Valve cover gasket, should there be one?

onetym12345

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Hello all,
I have been reading this forum since I got my bike about a year and a half ago but this is my first time posting. I have a 1981 XS400SH. Its my first bike and I have been working on it on and off since I got it, never quite enough done to have a safe, fully operational vehicle...but its getting there slowly.
I recently did a valve clearance adjustment and all are perfectly now to spec according to my manuals (I have three manuals haha). Before I did this, the bike did not make a tapping noise in the area of the pistons. Now it is very loud. Ideas about what this could be?
Also, I want to take the valve cover off to have a look inside, but I cannot tell if there is a gasket that should be there. I would like to order a new one if there is supposed to be one, but according to my diagrams there is no valve cover gasket. Should I just use gasket sealer when I put the cover back on? Is there a valve cover gasket for my year?
thanks in advance for your help!
-Rebecca
 
if its a sohc model no there is no gasket.
if you open it up use threebond 1211 just a light coat all around.

as far as noise goes these engine are kinda loud compared to newer bikes, just be sure to set you valve clearance when the engine is cold like sitting over night cold
 
My guess is when you adjusted the valves you rotated the engine backward a bit and put slack in the chain causing a bad adjustment. Read this thread about adjustment. http://www.xs400.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7170&highlight=valve+adjustment I like to use yamabond 4 for the cover as it wont get hard and crack over time like the threebond does. Welcome to the forum:) Post a few pics of the bike.
 

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Maybe not right away but when I had the yamaha shop put a new head gasket on my 79 10 years ago it was what they used before there was 4 bond. It turned hard and brittle a few years later. Mine started to seep a few years ago. When I pulled the cover off this year to replace the cam seal all of the extra that was squeezed out from when they put it together had turned rock hard. A little bit had even scored part of the cam lobe behind the seal.:doh: I have been using 4 bond for about 5 years now and the parts that it is on the stuff is still soft.:shrug:
 
I don´t use any gasket nor yamabond. Just clean well the surfaces and tighten the bolts according to manual and it should be sealing fine. That is my experience so far.
 
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