riding with a leaking head gasket?

[400man]

does riding for a long time with a leaky head gasket hurt anything? last year I had to put a new timing chain in and I just re-used my old head gasket, and after about a month it started leaking a tiny bit in the front left hand cornor (closest to the coil). Ive have done quite a bit of riding with it like this and checked the other day cause it seems like it was getting worse and I can see these tiny little oil bubbles between the gasket and head when its running. ive got a race coming up on june 21st then I plan on changing the gasket. I already have a oem xr head gasket on hand, and I have GTT hd studs installed already.

I kinda wanna wait till after the race cause right now its running perfect and I don't wanna take a chance on something breaking or messing up before the race if I tried to change it now. but my question is, would riding so long with a leaky gasket hurt the mating surface of the head and cylinder?

[KKiowaTJ]

Id swap it out if it were me. I wouldn't want it to blow all together in the race and possibly cause more harm. You have plenty of time to change and then dial it back it to where it sits or better. Id hate to start just to have the rest of it blow in the race.
You could try ultra black rvt on that corner that's leaking, But chances are it will spread. Plus the fact the whole time you will be focusing on if it will hold. Good luck either way

[400man]

yea, I guess it might be a good idea to go ahead and tear into it, since its started getting worse. and I found a few other issues I need to address, like my chain slider lol. just noticed it today that's eating into my swingarm a lil bit. and my pivot bearings are worn so I might go ahead and replace them too since I already got the kit.

[LxMxL97]

yea, I guess it might be a good idea to go ahead and tear into it, since its started getting worse. and I found a few other issues I need to address, like my chain slider lol. just noticed it today that's eating into my swingarm a lil bit. and my pivot bearings are worn so I might go ahead and replace them too since I already got the kit.

I don't think it will hurt any thing but I would definitely change it before the race because as stated above it could blow during the race because if you've raced before you know it's HARD on your bike lol

[400man]

I don't think it will hurt any thing but I would definitely change it before the race because as stated above it could blow during the race because if you've raced before you know it's HARD on your bike lol

yea its weird how just a 2 hour race in the woods will beat your bike to death, but a all day trail ride trip at a riding park or someplace wont hardly hurt it, it seems like? I just got done replacing all my a-arm ball joints andtie rod ends, and one of my wheel bearings, and that made a huge difference in the handling. and I know my axle and swing bearings have a little bit of play in em and will need fixed for sure after the next race.

[CJM]

Id change it, as you already noted: a race is a whole lot different on the machine then just riding for fun. Make sure to clean and prep the metal surfaces well.

[punk rock kiel]

id wait til after the race cause then you can do a new head when it warps the head from that heat/compression escaping.

being lazy wont pay off in the long run.

[400man]

id wait til after the race cause then you can do a new head when it warps the head from that heat/compression escaping.

being lazy wont pay off in the long run.

ive done 2 races this season with it already lol. mehhh.....she be good

[cheater13]

I drag raced mine the past few years with a leaking one. It was so bad that it actually oozed a little. The past Christmas I got it all redone and everything powdercoated and it's been fine now.

My buddy rebuilds 400exs and is currently doing a project atc250r. He used cereal boxes and made gaskets for some of the 400exs he built for the people that couldn't afford gasket kits. Been a year and there's still no leaking from them.

[KKiowaTJ]

A quick fix is something done when discovered at the track. The time it really don't take it swap it out and be 100% reliable is a small price to pay when you mentioned you have the gasket and can do it yourself.
Also as mentioned racing the motor and out having fun are two different things, Hard trail and mx and still mild to when I attempt a race. I ring the neck of them and is the only time I have to add oil, Bouncing off the limiter and pinned!
To each their own, But you seem savvy enough to get it swapped and old hat, back to where it was or better less the leak. Good luck either way

[400man]

well I got the gasket changed out. cleaned all the surfaces and everything in the combustion chamber good with carb cleaner and 220 grit sand paper, all went together great. I used a oem XR 400 head gasket.