding the fire brick and combustion chamber in place.

Question: Should I spray the bolts and screws with wd40 or something before unfastening?
How do I go about getting the bypass damper out to access the gasket?

Should I even bother taking the lid in tomorrow, or just have them come out and fix the gasket, and check the whole thing over?

I guess between the leaky lid and lack of gasket on the bypass damper, its no wonder I could only rarely get secondary combustion and my max burn time was 4 hours with the air intake completely closed.

But I haven't burned bad wood since the first month (you taught me well) so why all the creosote? My uninsulated liner through 3 stories of exterior chimney? We haven't exactly been smoldering.

The dealer should be coming out to see the stove. Don't take it apart yet, let them handle. Maybe the rep can come out while he's in town?
Did the dealer install it, or did you install it?

I agree, unless it's out of warranty, I'd let the dealer handle. But then, if it's warped due to an over-fire then the warranty is void so carry on.

I find that WD 40 is so so for breaking loose nuts/bolts. Go pick up a can of Blaster at the auto parts store, I swear I have not had the stuff fail me yet. Spritz down nut & bolts a few times and let it sit for a hour or so before cranking on them. Get a muffin pan or the lid to a plastic storage container(flip it over it has little "compartments all around the outside edge for small parts) & set the parts in order as they come out.

I am a real fan of fixing things myself,but in this case I would get the dealer to come out.That is an expensive new stove and should not have any problems.The creosote buildup seems like a cold spot in the stove somewhere.If it was out of warranty I would be all over the thing ,like a tiger on Roy. Remember you did not overfire it

And, if it has been overfired, would question whether a defective gasket would contribute to overfire, because of allowing too rich an oxygen supply?

Ok, I'm going to leave it to the professionals. Might be a while till we can coordinate our schedules, but I'm done burning for the year. God knows how much creosote is in that thing now.

Not that cold today, but family telling me how much they miss the fire.

So next year...we'll regroup in the off season. This was a rebuilding year. Thanks everyone.

That's why you found some creosote. Don't let it scare you too bad though. Creosote will fall down that liner and collect in the flue collar, it's normal. Even though there is a small pile in the flue collar, keep in mind that you have a thin layer on a 30' tall liner, a little bit will fall and a little will look like a lot. It's really not a big deal though.

I watched a you-tube video the other night of someone attributing his chimney fire to the pile of creosote in the flue collar. So I was worried.

I think I'm ripping out the uninsulated liner and putting in an insulated liner this summer, with rockwool insulation in chimney and a block-off plate.
I tell you, if I had found this site last year instead of this year, I would have saved myself quite a bit of hassle and money.

With the rep saying he has seen a quite a few on these tops warped, that would be a lot of ill fitting gaskets.I would think the design of the top might need to be reworked, more gussets and webbing maybe.These lids are wide so they MAY need more rigidity.

I was talking to the installer today, and mentioned the insulated liner.

He stated he wouldn't want to put in an insulated liner in a chimney that tall because it would make the draft too strong.

Would downsizing to 5" slow the draft?

If I put a block off plate and insulation in the chimney, I would definitely need the insulated liner, right?

The way I understand it, downsizing the flue will make the draft stronger and up-sizing makes is less.

I'm just going to straight out ask you what I should do. I trust you guys now more than some of the installers I've talked to.
I think this may be better suited to a new thread, which I will create now.