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Last Update 11/2/09
The main issues being discussed on this page is that if you own a Z1300, KZ1300, ZG1300, or ZN1300 of any year, you should consider replacing or modifying your stock cam chain tensioner 'CCT' as we discuss below, BEFORE you even try to start your engine again. I literally have a pile of salvage motors in my shop, most of which had bent valves from the OEM CCT going bad. It's a cheap and easy fix, done with simple hand tools that most people can do themselves with a minimum amount of mechanical skill in a very short period of time.
How much time it will take you is relevant to how much experience you have with hand tools. It's not a question I can put an exact time on. I can generally change one on a KZ1300 in about 15 minutes no sweat because there's plenty of room to get your hands in that area on a KZ. On a ZN1300, it's much harder because you have less room to work with, but I can do it in 30 minutes or an hour without pulling the airbox or even the top of the airbox off.
You have to be exceptionally good with your hands to do this on a ZN without pulling the airbox, but I do it all the time exactly as explained below. 15 minutes for me on a KZ1300 might relate to 5 hours for you. I don't know, so I can't answer the time required question any better than I just did, but everybody asks, and that's my best answer.
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NOTE: There's been some minor concern mentioned about the strength of the spring on the ZX-11 cam chain tensioner recommended on this page, versus the spring that came on the OEM KZ1300 cam chain tensioner. (Kawasaki ZX-1100 models in the USA are apparently called ZZR-1100 models overseas). If you use a ZX11 tensioner as it comes in the package, it appears to put a little more pressure on the nylon cam chain tensioner idler gear, than the OEM KZ1300 tensioner does that you're replacing it with. Since you have to pull the head to replace the nylon cam chain tensioner idler gear, and assuming you have a low mileage bike, and the original gear is still in the motor, that's not a part we want to wear out faster.
Paul thinks it's OK to use the ZX11 tensioner in ALL situations. I'm still using a ZX11 unit on my 84' ZN1300 with the original OEM nylon gear in place at 30,000 miles, and I'm just now taking it apart to replace the 24 year old gear. He's put over 50,000 miles on the new replacement nylon idler gears with no abnormal wear showing, so his take on this issue is that the only concern you might have would be with the original '28 year old' gear, not the newer manufactured replacement 2007' gears that have better quality 28 yr 'newer technology' nylon.
I've taken note of the fact that a manual tensioner like the APE tensioner shown below has no spring on it. So maybe that's a preferred method of avoiding the issue of possible 'extra wear' on your OEM gear, if you have a low mileage bike with the 'original 28 year old gear' still in place. I have drilled out and modified the stock tensioners as shown below. But I'm not happy with the fact that you can only cut about 2 threads in the end once it's drilled and tapped. There's not much meat in the end, so that's all you get. You could go to a larger size bolt, and tap a thread all the way through the bore end to end. That would be a better and much stronger thread, but it would be a whole lot more difficult to tap a thread all the way through like that though some people have done it.
Although I think a modified stock tensioner as shown will work OK, and I've used them before, it may be more prudent to spring for the APE model if you desire to go the manual tensioner route. Personally though, I don't know how many of us could tension the cam chain properly with a manual tensioner installed. Whichever way you go here, the main thing is you have to beware of the failure problems the OEM tensioners have, and choose one of the solutions offered below.
I think having a positive adjustment with NO spring
like the APE has makes
good sense ONLY on a low mileage bike, but it's probably unnecessary unless you have the original gear
still in your bike, and YOU'RE CONFIDENT YOU CAN ADJUST IT PROPERLY! Since many of us now have the ZX-11
tensioners in place running up against an OEM gear, I took one to a fastener supply here in Houston to see if I could get a bolt to fit in the end.
The idea was that we could just take the spring out, and thread a bolt in the end with a nut to lock it in place so there was no worry that it could back off.
What I found is that the thread in the end is a metric 'M11' with a 1.00 pitch, which is
generally not available from any fastener supplier I could find. It would
most likely have to be made by someone with the capability to
make custom fasteners if someone wants to go that route.
Someone mentioned why not leave the spring out of the ZX-11 unit, and just adjust it manually when
needed? After all, it's a
ratchet design and shouldn't back off anyway. I have a friend locally that I've gone to for help on certain issues, because he builds race motors on motorcycles.
