Opinions On Stupid Tach Cable Oil Leak

My 750 twin is seeping oil at the tach cable junction to the head. It is fairly new cable, installed maybe 5k miles back at the rebuild. It appears to be leaking at the "hole" in the threaded round nut where the metal cable shaft goes through. It's not leaking at the junction of the rubber cable hose to the metal tube.

Not sure what the story is on the cable, seems like it has leaked the majority of the time I owned the bike. It used to always crack and leak where the rubber cable meets the metal cable "inner". To fix that, I use a "split" hose splint wrap around with hose clamps in that area and that prevents that leak.

But I can't figure out how to fix the leak at the cinch nut.

FYI: if I hold the cable just ahead of the cinch nut, it does wiggle up and down a little which obviously means it is not being held firmly. The nut is tight, it just doesn't hold the cable lip well.

Is the internal O ring seal on the tach drive shaft supposed to seal well enough that oil can't get out to the cable?

That tach seal leak is a common problem; oil should not be seeping into the cable. The good news is it can be easily and cheaply fixed (guess how I know). I would replace parts 6, 7, and 9 in the diagram below (that's how I fixed my leak). All 3 parts are still available from Kawasaki and the total for all 3 is less than $9 at Ronayers.com so even the local dealer shouldn't charge much more than that. Check to make sure your specific model uses the same parts, but I'm pretty sure you will find that it does. Ed

OK, thanks.

Have to pull the camshaft?

no

No, it just comes out from the EX side of the head. Easy to remove and reinstall. Might take a bit to get the old seal out if its baked.

You mean the guide can be pulled out of the head with the pinion/shaft staying in place?

I remember at the rebuild, the guide seemed to be frozen into the head. I thought it was some kind of a press fit item.

On my KZ650 pieces 6 - 10 pulled out without removing the cam. I suspect your bike would be the same. You may want to soak the screw that holds everything in place with Kroil for a couple days before removing it. Mine was really tight until I soaked it. And be sure to use a JIS screwdriver tip (or a modified Phillips) or you may end up destroying the cross-head on the screw. If you need more info on JIS screwdriver tips let me know. Ed

maybe if you were a bit nicer to it (stop calling it stupid) it might stop pissing oil down your leg :woohoo:

In the Parts Fiche I don't see the usual screw and metal tab that secures it. But it shows the O-ring around the guide. It must come out like the others, but the part says its for the 750 twin Only. So it may have a different way to retain it. If you get the Guide to start coming out, use a magnet at the end of the pinion to hold onto it while removing the Guide, or a small pair of Needle Nose. That way the Pinion won't fall into the top of the motor, making the valve cover removal next on your list. Of course maybe its time to check the valves anyway, and removing the valve cover would ease the removal of the guide and pinion.

Motor Head wrote: In the Parts Fiche I don't see the usual screw and metal tab that secures it. But it shows the O-ring around the guide. It must come out like the others, but the part says its for the 750 twin Only. So it may have a different way to retain it. If you get the Guide to start coming out, use a magnet at the end of the pinion to hold onto it while removing the Guide, or a small pair of Needle Nose. That way the Pinion won't fall into the top of the motor, making the valve cover removal next on your list. Of course maybe its time to check the valves anyway, and removing the valve cover would ease the removal of the guide and pinion.

Good point - I don't see the screw or tab either. If it doesn't have the screw at least that won't be stuck and hard to remove like mine was. When I did my KZ650 I did remove the valve cover so I could get to the pinion, but I don't know if that is absolutely necessary. Ed

650ed wrote: That tach seal leak is a common problem; oil should not be seeping into the cable. The good news is it can be easily and cheaply fixed (guess how I know). I would replace parts 6, 7, and 9 in the diagram below (that's how I fixed my leak). All 3 parts are still available from Kawasaki and the total for all 3 is less than $9 at Ronayers.com so even the local dealer shouldn't charge much more than that. Check to make sure your specific model uses the same parts, but I'm pretty sure you will find that it does. Ed

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I put an extra o ring in the cable in didnt help til i put a new number 9 in

I found this picture on Feebay, of the Guide. I see a O-ring groove and nothing else for retention. No snap ring groove or notch for the usual set up with the screw and metal tab. So does it say any removal procedure in the Twin manual??