engine rebuild?

[hotrodhell]

i was out in the desert this weekend and we were about 40 miles into our ride when my small base gasket leak became a major one. i was zingin through a wash and hit 5th gear and it had no power at all it bogged so bad and started thunkin a bit so i look down and oil was everywhere so i shut it off and stopped. the gasket was in a million pieces. ok should i just inspect everything and replace the gasket or should i take this opportunity to put in a 416? if i am going to bore it, should i get a cam as well? and what else should i get. i only ride desert and reliability is my main concern. my buddies will only tow me back so many times.

[hotrodhell]

ok i started tearing it down. what do you guys do to keep the timing chain on the crank?

[hotrodhell]

should i even replace the gasket or just lift up the cylinder enough to use yamabond or something?

[Old Head]

You can use a wire tie to tie the chain to the frame unless your taking the whole top end off which it sounds like you should do. The gasket i'd buy a new high quality one and do it right.

[hotrodhell]

yeah the gasket is 9 bux from honda here in town. im thinking of using a zip tie on the top srpocket to keep that in the right position and then attaching one of my tig rods with a hook on it to keep it tight while my dad lifts the barrell. think it will work?

[F-16Guy]

Get XR400 head, base, and timing chain tensioner gaskets, and a pair of exhaust crush gaskets (little copper rings that go in between the head pipe and the head). Tear it down, clean all of the gasket surfaces thoroughly (I use a straight edge razor blade and a good wire brush with some solvent). You can use a thin layer of gasket sealer on the base gasket, but if the gasket surfaces are clean, you shouldn't need it. Install the head gasket dry; don't use any sealers, and make sure there is no oil or grease on any of the surfaces. The XR400 head gasket is a little thinner, so it will bump the compression up a tiny bit; you may or may not notice a little more power from it, but the gaskets are the same price, so why not. I would hold off on any high compression pistons or cams untill you get a good pipe and a high-flow air filter. I tried to use the stock pipe on my 416 the last time I went camping, and it really choked it.

[F-16Guy]

Originally posted by hotrodhell
yeah the gasket is 9 bux from honda here in town. im thinking of using a zip tie on the top srpocket to keep that in the right position and then attaching one of my tig rods with a hook on it to keep it tight while my dad lifts the barrell. think it will work?
Just take the sprocket off, it's not hard to put back in the right position. I used one of those really small bungee cords from the chain to the handle bars to keep the chain from falling in.

[hotrodhell]

i left the sprocket in the chain and zip tied it on each side. i used a piece of tig rod and tied it to the sprocket and then lifted the barrel and the head and it fit all right through. i got honda bond because all 3 honda dealer are out of base gaskets. is there anything elsei need to do if i get a xr400 head gasket? also the sleeve looks like it was just honed. i think the dude i got the bike from rebuilt it and didnt torque the bolts so they got loose and leaked.

[F-16Guy]

Originally posted by hotrodhell
i left the sprocket in the chain and zip tied it on each side. i used a piece of tig rod and tied it to the sprocket and then lifted the barrel and the head and it fit all right through. i got honda bond because all 3 honda dealer are out of base gaskets. is there anything elsei need to do if i get a xr400 head gasket? also the sleeve looks like it was just honed. i think the dude i got the bike from rebuilt it and didnt torque the bolts so they got loose and leaked.
I guess you could use HondaBond if you really had to. I don't really advise it because there is an oil passage that flows through that gasket surface up to the cam. If any HondaBond squeezes out into that passage when you torque the cylinder down, you could starve the top end of oil or block the passage completely, which would not be good. If I were you, I would keep looking for a gasket. You could probably have C&D ship you one Priority Mail if you need it right away. It sucks to wait for parts, but it really sucks to smoke a valve train. You shouldn't need anything else beyond what I listed before.

[hotrodhell]

thanks for the replies buddy

[hotrodhell]

got it all buttoned up she runs like a champ and saved myself 400 bux