1981 kz1000 ltd engine help

A summary of my situation... My Exhaust cam sprocket came loose and wore the side of the head, resulting in some aluminum shavings and a broken timing chain. Upon disassembly i ended up cracking the case from my stupidity. The rotating assembly seems to rotate freely and the transmission all looks good. I have one bent valve. My dilemma is whether or not I should buy a used case and replace the bent valve and reassemble using my internals, or purchase a used motor for $750 plus mine as a core. I know I can get all the parts to fix mine for around $450. What do you guys recommend? Are my rod bearings going to be toast from the aluminum shavings? They feel tight. And should I have the rod bearings checked/replaced and fix this our buy the used engine?

I found some cases on ebay but some are j models, will these work on my k model?

Thanks

J(standard),K(LTD),and M(CSR)81-82 bikes all use the same engine,except the cams on the J are a little more potent.It depends on whether u know anything about the used engine and the person ur getting it from.U could be buying more trouble unless they offer a warranty or something.On the other hand, u may have more damage than u think on your engine.Kind of a coin flip unless u just want to tear the motor down as a learning exercise.Good luck either way u go.

It's pretty much already completely torn down. I need some guidance on how to inspect for damage to rod bearing/main bearings or if it should be a concern or not.

Hey Ty....

FREE OEM Service Manual for ya... Will cover inspection, play measurements, inspections, re-build etc....

www.kawiworld.com/index.php?option=com_c...icle&id=77&Itemid=99

As for the cases, I feel your pain for same dumb ass thing I did in my first KZ build... Wasn't paying attention to details, miss read, trying to rush whatever...

Depending on the extent of damage, can be fixed or for me, just searched and found a another matched set of cases....

Good luck...

OMR

So you won't feel as bad... Here's my dumbass moment of the day.... :blush:

I have that manual. But it says nothing that I can find about rod bearings... The rod bearings are my main concern. I found a couple sets of cases on eBay, and one is local to me.

How do you check the rod bearings?

go to pages 3-18 and 3-19 in the service manual. It has pics and explanation on checking the rods and bearings--at least what little checking can be done.bj

I read those pages last night. It says it checks for bending and twisting. Is that the only way to check the bearings? I'm worried that while tight now, some small amount of aluminum shavings could have found their way to the bearings, but might not have begun to wear the bearing yet. I rode this thing 15 miles with the exhaust cam sprocket rubbing against the head. There is a decent amount of shavings... Any ideas?

No expert here,but if the engine is down already,why not wash the bearings and bearing surface with a high flashpoint solvent,blow dry,relube,turn em on your finger to see if u feel anything rough or gritty,and if not reinstall.Change the oil and filter,ride the bike for 50 miles or so,change the oil and filter again.Seems to me anything that doesnt wash out with the solvent will get trapped in the filter and will come out with the oil change.What about that-otherwise Im outta my league here and maybe Plummen,Patton or Larry C.can chime in and help..bj

That's where my question is. It's not as simple as washing the bearings and surfaces with solvent, because the crank is pressed together. You guys that have experience with these rotating assemblies; should I be worried about aluminum shavings making their way to the rod bearings? And is it possible to flush them without dissassembly? What do you recommend?

Yes, the crank bearings can be cleaned up, just use a power washer and you'll be fine.

Make sure to spray it down with your favorite water displacer 40 or dunk it in some fresh oil immediately after your done.

...or take it to a balancing shop and have them press apart the crank, clean and balance/rebuild it, then your good.

When you say crank, do you mean the main bearings or the rod bearings? I am aware that the main bearings can, because they are ball bearings. What about the rod bearings?

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