76kz900 maintenance time

i live in an apartment and don't have a garage or i would pull the engine and diy.

so what im asking is about how much should i be expecting to pay for a valve job and a set of rings.

im pulling 90-90-115-145 psi from cylinders 1 through 4. 4 seems to be where the bike should be at 145 psi. so im guessing stuck valves and maybe rings in 1 through 3.

Hello, welcome to the forum.

How many miles do you have on engine?

When you open the top end, you need to be aware of other issues.

1. gaskets Head gasket, base gasket head cover gasket.
2. rings
3. cylinder bore size
4. Problems with cam rubbers, chain, idler and rollers.
5. Valve job
6. Carb boots
7. Valve seals
8. exhaust gaskets

This is just a few.

Get your parts here:
www.z1enterprises.com/Home.aspx

NapalmZ wrote: i live in an apartment and don't have a garage or i would pull the engine and diy.

so what im asking is about how much should i be expecting to pay for a valve job and a set of rings.

im pulling 90-90-115-145 psi from cylinders 1 through 4. 4 seems to be where the bike should be at 145 psi. so im guessing stuck valves and maybe rings in 1 through 3.

Before any tear-down, would first assure that all valve clearances are within specs, and then perform a leak-down test to better identify problem areas.

A leak down test injects air pressure through the spark plug hole to pressurize the combustion chamber.

Can perform a poor man's leak down test by introducing compressed air into a spark plug hole and listening to where it escapes from the combustion clamber. This may be done at TDC or any other cam positions where both valves are fully closed. Top dead center (TDC) is when the piston is at its highest position. An easy way to tell TDC is by alignment of the T mark with the case mark when viewed through the timing window.

May introduce a spurt of compressed air by using a rubber cone-tip blow gun (rubber air nozzle) held into the spark plug hole. And of course keep holding it in position to keep air from coming back out the spark plug hole while listening for escaping air at other places. The air compressor should not be running while listening because the noise will likely drown out any sound of escaping air. Or just use a portable compressed air tank.

Air heard escaping from exhaust port indicates exhaust valve not fully closing (perhaps too tight clearance or damaged valve or valve seat).

Air heard escaping from carb intake indicates intake valve not fully closing (perhaps too tight clearance or damaged valve or valve seat).

Air heard escaping from crankcase breather indicates loss of compression past rings into crankcase (perhaps worn piston rings or cylinders).

Air heard escaping from head gasket area indicates indicates loss of compression past head gasket (perhaps due to a blown head gasket).

A leaking valve may sometimes be resolved by adjusting the clearance to within specs.

A leaking head gasket may sometimes be resolved by torquing the head fasteners when the engine is stone cold (such as after sitting overnight).

Good Fortune!

i talked to the guy i bought the bike from. he told me something along the lines of

Vinny wrote: "hey dumbass, torque the head to specs and check it again, then dump a half ounce of oil in each cylinder and check the compression, if it changes greatly the rings are bad. if it doesn't, throw new springs in her and clean up any carbon. youll be good to go. now that i assisted you with removing your head from your ass, go finish the fucking bike."

(yes, he talks like that. he's a new york italian.)
so, im planning on going with that for now. i'll inspect what i can with the covers off. hopefully the bike runs great after that. if it does ill post some videos.

im figuring that not running since 2003 might have softened the springs. 1 is shooting black oil out the exhaust.

4TheKZ1000 wrote: Hello, welcome to the forum.

How many miles do you have on engine?
19k
When you open the top end, you need to be aware of other issues.

1. gaskets Head gasket, base gasket head cover gasket.
2. rings
3. cylinder bore size
4. Problems with cam rubbers, chain, idler and rollers.
5. Valve job
6. Carb boots
7. Valve seals
8. exhaust gaskets

This is just a few.

Get your parts here:
www.z1enterprises.com/Home.aspx

i usually check z1enterprises, partzilla, and ebay.

thanks Patton and 4theKZ1000

Besides those part houses list already, I like www.redlinecycle.com

These guys have great parts at a reasonable price.
Head gasket appears to be of good quality. Valve cover gasket is reasonable and ever bit as good as a OEM.

I replaced the intake valves, all 8 springs, seals and guides on my Z1 head. Labor was $88.00 at the machine shop to install it all with a valve grind I about fainted. What a great deal it was. :woohoo: Machinist was an older guy who had been working on heads for a LONG time.