1977 KZ650 Cam End Plug question

Hello its me back again with another possibly simple minded quesion. I think my cams are okay he rides and drives like a madman! Anyway the cam end plugs (well a couple of them ) are cracked a little and i want to replace. When I call dealers they tell me you have to buy whole cam? I haven't taken the valve cover off yet and just recently got me a clymers manual. I am watching a couple factory Kaw manuals. I see sellers on ebay selling just the end plugs so finally to my big question.....DO I have to removed the cams to replace these plugs ,or is it just simple remove valve cover pop off the plugs and put the new ones in? Thanks again in advance

No biggey. Just remove the valve cover, pull out the old rubber plugs, dry any oil from where the plugs sit in the head, and put in the new ones. I don't use any sealant on mine and they don't leak. You may want to have a new valve cover gasket handy in case you damage the old one removing the cover. While you have the cover off it would be a good time to check the valve clearances. Personally, I would wait until I had the factory service manual so you're sure about how to check the valve clearances properly. Checking the valves is easy, but there is a specific way to do it correctly. Also, you should use a small scale torque wrench to make sure you don't strip any of the 2 dozen valve cover screw holes. The service manual gives the proper torque values. Ed

Thank you Ed I was hoping someone would say I didn't need to replace cams as well! The Clymer books are good,but I would feel better with factory manual. I have one for my KZ750. I planned on getting new valve cover gasket just because. The valve clearance thing is kind of scary but "Griffon" (that's his name) is laid up for the winter anyway, so if I take my time I should be okay

Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't the cam end plugs have a metal core to them? If so, and they aren't leaking, it's really just a cosmetic thing, right? The cracking, that is. If they are cracked (as some of mine are starting) they won't necessarily lstart leaking, right?

loudhvx wrote:

Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't the cam end plugs have a metal core to them? If so, and they aren't leaking, it's really just a cosmetic thing, right? The cracking, that is. If they are cracked (as some of mine are starting) they won't necessarily lstart leaking, right?

The KZ650 cam plugs are all rubber.

Thanks Ed, good to know.