Tach Drive Question

I just pulled my tach drive to try to stop a oil leak on a 900. My question is how many o-ring need to be replaced? I know of the one on the out side of the housing that goes in the head. Is there an inner one for the gear shaft or is it similar to the timing cover seal on a small block Chevy?

We used to sell quite a few of the pieces for this at the cycle shop I use to work at. You'll need the o-ring on the outside. Then there is an oil seal on the inside. Later models used a differnt design that need an additional fiber washer but the Z1's do not need it.

Later, Doug

Check with www.z1enterprises.com as Jeff knows most things Kawasaki.

Kawickrice; Good information already given. One more thing to check. Look at the pinion gear shaft to make sure there isn't a groove worn where the seal sits. If the wear is too much the unit will leak even with a new seal. Been there, done that. Z1 Enterprises will fix you up for sure. Those guys ship stuff FAST! Ride safe, Steve

PS: Memory tells me there is an additional gasket "disc" that fits inside the tach cable threaded fitting. It's an orange colored gizmo and made from a hard paper type material.

0-ring - - - The o-ring around the guide supposedly prevents oil from escaping around the guide (between guide and head) to the outside.

Oil seal - - - The rubber oil seal inside the guide has a tiny spring around it to keep a snug fit around the spinning shaft. After enough time, oil and heat, the seal morphs into something like a little chunk of carbon that may require being picked out bit by bit before the new seal will fit properly into position.

Where the shaft hasn't been damaged where it spins inside a good seal, oil won't escape around the shaft to the outside.

With the tach cable disconnected from the guide, and the engine running, the end of the shaft may be watched spinning around, and no oil should be escaping.

So it's fair to ask why bother sealing where the tach cable screws onto the guide? With a brand new tach cable, a seal at this connection probably isn't really necessary. However, if re-fitting the same old tach cable, the cable likely contains remnants of old previously escaped oil which may drool out through an unsealed connection.

Z1 Enterprises carries these tach drive components. Here's a link to the seal.
click > Seal, tach guide

Good Luck!


[Click on diagram for slightly larger view]

Tach part numbers are shown below diagram.




19 92087-5001 GUIDE,TACHOMETER GEAR 1
20 220B0612 SCREW PAN HEAD 6X12 1
21 92050-075 OIL SEAL 1
22 670B1510 "O"RING 10MM 1
23 13223-011 GEAR,TACHOMETER,10T 1