valve seals

Has anybody put valve seals on with head still on bike? If so how and with what tools? 1977kz 1000

Can't...you must pull the head and use the 'special tool' to compress the valves:(

Can be done with compressed air connected to a modified spark plug mounted to the air line.Insert the plug to hold the valves closed with the air,depress the retainer and pull the keepers.Pull the seal and replace, and reinstall the keepers and retainers.Not easy but it can be done.

it is more work to do it the wrong way.

half assed head work is just asking for more trouble.

been swapping valvesprings on cars that way for years,whats half assed about it?compressing the springs on a bike might be a little harder though.:whistle:

if the seals are gone,melted,hardened, or just leaking then the valve guides are definitely worn and the valve faces and seats likewise.
cars-bikes-generators any 4 stroke O.H.V.

if you do partial mechanical cyl. head work like that--fine

I do not.
...and I feel exactly how I stated.

just put a band-aid on it and pass it on to someone else.

just about everyone has bought a bike with a hidden problem that someone went to gerat lengths NOT to fix it properly---right??

trippivot wrote:

if the seals are gone,melted,hardened, or just leaking then the valve guides are definitely worn and the valve faces and seats likewise.
cars-bikes-generators any 4 stroke O.H.V.

if you do partial mechanical cyl. head work like that--fine

I do not.
...and I feel exactly how I stated.

just put a band-aid on it and pass it on to someone else.

just about everyone has bought a bike with a hidden problem that someone went to gerat lengths NOT to fix it properly---right??

Got to agree with this thinking. The Z motor is one of the easiest motors ever to work on and if the seals are shot it almost certainly has other head/valve problems as well. Might as well fix it right the first time. It's sort of like lapping valves and calling it a valve job. Just my opinion....mod

Hey trippivot and modprod,
I just can't agree with your thinking about valve seals. While worn valve seals may indicate other engine wear, they're just not a good indicator. Valve seals are way more likely to deteriorate from the passage of time than anything else. I have a several older Kawasakis that have LOW mileage but still smoke just after startup. Once they're up to temp they run as clean as you could want.

KZCSI

KZCSI wrote:

Hey trippivot and modprod,
I just can't agree with your thinking about valve seals. While worn valve seals may indicate other engine wear, they're just not a good indicator. Valve seals are way more likely to deteriorate from the passage of time than anything else. I have a several older Kawasakis that have LOW mileage but still smoke just after startup. Once they're up to temp they run as clean as you could want.

KZCSI

If an engine smokes at start-up and then stops after warm-up the valve guides are more than likely shot too. In this case he has 30000 + miles! I'd be surprized if the guides really were still very good but I have learned that different peoples standards vary on what a good running motor is and that many don't share my standards and that's Ok:) ...mod

ive seen more than one high mileage z motor that didnt need much of anything when i took it apart.i pulled the topend on my dads 78 chevy pickup years ago to swap the heads intake and cam.not becuase it was worn out,but because he had been driving it for 20 years and all he did was keep the oil changed and change the clutch 3-4 times.motor ad 350,000(yes that is thousands)miles on it and still had origional crosshatch on cylinder walls he just wanted to have some fun with it!:evil: he has run mobil one oil in that truck since it had its first oil change.if the motor is solid and doesnt smoke like a diesel id say go ahead and try it,hes got nothing to lose but a few hours of his time doing it and it might help him get through the rest of the season riding his bike.oh yeah heres my idea of a good running motor,and yes we do change valvesprings on them between races without pulling heads.

Post edited by: wireman, at: 2006/08/02 01:02

IMO trying to work in the tight space is way more trouble than pulling the head. You're going to be chasing bottom turn of thread in the cam cap holes. It's kinda tight and awkward to do this with the heas in. You can take a look at valves with the head off. Getting the hard guide seal off and the new one in is easier with the valve out.

-Duck

Didn't say it was easy,just that it CAN be done.I agree,pulling the head is far easier and yes you will be chasing threads if you pry the springs down.