He says he's seen even these ZX11 style tensioners fail at times on race
engines, and personally does not recommend
most of the automatically adjusting stock tensioner designs be used even on street motors.
The point he made to me is that even if it was only one failure in 1000 bikes, the manual tensioners don't fail at all, so why chance it.
Adjusting the cam chain manually when you adjust your valves is not really an issue
for an experienced mechanic, but for many of us less experienced, it would be.
The problem with just taking the spring out of the ZX11 unit would be that if there is some probability that the shaft could pop back, there's nothing to stop it from doing so, and that was the problem
we're trying to solve with the original tensioner.
To get a manual tensioner adjusted properly, the way I do it is pull all the spark plugs so you can turn the motor with a wrench off the right side crankshaft bolt. You pull the right engine cover to access the bolt of course. You pull the old tensioner out, put the new tensioner in it's place, and start threading the adjusting bolt down by hand. Once you have it all the way in as far as it appears to go, I turn the crankshaft very slowly, a little forward and back even, and try to tighten the bolt some more if possible. I do this because when you pull these tensioners out, there's always a possibility you can get some slack in the cam chain if the intake cam moves a little when you pull the tensioner out.
That rarely happens, but on
occasion the intake cam can move slightly and put some slack on the
chain. If you had the valve cover off while you're doing this you could
see the slack, but since you might be doing this without the cover off, you need
to be a little more careful. If you use the starter button to spin the
motor and there was some slack in the chain, you're taking chances. That's
why I turn it slowly by hand with a wrench instead. However, once I've determined I've got the chain tensioned all the way, I do use
the starter to spin the motor to get a better feel on the tension. I spin the motor,
tighten the screw as tight as I can BY HAND, and then I back off maybe an 1/8th
of a turn. Just a very little bit. You can recheck this tension
every 5000 miles if you're still using the original gear, and this is the only
reason you'd be using a manual tensioner anyway. But, next time you go to check
it, you can just pull the spark plugs and spin it with the starter no problem.
As far as the newer ZN1300 units having the oil line coming up to the tensioner and being a better design, well maybe they were, I don't know.
One thing for sure, I'm not chancing bent valves on any of my engines over a
less than $100 part that we already know will work.
However, since that particular style tensioner has a hole in the end of it for
the oil line, maybe it could be easily converted to a 'manual style tensioner' without much effort.
You could try just screwing a
correct size bolt in the end that's long enough to have a nut to lock it in place.
Cap off the oil port in the head like we've been doing all along, and you could remove the stock CCT spring too, as it's not needed once you
convert to the manual design. david@kz1300.com
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The first 2 images were supplied by Tim K. one of our members. Thanks Tim! There are many members that have inquired about the cam chain tensioner problem since I make such a big deal out of it on the site. Below is a couple of pictures Tim took while he was changing his out, so I decided they would be good to use for a tech page on the tensioner. Above the blue dotted line is the original CCT that comes on your bike.
The top image is the OEM unit assembled and below that, the same unit disassembled. The red arrow points approximately to the area on the shaft where the caged ball bearing assembly exerts pressure on the shaft and typically wears small groves into it. The caged ball bearing assembly is the part just to the right of the shaft. The wear need not be obvious as we're only talking .002 or .003 thousandths of an inch here before we have failure of the tensioner, and bent valves as a consequence.
In reality, the tensioner could be new and fail I suppose because it's just a design that's not foolproof. I say that because even tensioners on low mileage bikes have failed after sitting for long periods. So I assume that if the shaft gets dry from sitting and doesn't have any oil on it, that can be a problem as well.
Below the blue line, we have the ZX-11 CCT that we recommended replacing the stock tensioner with in the past. The ZX-11 tensioner Part # 12048-1113 fits all models Z1300, KZ1300, ZG1300 and ZN1300 ALL YEARS! It comes disassembled the same as you see here. 1994 to 2001 Kawasaki ZX1100 motorcycles use this part #. The older 1990 to 1993 ZX11's used OEM #12048-1089 which is NOT the part # we want for our bike.
Use the Part # 12048-1113 I provide, and the part you get should look exactly like what is in the picture. It's been the part # I've ordered these with for many years now. You may have to buy the gasket separately Part # 11009-1858, but in a pinch, you could make one yourself out of some gasket material.
