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Oil on the outside of the engine?
- staniel
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Yesterday I was riding my 1983 KZ750 L3 and I started hearing a chirping noise. I don't know if this is related, but the noise is new, so I'm mentioning it.
I arrived at home and found oil on the left side of the engine. It's on the ribs that looks like heat sinks a couple inches down from the spark plug. I looked in there and saw something that looks like a seal between the top and bottom of that part of the engine (I believe where the piston travels), so my guess is that seal has seen its last days.
Is this my head gasket? Am I doomed?
1983 KZ750 L3 with 4-1 Kerker pipe and pods
1983 KZ750 L3 parts bike
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- keith1
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- BSKZ650
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may even be as simple as the valve cover bolts are loose.
77 kz650, owned for over 25 years
77 ltd1000, current rider
76 kz900, just waiting
73 z1,, gonna restore this one
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- Skyman
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- 1978 KZ1000-B2 LTD 1982 KZ1000-M2 CSR
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Re-torquing your head nuts may solve the problem. If not, you'll need to pull the head and replace the gasket.
Do you have a factory service manual for your bike? Do you have a torque wrench? That's what you'll need for this project.
West Linn, OR
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- Skyman
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Am I doomed?
Certainly! But not because of this. :laugh:
West Linn, OR
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- 9am53
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- homebrew, and some bbq
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'84 GPz900r
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- Skyman
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I have never done any motorcycle fixing before and did a top end rebuild over this winter, so don't stress
Yep, that's what I love about these old bikes. Just about anyone who can turn a wrench, read a manual, and invest some time and patience can work on them. I too started from ground zero, and have rebuilt the top ends on three bikes now.
As 9am53 wrote, replacing a head gasket is not a big deal. But beware of "mission creep". It WILL happen. Once you get the head off, you'll start thinkin'..."Hmmm. While I'm in here I might as well do a valve job. And if I do that, I might as well also replace the cam chain & rollers. And since I've gone that far, I might as well bore the cylinders out and put in a new piston kit. And since I'm doing that, I might as well..." And it just keeps snowballing. There is a very contagious virus that gets released when you remove the head from a kawi engine. Once you've caught the bug...THEN you are doomed!
:laugh:
West Linn, OR
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- Kawickrice
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9am53 wrote:
As 9am53 wrote, replacing a head gasket is not a big deal. But beware of "mission creep". It WILL happen. Once you get the head off, you'll start thinkin'..."Hmmm. While I'm in here I might as well do a valve job. And if I do that, I might as well also replace the cam chain & rollers. And since I've gone that far, I might as well bore the cylinders out and put in a new piston kit. And since I'm doing that, I might as well..." And it just keeps snowballing. There is a very contagious virus that gets released when you remove the head from a kawi engine. Once you've caught the bug...THEN you are doomed!
:laugh:
Aint that the truth
73 Kawasaki Z1
07 HD CVO Ultra Classic
82 Suzuki GS 1100
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1
Long Gone
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Tampa FL
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- staniel
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I'm grateful for the responses! I wish I could claim as true as all you folks, but I'm gonna be taking the bike into a shop tomorrow for the general once-over it's probably never gotten. They're gonna run a compression test (among other things) to determine if it's worth working on it, then, if it is, they're planning a valve adjustment, detective work on the oil leak, spark plugs replacement if necessary and so on.
I'll do the oil change, though
I'd be a little frightened to do all the work myself. If any of you folks live in the Seattle area, though, I'd love to watch someone do work on their machine (that's how I learned everything about bicycles).
Thanks again, y'all!
1983 KZ750 L3 with 4-1 Kerker pipe and pods
1983 KZ750 L3 parts bike
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- testarossa
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9am53 wrote:
I have never done any motorcycle fixing before and did a top end rebuild over this winter, so don't stress
Yep, that's what I love about these old bikes. Just about anyone who can turn a wrench, read a manual, and invest some time and patience can work on them. I too started from ground zero, and have rebuilt the top ends on three bikes now.
As 9am53 wrote, replacing a head gasket is not a big deal. But beware of "mission creep". It WILL happen. Once you get the head off, you'll start thinkin'..."Hmmm. While I'm in here I might as well do a valve job. And if I do that, I might as well also replace the cam chain & rollers. And since I've gone that far, I might as well bore the cylinders out and put in a new piston kit. And since I'm doing that, I might as well..." And it just keeps snowballing. There is a very contagious virus that gets released when you remove the head from a kawi engine. Once you've caught the bug...THEN you are doomed!
:laugh:
The disease that leads us all to KZRider. It's called Kawius Disassembleus. My name is Josh and I am a Kawaholic!
1978 KZ1000 A2 Click--->Build Thread
2004 ZX-10R
2007 Harley Sportster 1200
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- Skyman
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First of all, I'm a little surprised you found a shop that will even touch the bike. A lot of shops won't work on older bikes at all. Second, for me, a big part of the fun of owning a classic bike comes from learning how to do my own work on it. And really, unless you are a total mechanical klutz, or don't have the interest, time, or patience to learn, it's really not that difficult.
You'll need to get a service manual (if you don't have one, they are usually easy to find on eBay), and some basic tools. And as you are probably already finding out, this forum is a GREAT resource for finding answers to just about any problem or question that comes up. Here, you've got a great group of Kawi enthusiasts who love helping others get their bikes back on the road almost as much as we love working on our own bikes. And many of the guys here really know their stuff, and give great advice. And best of all--it's FREE! :laugh:
It's your call, but if I were you, I'd skip going to the shop and work on the bike myself.
Oh, and I'm not in Seattle, but if you're ever down in Portland, feel welcome to stop by.
West Linn, OR
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- 9am53
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'84 GPz900r
'71 CB350
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