Engine rebuild?

Negative on spliting the cam chain, even if you can I wouldnt .

You would probably like the shop to fit the cams so they can adjust the valves for you. Make them set them in the roomy range of 0.15-0.20 mm.

It's not so hard to remove and fit the cams plus timing them as you may fear (and I did) as long as you take your time and make sure the chain does sit firmly on the crank sprocket. You can split the chain, but I once had a riveted link come off on my old Yamaha XS500 and it made a real mess of the engine. Not recommended. And that link was put there by a Yamaha shop as well, not something I messed up myself.

Taking the cams out is no big deal, I was told not to tighten them in when not on the motor

Tomolu5 wrote: Taking the cams out is no big deal, I was told not to tighten them in when not on the motor

I think thats what the clymer manual was trying to tell me but i didn't quite understand what it meant.
can anyone else confirm this?
Can the cams be fitted while the head is off the motor?
The only reason it would help me is the recon guy would set up the valve clearances so hopefully they would be correct when i put the cams back on.

faffi wrote: You would probably like the shop to fit the cams so they can adjust the valves for you. Make them set them in the roomy range of 0.15-0.20 mm.

It's not so hard to remove and fit the cams plus timing them as you may fear (and I did) as long as you take your time and make sure the chain does sit firmly on the crank sprocket.

yes i read the manual briefly the other day and it did look complicated and it's one bit I've not been looking forward to !

Yes, have your Machinist set up your camshafts valve clearances. Then you will remove just the camshaft bearing caps and cams, to put the head back on. Then reinstall those, never removing any shims.
Did you order the rubber dampeners for the chain Idlers etc? I read where you said they are hard. Page 6 on the link to z1 I posted.
It does look as though you had a gasket problem, there is a clear leak from the head gasket in 1 of your photo's. You won't be hurt by freshening the Top End though. You should end up with a Great running bike, which I'm sure you will enjoy.
While waiting for the parts and machine work to be done, have a look at the carbs. Get the bowls off, and the jets out, and clean thoroughly. Order/ replace parts that look worn, like the needle and seat for the floats. Kits are pretty reasonable on the Internet. Set the dry float level, but then also set the wet Fuel Level. I would also clean the fuel tank, and petcock. Also look at the Ignition system, are they the Original coils and plug wires? What about the Ignition points and condenser? Then there is the ignition advancer, might as well remove and clean and lube that, just be careful not to install the parts 180 out. There are a small mark in there to watch for, but you can scribe a couple so its easy to see. Then when you reassemble you should fire right up, and just need a few adjustments.

When I get to my computer tonight I will post a link to a thread I started for setting the valve timming. You do want to have the head set up before hand, as mentioned, but definitly check the clearences after torqing the head. Just did mine, and I did have to change 1 shim. Between the manual, and info from here, its not to bad.

Did you order the rubber dampeners for the chain Idlers etc? I read where you said they are hard. Page 6 on the link to z1 I posted.
It does look as though you had a gasket problem, there is a clear leak from the head gasket in 1 of your photo's. You won't be hurt by freshening the Top End though. You should end up with a Great running bike, which I'm sure you will enjoy.
While waiting for the parts and machine work to be done, have a look at the carbs. Get the bowls off, and the jets out, and clean thoroughly. Order/ replace parts that look worn, like the needle and seat for the floats. Kits are pretty reasonable on the Internet. Set the dry float level, but then also set the wet Fuel Level. I would also clean the fuel tank, and petcock. Also look at the Ignition system, are they the Original coils and plug wires? What about the Ignition points and condenser? Then there is the ignition advancer, might as well remove and clean and lube that, just be careful not to install the parts 180 out. There are a small mark in there to watch for, but you can scribe a couple so its easy to see. Then when you reassemble you should fire right up, and just need a few adjustments.[/quote]


Yea I did order all the rubber dampers in the end as I thought they should be rubbery and they were almost solid.
I took the carbs off when I first got the bike and cleaned them out although I do definitely need to set the levels up.
I've got petcock valve or order as when I took it apart the back springy disk part broke up.
It has a Dyna ignition kit on it, I’m not sure how old but I replaced the leads when I got the bike. I’ll check the timing when it back together.

Another question, do I need a ring compressor to get the barrels back on over the pistons and new rings?
The only time I've ever put some barrels back on was on my RD400 some time back and it was a matter of carefully wiggling until the pistons and new rings slipped in!. but with the Zed being a four stroke (and four cylinder) I’m thinking it might be a bit more difficult.

No piston ring compressor needed. Shop manual will see you thru install, NOTE; Gap rings then Make sure rings are indexed correctly so end gaps are not all at same point.

here ya go.
www.kzrider.com/forum/2-engine/529987-76...timing-photo-frenzie
when torquing the head down, go in 2 or 3 steps, in the order shown in your manual, I have been told it is best to start with flat surfaces, and keep em that way. I went a round at 10lbs. then 20, then 29. on the head studs(not the small ones on the ends, forget that spec.

also, when torquing the cam caps, I was told to go 8ft.lbs. on those, and be careful when doing so, making sure that the index pins line up, and that nothing is binding. there are some other write-ups on this subject, on this site too, I just felt that I still had questions, and once I figured it out, I wanted to try and document it a little better. I have seen an image that patton has to demonstrate how to count the links that I will have to try an get him to add to that thread.

It is also recomended to get it up to temp. on its virgin run, then let it cool off overnight(Ice cold) and hit them head bolts again with the wrench, they will take torque.

Street Fighter LTD wrote: No piston ring compressor needed. Shop manual will see you thru install, NOTE; Gap rings then Make sure rings are indexed correctly so end gaps are not all at same point.

The Kwacker shop manual i have says use a ring compressor!
Any advice on installing the barrels without one?

All parts have arrived so i have a good few hours/days ahead of me in the garage !!

KZ1000inaus wrote:

Street Fighter LTD wrote: No piston ring compressor needed. Shop manual will see you thru install, NOTE; Gap rings then Make sure rings are indexed correctly so end gaps are not all at same point.

The Kwacker shop manual i have says use a ring compressor!
Any advice on installing the barrels without one?

All parts have arrived so i have a good few hours/days ahead of me in the garage !!

To help work them in by hand, could use chop-sticks, Popsicle sticks, wooden ice-cream spoons, or tongue depressors.

Others may use a strip of metal strap held in position tightly around the rings with a zip-tie, which assembly slides down as the piston enters the cylinder sleeve.

Good Fortune!