You can see the little yellow dot on the CCT body which should be installed in the upward position (as shown in the image below). There's also an arrow stamped into the body of the tensioner in the same place. Either way they point up or up and to the right slightly, north-northeast if you want to think of it that way. Install the CCT in the engine fully compressed just as it's shown in this first image, and put the gasket on it, and bolt it on. Then drop the spring in the end, slip the rod inside the spring, put the brass washer on the nut and screw the nut on. Since it's a fairly strong spring, it's not easy to get the nut on so be careful not to strip the threads! If the airbox was completely off the bike, it would be a breeze to remove the CCT and replace it. However, I've used the installation method I describe on the KZ and ZN models both with good results. It's just harder to do on the ZN because of the lack of room you have to work with in that area.
When you put the nut on you're compressing the spring and that will ratchet out the tensioner and take up whatever slack is there. It's a really good idea at this point, to see how many clicks out the ratchet goes before it pushes up against the cam chain slider and comes to a stop. What I did was bolt the tensioner on, and instead of dropping the spring and rod in, I found an allen wrench the right size, and slipped it in the hole and pushed the ratchet down manually. Then I counted the clicks as I depressed the ratchet in.
First count them when you've got the unit in your hand. Mine was 19 - 20 clicks out to full extension. Then compress the plunger as explained below, and install it on the engine and manually extend it as I said. It should only go out about 5 - 9 clicks at most. If it goes 10 - 15 clicks, or all the way out as one person said theirs did, then you can figure that either the cam chain sliders are worn down past specs, the chain is stretched or most likely, the nylon cam chain idler gear that the chain rides on, is worn down too far. Take note that there is a rubber roller 'gear' on the bottom side of the CCT assembly and it can be worn out too. The roller is not a gear in the fact that it has no teeth, it's simply a round smooth roller like a gear with no teeth. I show images of it below. You may have to buy the whole CCT assembly to get this roller if you need it, and not just a new CCT gear.
I've been told this lower roller is no longer available from Kawasaki, but ZED parts in the UK has a replacement part they sell for this as of 11/09 which they show on their site at -
zed-parts.com/CAM%20GUIDE%20WHEEL_INFO.html
The CCT gear should be checked every time the valve cover is off anyway. It sits in a place that's very easily seen just above the CCT assembly on the inside of the motor. There's some pictures of it below. Either way, if there's too much slack, then that's not good and your motor is probably due for some internal maintenance. Refer to your manual for the specs on the wear limits for these parts. Just a thought, but if you have this CCT problem, then a manual tensioner like the APE mentioned below, may possibly have more adjustment on it to take up the slack until you get time to dig into the motor to see what kind of problems you really do have. I haven't bought one before so I don't know if the adjustment rod on an APE will extend out longer than the OEM or ZX-11 unit, but it looks like it will.
As of 8/08 the ZX-11 CCT can still be purchased from your local Kawasaki dealer for about $75 - $85 and is the single most important 'preventive' reliability modification I know of on this engine. No one is saying that your engine won't run just fine with the original OEM tensioner in place. But rather that a great many have failed in the past, and the probability of yours failing is not worth the risk of a failure of this part considering the low cost of replacing it. The dire consequence we're referring to is a $1000 - $1500 valve job with new valves that, by the way, are NOT AVAILABLE TROUGH KAWASAKI ANYMORE as of 10/09!
Sometimes you hear unknown 'gear' noise for lack of a better description, when the CCT is starting to fail. Other times it runs fine with no problems today, and instantly fails tomorrow as soon as you start your motor. I had 3 motors for parts in my garage recently where tomorrow came unexpectedly too soon for some 1300 owners, and made a parts bike out of their ride.
Unfortunately, a valve job with new valves is more money than some owners feel their bike is worth. I was quoted $1200 by a reputable shop locally for a turnkey job. I could save quite a bit if I wanted to R&R the head myself and send it out, but how many of us can do that? Most of us can get a CCT installed by ourselves, or with a little help from a friend, and save ourselves a lot of grief and gain a little piece of mind in the process. Then we can feel a lot more confident out on the road when we get up in the higher RPM's, right!
More pictures of the ZX11 unit I took. Install the unit with the plunger
compressed, not extended as shown in these pictures. It's easy to
compress... just flip up the spring loaded ratchet on the end and push the
plunger all the way in. Install unit and tighten screws, THEN slip the
spring in, slide the rod inside the spring, and put the bolt on with the copper
washer.
