Stator Cover Grommet / Oil leak

I am sure this one has been discussed before.
I have a 1975 Z1-B 900, I had all the engine covers off to replace seals and gaskets because bike had sit since 1994 and not run since then.
Anyway, Checked the Stator cover for flatness, cleaned it well, cleaned the rubber grommet that fits in groove and has wires coming thru it, grommet actually seemed in good shape , not hard or brittle.( Knew this was a potential problem area and would like to think I was very carefull ) Installed new stator cover gasket, new Allen head fasteners, used Old Style Permatex ( Not the Silicone RTV ) applied it liberally around the grommet, infused it around the holes / wires.Just used wheel bearing grease on the stator cover gasket so it can be removed without damaging it...
Waited a week before putting the oil in and now have an oil leak from the grommet. :S I know this is a common problem and amusingly enough my Cousin who is helping me with this project has a '76 KZ900 sitting besides mine and it leaks from stator grommet too! Although I gotta say mine leaks worse and he has never had the cover off his!!.
So.......I am resigned to having to cut the wires and get a new Grommet soon as Z1E gets them back in stock, guess reason I am writing is this, I only want to do this one more time and I want to do it right and be done with it.
Anyone have any helpfull tips on this? Any hints on the technique? I am an electronics tech so think my soldering skills are adequate, prolly put some shrink sleeve on out of the way before I solder then slide it over solder joint , heat the shrink tubing and hope it stays sealed.
Thanks For Your Help!!
ED

Z1 Enterprises has the part you need but seems to be temporarily out of stock. Must be a popular part.

www.z1enterprises.com/detail.aspx?ID=373

Union City TN. huh? I am from Seymour,Tennessee!!
Yep, when I first started buying gaskets and seals to reseal the engine covers Z1 had the rubber grommet at that time and I started to buy it then..( Should have ) but thought since the one I had seemed pliable maybe it would be ok......another lesson learned! Z1 will have it back in stock soon I am sure. Thanks!!

ed spangler wrote:

I am sure this one has been discussed before.
I have a 1975 Z1-B 900, I had all the engine covers off to replace seals and gaskets because bike had sit since 1994 and not run since then.
Anyway, Checked the Stator cover for flatness, cleaned it well, cleaned the rubber grommet that fits in groove and has wires coming thru it, grommet actually seemed in good shape , not hard or brittle.( Knew this was a potential problem area and would like to think I was very carefull ) Installed new stator cover gasket, new Allen head fasteners, used Old Style Permatex ( Not the Silicone RTV ) applied it liberally around the grommet, infused it around the holes / wires.Just used wheel bearing grease on the stator cover gasket so it can be removed without damaging it...
Waited a week before putting the oil in and now have an oil leak from the grommet. :S I know this is a common problem and amusingly enough my Cousin who is helping me with this project has a '76 KZ900 sitting besides mine and it leaks from stator grommet too! Although I gotta say mine leaks worse and he has never had the cover off his!!.
So.......I am resigned to having to cut the wires and get a new Grommet soon as Z1E gets them back in stock, guess reason I am writing is this, I only want to do this one more time and I want to do it right and be done with it.
Anyone have any helpfull tips on this? Any hints on the technique? I am an electronics tech so think my soldering skills are adequate, prolly put some shrink sleeve on out of the way before I solder then slide it over solder joint , heat the shrink tubing and hope it stays sealed.
Thanks For Your Help!!
ED

if your stator is the original/factory one, you don't need to cut any wires.
In the factory stator, the wires going through the grommet have a "normal" insulation but if you look on the plug side, they are cloth covered.
Meaning that the "normal" insulated wires are already soldered ( about 3" from the grommet) to the cloth covered wires.
Just pull back the harness sleeve until you find the soldering point ( covered with heat shrink tubing), and Unsolder them, slide the grommet over them and resolder.
I just replaced my stator on my 75 Z1B with a brand new aftermarket one and, even if it seemeed to be of a good quality ( right connectors, etc) they used cloth coverd wires all the way through the stator and that was a big mistake since the oil can seep through the cloth covering when the wires go through the grommet.
I had to unsolder and cut the wires from the stator, replace them with about 5" of 14 gauge wires and solder them to the cloth covered wires.

luc wrote:

they used cloth coverd wires all the way through the stator and that was a big mistake since the oil can seep through the cloth covering when the wires go through the grommet.

So this problem is caused by the "wicking" effect of the cloth covered wires ?

Probably is, as these engines have roller bearing cranks with 2-3 PSI oiling systems.

MFolks wrote:

Probably is, as these engines have roller bearing cranks with 2-3 PSI oiling systems.

Yeah... its not a pressure issue, just plain seepage.

GL.

No oil pressure behind that cover but there is crankcase pressure.
I have never had a problem with the gromet but have seen plenty of the old Z1/KZ's that seeped oil and the owner says they tried everything to stop it. Most resort to silicone or blue glue. It's not very pretty. :S The original gromet always looks fine so I assumed it was a shrinkage or saturation problem with the part. Glad to know someone has a replacement part available if all else fails. Good Luck to the OP.

If relevant, synthetic oil is reportedly more prone to leaking than dino oil.

Good Fortune!

taildragger1197 wrote:

No oil pressure behind that cover but there is crankcase pressure.
I have never had a problem with the gromet but have seen plenty of the old Z1/KZ's that seeped oil and the owner says they tried everything to stop it. Most resort to silicone or blue glue. It's not very pretty. :S The original gromet always looks fine so I assumed it was a shrinkage or saturation problem with the part. Glad to know someone has a replacement part available if all else fails. Good Luck to the OP.

Before assuming that it is the grommet leaking, you should first check your starter O-ring.
If it leak the oil will run down following the seam where the crankase meet and end up on the stator harness.

took the cover off and while it was a little wet in there it wasn't obvious to me where the leak was originating. So I cleaned it all up with brake cleaner and I'll ride it a little and see if that helps locate the leak. Clutch actuator seal is dry and so is the shift shaft seal. Doesn't really look like the alternator cover gasket either. So I'm down to starter O-Ring, but was not wet up that high, and Stator wire grommet. I've got some pretty good High Temp Black RTV that I used on the stator wires on my HD.

Thanks for all of the suggestions. I'm pretty confident I can get it from here.

jdvorchak wrote: took the cover off and while it was a little wet in there it wasn't obvious to me where the leak was originating. So I cleaned it all up with brake cleaner and I'll ride it a little and see if that helps locate the leak. Clutch actuator seal is dry and so is the shift shaft seal. Doesn't really look like the alternator cover gasket either. So I'm down to starter O-Ring, but was not wet up that high, and Stator wire grommet. I've got some pretty good High Temp Black RTV that I used on the stator wires on my HD.

Thanks for all of the suggestions. I'm pretty confident I can get it from here.

www.kzrider.com/forum/2-engine/602437-19...ynamo-cover-oil-leak