Oil coming from head gasket

Hi. I have what looks like oil coming from my head gasket area on number 4 cylinder. Is this even much of a possibility? Or is the engine screwed beyond all belief? All I can figure is valve seals gone, or rings gone, but she seems to be running ok.

have you tried to retorque the bolts to se if that may help?, but in the long run you will probabaly need to pull the head and replace the gaskets, while you are in there change the valve seals and check the timing chain guides

Would also closely inspect tach drive. And assure exhaust clamp nuts are tight with no exhaust gasket leakage. Sometimes the half-moon plugs or faulty valve cover gasket allow oil to seep through.

Once oil from anywhere migrates about the cooling fins, it's often difficult to locate the leak source without a thorough engine cleaning, and inpection (after drying) while the engine is running.

While oil might indeed be coming through the head gasket, and first appears to be coming from the head gasket, it is very often found coming from somewhere else (with a sigh of relief :lol: ).

Good Luck!

Thanks for the advice guys. If I can get my carb issues sorted out, I'm gonna drive her for the rest of the fall if I dont get a whole lot of oil coming out over the next two months. Then she's getting a whole top end rebuild and new piston rings and a hone over the winter. I just wanted to knwo if she'll blow up on me any time soon, and by your replies chances are she probably wont, especially with this tiny amount of oil.

What is the location of the leak (front of engine, side, back?) This may be an extremely easy fix if as Patton suggested it's leaking from the front where the tach drive is. Ed

I dont know the exact location, but theres a growing film of oil on the fins on the side of the engine just under the split for the head gasket. I've pretty much decided to rough it out until the winter, when the engine's getting rebuilt in any event, I was out for a large run tonight with minimal growth of that film of oil.

Sounds like the rubber oval shape orings have hardened. Gotta love all the rubber seals used by Kawasaki:angry:

Want to pin point the exact source of the leak?

Before you put the bike up for the season, clean all the oil from the area. A can of brake clean will work fine for that.

Spray the suspected areas with spray foot powder. Then run the engine. The powder will turn brown and allow you to pin point the source of the leak.

Temporarily plugging the crank case breather will pressurize the engine and allow you to spot the leak. Bring the RPM up to about 1700 RPM for a couple of minutes. That's all it should take. If it doesn't show up by then, a quick, short ride should do the trick. REMEMBER to unplug the breather when you're done.

Guaranteed to find that leak. Especially helpful when its in an area where it gets blown around by the breeze.

That's a good idea,Larry.

Hey Tony should have tried that. :laugh:

you said you were going to rering the engine, the 650s are damn near impossible to get stock rings for them.
but when you pull it down the first thing to do is mic the bores, in the long run you will prob be boring it out and new pistons and rings.

donthekawguy wrote:

Hey Tony should have tried that. :laugh:

He DID,Don,but he kept using spray deodorant!:laugh:
(Billy Tucker)