Cam Chain Tensioner position versus Timing Chain Tensioner
I hope this eliminates all questions about where the yellow dot points to.
It points up and to the right slightly. You might say it points northeast.
Stock OEM tensioner with a lock bolt added
Although there's nothing wrong with using the original allen head screws on the
ZX-11 tensioner, if you're replacing the tensioner with the airbox and
everything in place, you might decide like I do to use hex head screws.
They're
a little easier to deal with when you put it back together.
If you decide to modify the stock tensioner as some have done in lieu of buying
a ZX-11 unit or an APE, here's the way I did it. I keep a few of these modified
original style tensioners around to drop in motors that I need to test fire.
I drill and tap a 3/8 coarse thread in the end. Make sure your bolt is long enough to take up the slack all the way to full extension if the tensioner ever goes that far. The way you use this setup is that you install the tensioner as the manual says and you run the bolt in by hand till it just touches the shaft inside and tighten the locknut. The same way I explain for the manual APE tensioner. After you run the motor you might double check it to make sure the tensioner hasn't extended in anymore and if so, take up the slack and retighten the locknut. The essence of this design is that the tensioner can't back off and throw slack in your chain if you keep it adjusted from time to time. Every 5000 miles or so you should double check it to make sure the tensioner hasn't extended in anymore and if so, take up the slack and retighten the locknut.
It takes some work to tap this thread, so I screwed the tensioner body to a block
of wood to keep it from moving. You can put it in a vise if you have one.
Only thing I really don't like about this mod is the fact that you only end up
with about 2 good threads once you've tapped it out because there's not enough
metal in the end to do more than that. Now you could tap a thread all the
way through the body of this thing, and eliminate the plunger altogether, use a
longer bolt and make it more like the APE below. Quite a bit more
difficult though to tap a thread all the way down the bore.
This is the stock screws that hold the upper cam chain guide on the valve
cover. The problem I have with this is that there's nuts on the other side
of these screws that should they come loose, could fall down in the engine.
I found some better hex head bolts with the correct threads, but by putting the
bolts through from the inside out with the nuts on the top of the valve cover
there's no way this is going to come apart without you seeing that the bolts are
loose far in advance of it ever becoming a real problem. Might not
look as good from the top, but I've known one engine so far that dropped a nut
inside and fell down between the cam chain and gear and ripped it apart.
Not good! I think I'll look at the nuts on top and not worry about it.
Here's the cam chain idler gear that gives us problems. I've seen these
worn so far down there was no nylon left to be seen! If you replace your
tensioner with a ZX-11 unit and it extends more than about 5 clicks when you put it in, check this gear.
Kawasaki Part # 21053-1004 fits ALL years 1300 including all years of the Voyager 1300!
Keep in mind these original 28 year old gears will be down to metal to metal contact by 35,000 - 40,000 miles or something in that range! Mine was almost to the metal at just under 40,000 miles, but I put a ZX-11 tensioner on at 20,000 miles which as I stated above, may of made it wear just a little faster than normal. Still, if you're buying a used bike, the condition of this gear is of PRIMARY IMPORTANCE! If you're buying a bike at anything between 30,000 - 50,000 miles or so, you need to be asking the seller about this nylon gear! If he doesn't know, then just assume the head needs to come off right now, and that's why he's selling the bike! If you get the valve cover off and see a new gear in there, then you're one of the lucky ones.
A lot of these bikes selling on ebay are going cheap because they need this gear replaced, and the seller may actual know that it needs it and not disclose it. Buyer beware! You should be asking what the compression is across all 6 cylinders as well. Low compression is another issue you want to know about up front if you're buying any used bike, and it's a common problem on these bikes because many times, owners just don't adjust the valves like they should. After you buy a 1300, first take care of this tensioner issue, and check the adjustment on your valves while you're there. Do these 2 things at the exact same time so you can observe the condition of you CCT gear with the valve cover off.
