weepin'

I have a 77 kz1000 ltd that has some weepy gaskets in the upper end of engine. The engine seems to leak from several places. It seems that the cylinder head cover gasket is weepy and also that in between the cylinder head and the cylinder. The last place I have found oil leaking is on the stator cable... but I'm thinking that this oil is just collecting on the cable as it drips down the engine.

My question is... how far into the engine can I get into and replace gaskets without having to do any tuning or major work. Can I crack all the way into the upper end and just swap out the gaskets and be ok putting it all back together without tuning instruments? Would this be an approachable project for someone with limited mechanical experience and the ability to follow instructions? Or would it be better to just bite the bullet and get take this into the shop. I would really like to be able to get the leak taken care of over the winter.

thanks

Could you post some good pictures of the leak areas to look at? This will help out in diagnosing your problem. If the source / path of the leak is not evident, you can clean areas up first then apply some foot powder spray (or baby powder may work) on the suspected areas and then run the engine for a bit. This will make the leak a lot more visible.

The last place I have found oil leaking is on the stator cable...



I had this happen to me as well. The oil was actually leaking from my oil filter o-ring and then dripping down to the stater wiring

yes.
if you can follow directions you can remove and replace gaskets and put it back together without any kinda special tools or knowledge.
simply clean up the parts you remove and replace them.

easypeasyjapaneasy :lol: .

leon

TheFlyingFreemole wrote: The last place I have found oil leaking is on the stator cable...

This is a fairly common leak on the 900/1000's - this grommet usually needs to be replaced:

www.z1enterprises.com/Alternator-cover-r...Z900-KZ1000-373.aspx

TheFlyingFreemole wrote: I have a 77 kz1000 ltd that has some weepy gaskets in the upper end of engine. The engine seems to leak from several places. It seems that the cylinder head cover gasket is weepy and also that in between the cylinder head and the cylinder. The last place I have found oil leaking is on the stator cable... but I'm thinking that this oil is just collecting on the cable as it drips down the engine.

My question is... how far into the engine can I get into and replace gaskets without having to do any tuning or major work. Can I crack all the way into the upper end and just swap out the gaskets and be ok putting it all back together without tuning instruments? Would this be an approachable project for someone with limited mechanical experience and the ability to follow instructions? Or would it be better to just bite the bullet and get take this into the shop. I would really like to be able to get the leak taken care of over the winter.

thanks

Get yourself a new valve cover gasket, valve cover end-caps X 4, stator wiring grommet and also, a cam chain tensioner O-Ring. The oil in between the cylinders is most likely coming from there, if you can't nail down any other source for that. Make sure you have a service manual or electronic copy you can reference. I believe the 1000 is the same as my 1100, where the cam chain tensioner must be unloaded when reinstalling the valve cover or damage can occur. We'll help you out with it, it's pretty easy actually.

I just got the owners manual and then ordered the supplemental kaw service manual. I have a clymer manual that covers a couple bikes also (although it is a pain to read because of the variations listed for each process).

Once the KawaService Manual gets here I hope to have the references needed to get cracking into this baby.

Best tools you can have!

So finally got back to work last week! :woohoo: ... which means I'll have money to throw at my bike again soon. I'm looking to order gaskets and am planning on replacing any/all of the upper end gaskets that need it. I've been looking around and there are several options for brands, and I've read on here mixed reviews. It seems that "Vesrah" is the better brand option, however I found some 'high end' kits that I'm not sure of.

There is a "redline cycle" gasket kit that runs for ~150.
redlinecycle.com/Gaskets%20-%20Redline%20Top%20Set.html

The Vesrah upper end kit goes for about 90 on redlinecycle too, but then I'd need to order cam end seals which run about 35-40, so I'm looking at ~130.
redlinecycle.com/Eng.%20Gask.%20Kits%20-%20Std.html

There are some kits on Z1E. One is the full engine gasket kit by Vesrah for about 80, it lacks cam ends too though.
www.z1enterprises.com/Gasket-Set--KZ1000...e-in-Japan-4363.aspx


Has anybody used the redlinecycle gasket kit? Is it worth the extra dough?

In terms of cam end seals, has anybody used the aluminum option (from redline)? Or should I stick to the Kaw OEM rubber.

Is the Z1E kit that much cheaper because of quality? Or is it a better deal?

Uggh, I wanna go with the Redline high end kit to avoid having to replace the gaskets again because they didn't last. BUT, I also don't want to spend any extra money on a kit if it isn't necessary.

Z1E has never steered me wrong. You can get the end plugs from them too.

more exoensive does not equate to better quality so far everything I have ordered and recieved from Z1E has been first class not so with one of the others with similar name

Good advice so far.

The cam chain O-ring is most likely leaking as it was on my 1000. You will need to pull the cylinder head to replace that seal, there's not way around it. So plan ahead when you have to go that deep. The valve cover gasket and end plugs are easy enough to replace so do that first and if the center seal is leaking so bad you can't live with it, plan on pulling the head off to repair that.
When you go back together with it, install the cam chain O-ring dry. Use NO RTV SILICONE!!!

www.z1enterprises.com/Gasket-Center-Cyli...900-KZ1000-2717.aspx