Friggin' Oil!!!! *Update #2 - WOOT!- *

Ok, last year after I rebuilt the top end of my '99 KZ1000P and put an Emgo oil filter and ran 20W-50. My oil light would always go on after it warmed up at idle speeds. Bugged the heck out of me cause I was always worried about the low oil pressure in these things to begin with....

This last Febuary I had it de-winterized at my local shop and have been riding it since then with no problems, ie no oil light problems when sitting at a stop light or anything.

Well today I changed the oil, and cause I am going to be doing a road trip here this week I put in another Emgo filter I got from Z1 and filled it with 20W-50. I ran it for awhile and then topped it off so the oil filling window is filled. Well now when its warmed up the oil light problem is back at idle! UURRGGHH The only thing that I can think of that has changed is that there is a problem with the filter or the weight of oil. Is there something special that you have to do to these filters. I just pulled the old one off and put the new one on and screwed it back in. I was then thinking that maybe the heavier weight of oil was not going through the filter correctly, but then I would get the light when the engine is cold not after it has warmed up (the light is off at idle speeds with a cold engine).

Any ideas? I have to leave the day after tomorrow!!!!

Call the local shop and ask what brand filter and what weight oil they used.

The oil filter was likely installed incorrectly. See the kawasaki.com parts diagram for the order that the washer and spring go onto the part that screws into the engine cases.

Sometimes the old rubber washer will get stock up in there. Reach up top of where the filter goes and make sure there isnt an old one there. Do you recall if you had 2 rubber washers off the old one when you changed. Yesterday I had to do the excact same thing on mine, one washer stayed up inside.

Well, I checked for washers... we are good there. Called the shop and they use 10W-40 so I put the old filter back in (it really didn't need changing in the first place) and refilled with 10W-40. Now the stupid light comes on at about 1,800 RPM instead of idle!!!! UUUUURURRRRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHH!

I see there's a few more parts involved in the "P" model KZ's,as opposed to the older models.
On the oil-filter bolt,I see a small spring and a check-ball.
Are you sure that ALL of these parts are there?

Take a look...

Here are the part descriptions...

I always run Castrol 20W-50 and will use nothing else but a Wix filter. Never ever had a problem. For sure, don't use the "orange" ones.

Well.... Its been a day! For kicks I pulled the reservoir plug while it was running. Oil just seeped out, I guess the light was right and I really had very little pressure! I ended up pulling the oil pan and oil pump off then tearing the oil pump apart. I did not see anything really wrong, honestly the pump looks brand spakin' new! I lucked out an had an extra oil pan gasket from the rebuild last year (I also used a bit of hi-temp liquid gasket -- but not alot -- just something I learned through some bad experience!)

I threw the whole shamdangle back together (that exhaust is a PITA!) and the light is now off! WOOT

Now the only problem I have is that it seems the little copper seal on one or two of the exhaust brackets fell out and I bolted everything back together without them. She sounds a bit throaty now! Now my question is, will missing one or two of those copper seals screw-up my engine? I heard about a guy that blew his engine cause he test ran it without bolting on an exhaust after a rebuild. Now the exhaust is bolted on tight with the shims in place, just two of those copper seals are missing. What do you all think?


And moochessgrassyass for the help so far!

Don't mess around...pull the exhaust and PUT THE GASKETS BACK IN!
Even though it's a P.I.T.A....DO IT!
The leaking cylinders might not be that bad right NOW,but your bike WILL,eventually start to run worse with leaky exhaust,especially right at the head.

So whats the spring and check ball inside the oil filter bolt do? and what the heck is that thing that is above the filter,..."filter plate"??...dont remember anything like that inside my '79 and '80 A4's,will the check ball oil filter bolt help out an older KZ? should the KZ's have that oil filter plate on top?? whats it do?

The spring and check ball allow oil to bypass the filter when either the oil is too thick/cold to flow through the filter or the filter is too plugged to allow the oil to flow.

The filter plate is designed to shield the filter from the direct flow of oil from the engine so that trapped debris does not get dislodged. Some KZ's mount them from the top and some from the bottom, depending on the oil flow.

KZCSI