Part # 21053-1004
is labeled Cam Chain Sprocket in my database and part
# 16085-1009 a Timing Advancer Gear, (so I'm thinking 16085-1009 must be the gear behind the timing pickup assembly on a
79' or 80' model if you're looking at these numbers in a database). Here's some pictures of a new 21053-1004
called a 'Cam Chain Sprocket assembly' I bought from Kawasaki, and this is the part we
want. This gear has 25 years newer 'nylon technology', and holds up a
lot longer than the original gear did. Maybe 100,000 miles or more versus
40k on the original.
These are the other parts relative to the
Cam Chain Tensioner assembly. You've got a black roller here that the
chain also rolls against as we mentioned above, so you've got to take a close look at it and see how
bad it's worn. I don't see a part # on just that black rubber roller piece
because it's sold only as an assembly so I'm told with the metal cover part #
12053-1028
as a 'Chain Tensioner Guide'. The 2 little
square rubbers hold the whole assembly from moving around once you re-install
it, so these need to be replaced even if yours 'look' ok. These are part # 92075-232
called 'Idler Shaft
Dampers'. They're marked with an 'UP' side to them, so take care to
install them that way when you put them back in.
The metal shaft probably never needs replacing in normal use, but if it gets damaged or you loose it, they do show it under a separate part # 12052-005 as an 'Idler Shaft - Guide Roller'.
Here we have part # 12053-1024
'Cam Chain Guide Front' (long guides) and part #
12053-1025
'Cam Chain Guide Rear' (short guides).
New D.I.D. aftermarket Cam Chain available
from DID (Made by Daido Kogyo Co., LTD in Japan) part # SCR-0409 or
SCR-0412
referred to as a 'SDH Silent Chain'. It appears they have 2 numbers they
combined for the same part, or maybe it's part #
SCR-0409 / 0412, or
SCR-0409-0412, not sure which way you correctly state the number. These are being sold on ebay as of
11/2007 by ebay seller usa-motorcycles-inc
for $30 + $10 shipping in the USA.
Post
s from the FAQ pageQ: What options do I have to remedy the cam chain tensioner problem on the 1300’s?
A: I want to urge everyone to take timing chain noise VERY SERIOUSLY! This is another one of the very weak things on the 1300 and by far the most serious.
The cam chain tensioner on the 1300 was undoubtedly conceived by the same homeless ex- Honda technicians that came up with the solenoid fuel valve and the petcock.
It is an utter piece of crap and certainly out of character for team K. The tensioner is caged ball and shaft affair that is tensioned by a spring as it pushes on the sprocket that actually comes in contact with the chain.
In theory a good design. In practice, the balls dig into the shaft (wearing little grooves) and it becomes loose enough against the balls that it is able to back off.
And then the chain comes loose, usually, very suddenly. And then all hell breaks loose.
There is a very simple cure for all this. First, remove the tensioner from its perch next to the ignition timing chain tensioner, (the cam chain tensioner is the larger and more complex looking of the two). Then, for those of you living near the ocean, throw it in the same place you have to thrown the solenoid fuel valve and the petcock by now. The rest of you will have to dispose of it in more conventional ways. I have been using, with great success, a cam chain tensioner for a ZX11-C. The beauty of the installation is: it bolts right on! You want to install it with the arrow as close to the upright position as possible (don't worry, this is very obvious once you have it in your hand). You also want to remove the end cap and tension spring, collapse the tensioner by pulling back the ratchet tip, and simply bolt it on. Reinstall the spring and cap (slightly awkward as you are having to compress the spring as you turn the cap) and you are ready.
The ZX11 tensioner is of the positive ratchet type and is superior to the stocker in every way. I have over 60,000 miles on mine so far. One other thing... if you are having to remove the block for ring and piston service, always consider replacement of the rubber tensioner wheel that rides directly on the cam chain. I have seen these go hard and disintegrate, sending all the little pieces of rubber throughout the engine. Replacing it whenever you have the block off falls under the heading of cheap insurance. Paul Bezilla
Q: Where can I buy the ZX-11 tensioner for the best price?
A: You can order the part from any Kawasaki dealer as of 8/08, but you may save a few bucks by ordering online. On my links page you can find a link to Ron Ayers Motorsports and he may be about the cheapest I know of at $67.17 as of 5/07. There's also some sites - bikebandit.com and buykawasaki.com you can buy through among others.
Q: Can't I just put a longer bolt in the side of the stock Kawasaki tensioner, and lock the shaft in place adequately where it doesn't back off as one of your pictures show?
