Leak in the cylinder head

Hello
I recently acquired a kawasaki kz400 from 78 or 79. I recently noticed a leak in the cylinder head- by the joint in the picture.

I'm fairly new to this, so I'm unsure how I should go about fixing this. Any advice?

Thank you

 

Welcome to KZRider 
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Im not a 400 guy but looks like a minor  Gasket / seal leak
Clean the area and then monitor it 

Will do.

I'm assuming taking it off and applying some sort of sealant will fix the problem? 

No sealant needed. A careful clean and a new gasket should fix it.

You can look up the frame and engine numbers on this chart to determine the correct year.
www.kzrider.com/filebase/download/64-gen...78-kz-by-the-numbers

Here is a downloadable factory service manual. You can find the procedure for removing and reinstalling the bits necessary to replace the gasket.
www.kzrider.com/modules/ServiceManuals/7...chablefullmanual.pdf
 

Thank you.

What is that kind of gasket called?

wrote:

Thank you.

What is that kind of gasket called?

You might want to hit up ebay and buy a real deal Kawasaki brand service manual for your bike.  No Clymers or similar manual.  Then go to Partzilla and look through the parts list.  All the gaskets are shown.  Don't get aftermarket gaskets, they are not as good as the originals.  Realize also that when the cylinder head cover is loosened then the entire top end should come off because the head gasket and base gasket are likely to leak after the clamp load is removed.  

All this is a lot of work and the gaskets are not cheap.  At that point you may just want to leave the bike alone as long as it's not dripping oil all over the place.

A few drops here and there. Best left alone, then? 

 

That looks to be the same as my 440 top end. There is no gasket there that I know of. I just make sure that the mating surfaces are clean and use a very thin layer of Blue sealer on the surface. The bolts holding it are only there to hold the top end. The head and base are held down with cap (?) nuts on the studs. I wouldn’t worry about the small amount leaking unless it really bothers you.

You can try retorquing the bolts.  Crack them loose and then immediately reverse direction and tighten.  One at a time.  This rarely works once leaks occur but you never know.  It should be part of regular maintenance regardless, but most people never do it.  

My model is actually a Z400, as I am in Europe. Are the engine and frame versions different for the european version, or can I still use that chart to identify what year my bike is from?

So far as I know, there are no differences in frame and engine numbers. Conventional wisdom says that the k designation was not used in Europe due to the connection between the letters KZ and the NAZI regime.
There are of course detail differences from market to market based on local laws concerning such things as rear fender length, but this did not require special frame or engine numbers.

That being said, Kawasaki did produce a four cylinder 400 that did not come to North America, so there is no information about them in the chart.