Oil on the outside of the engine?

Let me start with an apology. I searched the forum, but I found nothing, probably mostly due to lack of vocabulary. If this is covered in another thread, please forgive me and send me the link

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?

probably head gasket...i have not experienced the noise ,but i read posts here before describing a chirping noise associated with leaky head gasket....maybe you can try checking the torque and get lucky....maybe not...good luck

if you can post a pic it would help a lot, could be as simple as the half moon seals on the ends or even the tach seal in the center of the head.
may even be as simple as the valve cover bolts are loose.

I'll second Keith's head gasket theory. Based on your description, that sounds like where the leak is.

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.

staniel wrote:

Am I doomed?

Certainly! But not because of this. :laugh:

Based on the wording of your original post you sound like you are new to motorcycle mechanics, am I right? As has been mentioned you are not doomed due to leaky head gasket. A leaky or "blown" head gasket seems to sound aweful because in a car it can be expensive to repair, but in our bikes it's not that big a deal at all. The side of the engine that looks like a heat sink IS a heat sink, we don't have a radiator like in a car, so our motors cool by wind blowing on them. post a pic to show exactly where the oil is leaking from, and as has been mentioned tightening some nuts or bolts may cure the issue. If it takes more work than that it still is not a big deal. I have never done any motorcycle fixing before and did a top end rebuild over this winter, so don't stress

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:

Skyman wrote:

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

This forum is my favorite thing.

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!

Skyman wrote:

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!

Of course, you can take it to the shop if you'd like. And I understand your trepidation about doing the work yourself. But for what it's worth, I'd encourage you to reconsider that decision.

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.

Check out my build thread...it might make you feel a little more comfortable seeing another newbie fumble through it. As Skyman said, I thought I was only curing a leaky head gasket (like you have) but ended up taking the motor apart and cleaning and replacing everything...I couldn't resist, and it happened just like he said, kinda funny.

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