A: While it is possible to put a longer bolt in the side as you suggest, I don't think this is the way to go for a few reasons. #1) I don't know for sure that it will hold the rod in place securely or not. #2) There won't be any automatic adjustment to take up the slack as the CCT parts wear. #3) I've seen one done like this before but the CCT body was cracked. I'm guessing that the CCT was not designed to be stressed from pressure applied to the side like this or they over-tightened the bolt and cracked it. If it cracks while you're riding what will happen?
The upgrade is only $80. If that's too much right now you should think about modifying the stock one like I show. You'll still have to manually adjust the tensioner from time to time, but I think there's a better chance that the part will positively work for you and there's no guarantee on that. The piece looks like it's made out of pot metal. I use my modified stock ones to test run engines and that's it. The ZX-11 unit is a heavy duty part.
Conclusion: There have been 3 useable ideas presented by members on solving the tensioner problem.
#1) Install a tensioner from the Kawasaki ZX-11
Part # 12048-1113 (this
is the same as a ZZR1100 model I've been told that Kawasaki sells over in
Europe). I
paid $73.64 for the tensioner locally here in Houston, but some have paid as much as
$90 or more. Part # 11009-1858 is for the
gasket to mount it with. I paid $2.49 for the gasket. This is the best solution as it’s a bolt in replacement for your old unit and uses a spring loaded ratchet type design far superior to the original that will not loosen up.
It keeps the chain at the correct tension without the fear that it will back off and throw slack in the chain.
You just bolt it on and forget about it.
I don't know if there are other tensioners off other bikes
that might fit, etc, so there's no need to ask me. If you want to experiment with other parts and find
a better solution, then let us know what you find, and if it's good we'll post it
here.
#2) Install a manually adjustable tensioner like the
$46.75 kind offered by APE #
KT1050 -
Ebay Seller oicuride (sells APE tensioners on ebay for $45 + $5.55 shipping as of 12/07)
This unit is basically a bolt with a locknut arrangement that you tension manually at the same time you adjust your valves for example.
You need to be careful not to over tighten the chain as I mentioned above. Since it’s just a bolt that can’t back out once it’s locked into place, there’s no danger of slack in your chain as long as you keep it adjusted
properly. Since it doesn't use spring tension, it doesn't put constant pressure on your
OEM cam tensioner idler gear
which is a plus. Still, to get it adjusted properly, I really feel you should
have the valve cover off so you can confirm just how tight the chain is for
sure.
#3) The last option is to modify your stock tensioner by drilling a hole through the end of it, and tapping a thread to accept a bolt of acceptable size and length to be threaded into it.
In essence, you would thread a nut up on the bolt to use as a locknut, install the tensioner back in the engine and thread the bolt up just enough to keep the spring loaded rod inside from being able to back off.
Then tighten the locknut to keep the bolt from loosening. At this point, you would of modified your stock tensioner to work like a manual
tensioner described in #2, except that it can still tighten the chain some since
it's spring loaded, but it can only loosen a slight amount till it backs into your bolt and no more.
This is a cheap fix and I know some are running their engines with this mod, but I would opt for the ZX-11 unit any day.
I have some pictures above of how I modified one like this myself.
Although it is more difficult to do on the ZN models, the tensioner can be installed without removing the
upper or lower airbox on any year 1300
if you have the right tools. You have 2 allen head screws holding it on which need a 5mm allen wrench to get off.
On ZN1300 models, since you're working with a limited distance between the bolt heads of the CCT and airbox, I use a 1/4" drive ratchet with a 5mm socket and cut a piece of
an allen wrench off so that it only protrudes about 1/4" (7mm) from the end of the socket.
Even at that, you can only back the screws out about 2 turns before the ratchet backs into the airbox and gets wedged in place.
Just reach in from the right side of the bike with the
ratchet, break the screws loose one or two turns, slip the ratchet back out and take
the screws out with your fingers. On
KZ's you have more room to work with so you really don't need to cut the allen
wrench shorter.
