Base Gasket leak

[XE326]

Have a 91 KDX200, pro circuit pipe and silencer, boysen power reeds, 152 main jet, 48 pilot, head is brand new, and cylinder is a used one picked up from kaw shop, mine got wrecked,removed the airbox cover, and well i recently put it back together from painting the frame, rode it around, then checked it and noticed the base gasket was leaking on the right side (sittin on bike) thought maybe the gasket had tore, happened once b4 so i tore it apart, and the gasket was fine, so i replaced it got it back together rode it again and the same thing, one thing i noticed is that the bike vibrates a lot more with the air box cover removed, and the only thing i can think of is that maybe the cylinder is warped or the bottom end mating surface is warped, and it seems to only really leak out when you really get on it, rev it up a lot, weird thing is end of last summer i had the same used cylinder and didn't leak, but now it does, the only change from end of last summer is jetting and air box cover removed, i was thinking of just using some gasket sealant but didn't really want to go that route, any ideas?

 

[slcyclerace]

I'd say that your cylinder has a slight warp but maybe it’s just an imperfection in the mating surface. I'm sure that you tightened and torqued the base nuts in a crisscross pattern in stages. Why don't you want to use gasket sealant? It works just fine and should stop your problem. Yamabond works well but it’s slightly on the tenacious side. Coat both sides of the gasket at the offending area and it’s fixed. If you get a chance, take a look a Eric Gorr’s ( second edition) Performance handbook and you’ll see that he agrees with me on page 110, next to the last FAQ. (It only took me about an hour to remember where I read that and actually find it). Really, I’ve been using that method for years. If you’ll notice, some base gaskets even come with a sealant bonded to the surface. Good Luck...What a lot of work for a little leak. You might also try Permatex stop leak spray. It works on trans. and radiator leaks. Remember that you want to stop the leak, not to prevent another Exxon Valdez , to keep from sucking air and causing a too lean condition as well as out of control revving.

 

[XE326]

hey thanks for the input, i'm gonna try out some of the gasket sealant tomorrow, hopefully that does it and i can get out and ride!