Gpz550- found faulty seals- help!

After looking at it again, it looks like the bearing is shot. Need a wider shot to look at.
Steve

You all rock. Thanks for the support. I'll upload more photos as soon as I get back into it on Saturday. If it is indeed the bearing, I'm in for some fun trying to remove the case screws. 3 of them look like they've been fairly stripped already. I'll keep the posts coming asap.
Thanks!

Martin has his Dr Spock ears on today, well spotted.

Never had an output bearing fail, it involves a case split, so check it all out carefully.

Alternativly, unlike the 900/1000/1100 mills, 550's are two a penny so consider an engine swap - plenty available.

mangosteen wrote: You all rock. Thanks for the support. I'll upload more photos as soon as I get back into it on Saturday. If it is indeed the bearing, I'm in for some fun trying to remove the case screws. 3 of them look like they've been fairly stripped already. I'll keep the posts coming asap.
Thanks!

If it is shot, the screws are the least of your worries. The cases have to split to replace it. The bearing can be destroyed by running with a kinked and or rusty chain. I hope not. I saw a complete engine on eBay for $200 OBO but that's a crap shoot.
The screws you can take the bit from your new driver and tap on it to get a better bight on it. It can also be drilled off leaving just enough to get a vice grip on it to turn. You can get a impact at OR AZ Pep boys etc. for under $20. Get a 3/8 one so you can use sockets and Allen sockets too.
Steve

This is the seal that I've found to be damaged and not seated fully (attached photo 1 and 2). I've ordered a replacement so I'm planning on pulling it and seeing if the new one fixes the leak. Directly in front of it though, as you'll see in picture 3, was a soft, hollow rubber ring (imagine a carb overflow hose diameter) that was also trashed. I'm not finding any replacement parts for this one. I'm wondering if this was a previous owner's attempt at stopping a leak from the seal behind it. Do you all think i should worry about replacing it after if switch out the actual shaft seal?

Thanks,

Joe

I can't tell what's what in your photos. Did you look at the bearing photos in the links I posted above? The black ring in your pic looks suspiciously similar to the black deal on the bearing. Be very careful proceeding so as not to damage the bearing. It might be worth the trouble to remove the mission cover so that you can see what's what more clearly. You'd need a new gasket to re-install the cover.

You may already know this, but many oil seals are composed of a metal ring encased in rubber --- in case you may have pried away part of the rubber, but not the metal ring. I did that the first time I tried pulling a fork seal --- the rubber got torn to shreds but the ring remained. doh. :blush:

mangosteen wrote: This is the seal that I've found to be damaged and not seated fully (attached photo 1 and 2). I've ordered a replacement so I'm planning on pulling it and seeing if the new one fixes the leak. Directly in front of it though, as you'll see in picture 3, was a soft, hollow rubber ring (imagine a carb overflow hose diameter) that was also trashed. I'm not finding any replacement parts for this one. I'm wondering if this was a previous owner's attempt at stopping a leak from the seal behind it. Do you all think i should worry about replacing it after if switch out the actual shaft seal?

Thanks,

Joe

The shaft looks off center. Pull the cover and inspect the bearing. Still need a wider angle to see the cover too. You drive the old seal out from the outside and install the new one from the inside.
Steve

BTW, in case the part numbers are different, the bike in the member photo is an 83 KZ550H2 based on the side cover, but it could be the nearly identical 82 KZ550H1. The trans parts may be the same as the 84/85 ZX550A1/A2, but you'll want to confirm.

loudhvx wrote: BTW, in case the part numbers are different, the bike in the member photo is an 83 KZ550H2 based on the side cover, but it could be the nearly identical 82 KZ550H1. The trans parts may be the same as the 84/85 ZX550A1/A2, but you'll want to confirm.

My first post was a typo. Too excited to be working on this thing to pay any attention to my typing!

But you're right, loudhvx. It is in fact a '83, with 25k on the odometer...BUT... the engine in it is from an '84 with about 8k.. allegedly.

Does look pretty damn clean in there with the whacky seals being the one exception.

The replacements are taking ages to arrive, so I'm still doing some research. Probably try to fix a leaky carb in the mean time... but thats probably new thread territory.

Regarding the original topic... the shaft seal I'm waiting on- I can certainly pull the crap one with out taking the mission cover off... do I have any chance at seating the new one in there in the same fashion? I'd really love to not have to deal with stripped JIS screws...

Cheers,
Joe

NO. Like I said, they come out from the inside an go in from the inside. There's a lip keeping it in. If you try to take it out without taking off the cover, you'll be buying a cover soon. Use a hand impact to remove the screws. Make sure the bearing is in good shape.
Steve

Roger that. Thanks all

Alright. After no small amount of trouble, I got the two stripped JIS screws free from the mission cover. I replaced the mission cover gasket, shaft seal (number 1 concern) and push rod seal. Buttoned it back up and took it for a spin.

To refresh: when I first got the bike it would lose roughly 20-30 drops of oil at every red light, which was the only time I could look down and check, and about the same amount when I parked. Now with seals replaced, it doesn't lose any while idling or revving, but does lose 2-3 drops when I kill the engine. It looks like the aftermarket mission cover gasket I put on is leaking. Definitely not the same place as before.

My question is: should I drain it and try another gasket, or just use some type of gasket sealant around the mission cover since it's such a small amount leaking?

Thanks for the input, everyone.
Joe