Be sure to cover the crankcase vent hole (if you've pulled the hose off) while you're working in this area as you don't want to drop something inside your motor. To get the spring installed in the ZX-11 unit, I use a 12mm box ratchet, slip the nut inside the ratchet, with the spring and pin already in the tensioner; I work the nut over the spring, compress it using the ratchet to help position it square with the threads and tighten 1/4 turn and hope you caught a thread without cross threading it. The box ratchet helps you to square everything up as the spring has too much pressure on it to put the nut in with your fingers for most of us I'm guessing. It usually starts after a couple of tries. Main thing is not to cross thread it of course, but I've put on 5 of these this way so far and had no problem. There's no need to pull off the airbox or anything else and it's not as hard as it looks if you have the right tools to do it with.
On the fuel injected ZN1300 Voyager models, the last one I did without taking the fuel pressure regulator off, or bending it's bracket forward for better access, or pulling the upper airbox. I did everything the same as a KZ installation, but to compress the spring, I slipped a flat style crowbar/tire iron in from the right side, and in behind the box ratchet to push the nut up against the threads so I could get it started, because it's too tight to get your hands in there. I do the whole installation from the right side of the bike, even though it looks quite impossible at first glance. Still, unless you're experienced at threading things together, and can tell the difference whether the threads are starting correctly or not, you probably should pull the airbox so you have more room to work with. It's a lot of work to get the airbox out, but it's better than messing up the threads on a new tensioner. If your hands are too big, maybe you can find a friend to do it for you. Once you get your hand in there and slip the crowbar in place, there's very little room left to work in.
One the newer ZN models after 84' and on some ZG models I hear, they ran a short oil feed line into the CCT as a modification. I'm guessing this was their attempt to correct the CCT failure problem, but I don't know or even want to speculate on that. Personally, I've been replacing these style units with the same ZX-11 tensioner that we install on the KZ because we're still talking about major engine damage should it fail. All I do on these is cap the oil hole in the back of the motor with a shorter bolt of the same thread size where the oil line came off. The bolt you take out will be too long to put back in, but I do save the washer off the old bolt and put on the new bolt to keep it from leaking oil around the threads. If you loose track of the washer I think the original is brass, and this would be best probably to keep any oil from coming out when you cap off the oil line feed hole. A nylon washer may work OK too. This should be a metric threaded bolt, but I don't know the size or pitch of the threads right off hand. Try to hold on to your old one so you can match it up. david@kz1300.com
There's one other thing to take note of IF you have your valve cover off while you're working with this CCT issue as discussed above. Just below the CCT gear is your nylon water pump bevel gear. This is a great time to inspect that gear as well. The nylon water pump gear rides against a metal gear on the end of the water pump shaft and you can see it down below the idler gear. The nylon water pump gear tends to crack between the teeth.
You slowly turn the crankshaft with a wrench while you shine a light on that gear and check it all the way around. If your eyes aren't too good, here's a trick assuming you have a digital camera with a good LCD viewing screen. I place a light on the gear and zoom in with the camera, and I get a close up view of the gear on the screen. I can take snapshots at short intervals or even a short digital movie while I slowly turn the crank (assuming yours will record a short movie). Works like a charm! david@kz1300.com
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ONE SIDE NOTE:
When you have your valve cover off you can't drop anything down inside your motor!!! If you do you'll be crying, because the chances of you getting whatever fell in there back out without pulling the motor and splitting the cases is slim and none! If it's in the pan, you can pull the pan and that's not too bad. Your other option is using a magnet and try going on a fishing expedition from the top.
There is one other option, and that's to pull the alternator cover and/or the starter cover on either end of the crankshaft. There is a small oil drain opening on both sides where you can see the bottom of the crankshaft all the way across. If it's a valve shim you dropped, you may see it laying there and fish it out with a magnet. Lucky you!
NOTE: On these newer browsers I've noticed that they don't always display my large images in full size when you open an image from the thumbnails. Once you click the thumbnail and open the larger image, if you 'mouse over' the image you should see a " + " symbol or some other indicator like a box with arrows usually on the bottom right edge of the image. If you click on the indicator, then the image will expand to it's full size which displays full screen on computers that use a 800 x 600 resolution setting for the monitor. If you click the indicator again it will go back to the smaller image. Some people use a resolution setting of 1024 x 768 or higher on their monitors and for those users the images will appear smaller than full screen in size. You can change your monitor settings easily enough if you desire. Also, the indicator I've noticed is slow to appear even after the image appears to of completely loaded. The indicator in Netscape seems to be a lot faster to display than the one in Internet Explorer.
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