Regrettable Engine strip down !!!! I think " Follow up". But it's not over.

z13phil wrote:

Thanks again Kawboy. Plateau hone ? 


 

Plateau honing involves using a rough stone like a 150 grit to bring the cylinder to within .0005" of desired finished size and then finishing the honing with a fine grit like 500 to smooth out all the peaks that got left from the 150 grit. What it leaves is a very smooth finish for the piston and rings to run on and some intermediate grooves to carry oil for lubricating. Google search Plateau honing and see what comes up. It's a very interesting read. The benefits out weigh the slightly increased cost to have it done this way.

  Hi Guys, this has only covered about 80 miles since the top end re build.  Head gasket and valve stem seals were changed. Compression fine, excessive smoke when started and didn't go away when on a run. After ten miles all plugs black with oil and soot.  
When im talking white smoke, really bad. especially on the left hand side. Also oil coming out of the exhaust on the left hand side. Build up of oil on the cylinder walls,  even in the indents on the top of the pistons.
As Kawboy told me the bores may be oval ? but I've checked the bore dimensions, side to side and front to back. All within tolerance. 
 So looking where to go next !!!! someone on the site said in the past , this may be  worn valve stems. But how would the oil bypass the new seals ? no soot in the cylinders  or pistons. Just as you see in the picture, around some valves and not others.
Another idea, Oil rings on the piston ??? before i owned the bike think it stood for 10 years or more. It has always smoked, but nowhere as bad as the last top end re build.

Sorry 'bout your situation !

If your head gasket was from "BRIXAMOTO"  or  "ITALIANMETALS" you were doomed from the very beginning !
This is a BRIXAMOTO:
www.kz1300.com/forum/engines/4405-gettin...ket-that-works#33816

A piece of metal window screen sandwiched between two pieces of cereal-box cardboard, 6 bean-can rings and a tube of silicone and voila; you're in production....just like ITALIANMETALS and BRIXAMOTO.  You'll have a better head gasket  !!!!
Need a Head Gasket.  SUCK IT UP and use a KAWASAKI OEM !     
 

"A picture is worth a 1000 words"

A couple of thoughts here. Looking at the pic i see carbon build up on the center intake valve and on all 3 squish band areas inside of the fire ring on the head gasket. I'm going to suggest that if you look at the back side of that center intake valve, you're going to see wet carbon build up on the back side of the valve and that's a sure sign of oil being sucked in from the valve stem. Even if the valve stem seals are subtle, if the valve stem to valve guide clearance is excessive, the valve will wobble in the stem and allow the oil to creep past the seal. Bear in mind that under most riding conditions, the intake tracks are under a vacuum and the oil is going to follow the path of least resistance and get pulled into the intake.
The other 2 cylinders likely suffer from the same issue but not to the extent that the middle 1 is suffering. There's a spec in the manual for checking the valve stem clearance on page 176. if using the "wobble method" it only allows for .23mm  (.009") as a service limit. a new valve in a new guide would probably not wobble more than .1mm (.004").

You mentioned "white smoke"  usually indicative of burning coolant. Does the smoke smell like burning oil or does it smell sweet? if it smells sweet it's a coolant issue likely a head gasket issue. Lot s of reports on the site with head gaskets failing if using the aftermarket gaskets mentioned. Looking at the OEM gasket and comparing it to the aftermarket ones, the OEM has silicone sealant applied around the water jacket ports to guarantee a good seal and for most of the guys doing a cylinder head Re & Re it's probably the best way to go even if it's not cheap. You get what you pay for.

scotch wrote:

Sorry 'bout your situation !

If your head gasket was from "BRIXAMOTO"  or  "ITALIANMETALS" you were doomed from the very beginning !
This is a BRIXAMOTO:
www.kz1300.com/forum/engines/4405-gettin...ket-that-works#33816

A piece of metal window screen sandwiched between two pieces of cereal-box cardboard, 6 bean-can rings and a tube of silicone and voila; you're in production....just like ITALIANMETALS and BRIXAMOTO.  You'll have a better head gasket  !!!!
Need a Head Gasket.  SUCK IT UP and use a KAWASAKI OEM !     

Hi Scotch, this was a genuine kawasaki 

 

Hi Kawboy, thanks for the info just sent you a reply. then lost all the text ! with a message this is a old post. I will see if this gets to you then try again later.