TOPIC:

Most of these old KZs have had the guides replaces several times. If you drive the old guides out without removing the carbon from the tip, it will broach the hole as it goes out. Then if a new guide is installed that is not tight enough, the vacuum on the intake side will suck oil down the outside of the guide.

We have seen o-rings like Larry said, and silicone under the base as an attempt to stop this.

tachrev wrote: I do not see how you can replace the valve seals on that engine without pulling the head.

There is no easy way to compress the valve springs.

It is possible on some heads, and I have done it in cars with an air compressor. But the valve springs are accessible on the ones I did.

On a KZ, the valve springs are down in a pocket inside the head. No room to get a spring compressor in there.

I don't see any other solution that to pull the head.

I"m with you. That job would be a mutha

I love this... <---- sarcasm

rode easily to get scripts, smokes, but not bad, barely going through the oil, bam... like someone turned key off (dash still lit)... pull over, restart, go 3/4 of a mile, does it again. plugs getting no spark, didnt have volt meter to test power to coil packs. pulled pulsiing coil cover and tested igniter (turn key on, touch pulsing coils with screw driver, no spark). been having issues with 1 & 4 not firing and thought i had it fixed, bad connector on coil pack. guess my igniter might be failing instead.

if it aint one thang its another...
or
when it rains, it pours...
or
if it can go wrong, it will...

will try louds hei igniter mod tomorrow i guess.

let me ask...
if i pull down and look at rings and cylinder number 1-3 oil rings are upside down, can i just flip them? do i need to have cylinders honed again? when i pull it down, will i be able to visually determine if oil ring is upside down?

The oil rings won't be upside down. It it the expander ends that must "But" together, and then the small circle rings must have the ends basically opposite each other. The Two compression rings will/ should be marked as to which way is up, either a dot or a letter. The top and second ring will be different. Top one could be a chrome face, second might be but probably just cast iron. This depends on manufacturer. I suspect either the oil ring expander is not "Butted" or maybe the two thin oil rings could be bent/ damaged, as they are easy to have trouble with.

Quote From ELCouz

EDIT:

Do i have to buy new rings again if i just have oil ring upside down or can i just flip it?


If new bore is required (oversize pistons thus oversize rings needed) or deglazing (honing) again i would recommend so! They don't have side (up or don't doesn't matter) only the oil expander ring have a side and must not be overlapped (like in the previous picture)!

pctech101 haven't you read all the post i've made in this discussion?

what's the point giving my time on this when simple reading could have answered this question!???

i have a poor memory, yes i read that previously. im sorry i am wasting your time. it is hard for me to read this on my cellphone screen.

so mod, you can close this thread since it appears you cant replace valve stem seals with head on bike.

I think that you will find that Yes you can replace the valve stem oil seals with the cylinder head still on the motor and in the bike. I thought that besides myself, there was other posts in your current thread about this. The biggie is that you would need some additional tools, expense. This may exceed the value of a few new gaskets. Also the majority opinion is that the Stem seals would not have the oil consumption level you are discussing. that is why it is recommended to pull the head and cylinders to inspect.
Why close the thread when you may still need help/ advice?

well, my experience with forums is sticking to topic. topic should be changed to something better than replacing valve stem seals without pulling head.
thats all...

Its your thread and your bike. Do a fresh thread if you feel like it, and even though you asked a specific question in this thread it was answered. Then since the oil consumption is so high, people try to help with a suggestion from their experience. That's what this forum is for, and it is great, it brings people together with varied experience to bring to sorting out issues like yours. Sometimes you get an answer you don't want/ like, but that's expected when there are so many different people that can easily type.

i really appreciate yalls help. just confused on what to do next. i understand how to tear down. i now understand the oil ring cant be upside down, so if i have oil consumption through my rings, i cant afford new oversized pistons. which i dont grasp that. if my old pistons and rings didnt leak oil, how come in would need oversized now? i have to figure this out as cheaply as possible. i keep getting confused. damn depression i am struggling with isnt helping me none.
i am literally under a shade tree, on red texas dirt, working on her. what should my next steps be? pull jugs and measure pistons, sleaves, and gaps?

I've only just seen this topic so I thought I'd join in;

You can do the valve seals with the head on but to be honest it's a right pain, I made a valve out of an old spark plug so I could attach an air line to it, each cylinder, both valves closed, attach the air line and it holds the valves up. Stripping it is easy but putting the collets back in to secure the valve springs is a bastard of a job and I'd just take the head off.

Tell tale signs of valve seals having gone hard is when the bike has been left for a period of time it produces clouds of blue smoke on starting, that's due to the oil that has collected around the camshaft running past the valve seal while the engine is at rest and into the cylinder.

Blue smoke at 75 mph etc is pistons, I've relaced hundreds over the years (as a job, not a fetish) and the problem is that piston rings are harder than the pistons and so the grooves / lands in the piston wear and the rings move about, replacing rings is essentially a temporary measure and can be fine but if the piston is worn it's just false economy. I see you've already done the rings so something can't have beeen right before, make sure that when re-ringing all the carbon is removed from the piston where the ring sits or it'll never seat properly. It looks like it's back to the drawing board and take the top end off again.