South West Bikers | Motorcycle Forum

Banditmax wrote:I guess that they were funked before you got to it anyway then, unless you put the bolt in cross threaded.

nahh it went in nice and smooth so i didnt cross the threads but i think i did just over-tighten it. i felt it just go to it's yield point as i gave the spanner the last push and just left it there now the sump drips every 30 mins or so i'd say. But i dont really wanna risk riding it until it's bone dry. As soon as the pressure's gone up and the oil is hot and thinner that drip could turn into, as someone else said erlier, an oily back tyre or a siezed engine!

and yehh i've had a couple of problems with the bike. but that's what i like i'm in the garage everyday now.. i'd rather have a bike that needs work done on it and have something to work towards than a bike that's perfect and needs nothing but riding. I enjoy this part of having a bike. Some may not ..

OK!, i moved the radiator to get the whole exhaust system off to get the sump and oil radiator off. Then, took the sump to CMS where a split/crack around the sump plug was welded up, then a steel insert was put in with a new plug and washer etc. now, I just need a new sump gasket and then it all needs putting back together and I can ride it again! It's been quite an expensive oil change! Anyone know where I can get a sump gasket and some sealant from fast? Thanks!, Tom.

It's a low pressure area - you can get away with just a decent RTV sealant if needs be

Make your own gasket from an old cereal box and then use some instant gasket on that.

Tom, I don't think anyone else has mentioned it... but remember to torque bolts etc when engine is COLD or you'll be doing this again m8 --->

awsome! where can i get some of this instant gasket stuff!? (as in B&Q..CMS etc.. not the net. takes too long!..it's also easter and bank holiday!..) an yeh i'm gonna torque it all up properly this time, my mate's bringing two nice britool wrenches down to me tomorow so it's gonna be a nice job!

as i said, i had to take the exhaust off and move the radiator to get the sump off but it was quite enjoyable and i've learnt alot here's some pics..

oh, and as i said the sump had an insert put in it and was roughly welded up at CMS. but shoulld stop the leak and cracking i hope! (The plug is already loaded to the right ammount! ) - i got my money's worth from the mechanic and got him to load it for me



Notice how the radiator is being held up by a bottle of oil









The insert and weld took an hour and cost me £45. It better not bloody leak!

Its surprising what bodges can be covered up by someone selling a bike, when i took the plugs out of my GPZ there was metal fillings and some gooey sealant crap on the thread and it was fooked as they say so thats gettinga new insert plus all the bolts that hold the cams in place were stretched so new ones all round and a gearchange shaft oilseal had been butchered to get in to fit but very reasonable genuine Kawasaki parts from Z power but at least now i know they will be good

Johnnyb wrote:Its surprising what bodges can be covered up by someone selling a bike, when i took the plugs out of my GPZ there was metal fillings and some gooey sealant crap on the thread and it was fooked as they say so thats gettinga new insert plus all the bolts that hold the cams in place were stretched so new ones all round and a gearchange shaft oilseal had been butchered to get in to fit but very reasonable genuine Kawasaki parts from Z power but at least now i know they will be good

yeh rightt! i'm finding all sortsa stuff on the bike everytime i move something! although i dont think the guy before had a clue about looking after it. he even said to me when selling it he didnt really know how it worked he just liked riding it! not a great selling point.. hahaha

Glad you got it sorted tom, cms, halfords or any motor factors will sell instant gasket. But i doubt any of them will be open today.

Banditmax wrote:Glad you got it sorted tom, cms, halfords or any motor factors will sell instant gasket. But i doubt any of them will be open today.

halfrauds are open so i'm probly gonna try the gasket I already have on it with abit of instant where the cracks etc are?.. or shall i just use instant for the whole thing?..

A light coating of instant gasket all the way round your old gasket should do the trick nicely. And where there are splits in it put a little bit between the split. But as jam has said it might be easier just to wait the few days till you can get a proper one.

Banditmax wrote:A light coating of instant gasket all the way round your old gasket should do the trick nicely. And where there are splits in it put a little bit between the split. But as jam has said it might be easier just to wait the few days till you can get a proper one.

haha spooky stuff.. i've just written in my 'gasket?' thread what i've done and it's exactly that!

"ok, the bike is back as it was now and working! i used the same gasket on it and got some loctite gasket sealant which is non-setting. proper sticky rubbery stuff. not quite as rubber as silicone though. So i put that on the bottom of the engine between that and the gasket, and in and around the sections where the gasket had broken or come loose from the sump. The sump went back on fine.. bit fiddly with the yellow pump bit but it's all back together.

I had to make a new stud for one of the outlets on the maifold but its on good an proper now with new washers and shear nuts . Tomorow, I'm making two new brackets for my radiator (which is rapidly falling to pieces) and sorting out the hole in the bottom of my coolant resevoir where that's dripping from! All fun stuff! "

I wish I'd seen this thread earlier - what you should have done whilst you had the sump off Tom, was remove the yellow plastic funnel thing - it's the oil pump pick-up strainer - and have a good look inside it for metallic debris... Give it a good clean and refit it to the pump inlet before attempting to refit the sump pan itself. A proper new Kawasaki gasket is the way to go, cleaning up all the mating surfaces properly first - if you've bodged it with gasket goo and the remains of the original gasket it'll never seal properly.
Good luck with it, seems like you're having fun (or otherwise) discovering all the bodges left by previous owners and undoing their handiwork

Scotty wrote:I wish I'd seen this thread earlier - what you should have done whilst you had the sump off Tom, was remove the yellow plastic funnel thing - it's the oil pump pick-up strainer - and have a good look inside it for metallic debris... Give it a good clean and refit it to the pump inlet before attempting to refit the sump pan itself. A proper new Kawasaki gasket is the way to go, cleaning up all the mating surfaces properly first - if you've bodged it with gasket goo and the remains of the original gasket it'll never seal properly.
Good luck with it, seems like you're having fun (or otherwise) discovering all the bodges left by previous owners and undoing their handiwork

yeh i cleaned it all off. there was some crap stuck in the gaus/mesh on the bottom of it. the gasket seems to be holding

oh, and i also made two neet little brackets for the top of the radiator which are now bolted back under the frame and the radiator is rock solid (If you knew about the broken radiator)