Author Topic: What to do with this thread.  (Read 8485 times)

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Interceptor398

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What to do with this thread.
« on: January 15, 2015, 08:56:31 AM »
This thread will be for tips and tricks to resurect your Kawasaki sled back to being a reliable rider.  Good Luck

mswyka

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Re: What to do with this thread.
« Reply #1 on: January 18, 2015, 04:00:53 PM »
I want to give this topic quite a bit of consideration before beginning to post.  But I am thinking that even before Jim yells "Crankseals" that every Kawasaki owner should own or have access to the correct manual for their sled.
Intruders:  1978, 1979, 1981 Custom (Pink)
Invaders:   1980 440
Projects:    1981 Invader 440

kawhead

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Re: What to do with this thread.
« Reply #2 on: January 19, 2015, 08:22:30 AM »
imo  if you clean the fuel system and carbs and it won't run right quit jacking around and put in crank seals......can't count how many threads that will solve ::)

Boomologist

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Re: What to do with this thread.
« Reply #3 on: January 19, 2015, 11:36:21 AM »
Totally agree about crank seals.
For the new Kawasaki sled owner:
   Kawasaki engines are an amazing engineering design with extremely close tolerances. They won't survive long or run right if things get out of spec. It's very important to get a genuine Kawasaki manual and read and follow it for whichever system of your sled you're working on.
   Another huge issue with old engines is fuel, primer and oil lines. So many times the old and (sometimes hard) lines are reused. Most of the time when an old line is put back on the nipple it won't seal and will allow air in plus sometimes when the old line is forced on it will loose small chunks of rubber that will go into the carb or oil system and plug up some small port. Both air leaks and plugged ports = lean cylinder or no oil = meltdown.
Be sure to use new lines of proper material and size.

Boomologist

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Re: What to do with this thread.
« Reply #4 on: January 19, 2015, 11:43:52 AM »
Would also like to see a posting about oil pump vs. pre-mix. Should make for some great debate.

Interceptor398

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Re: What to do with this thread.
« Reply #5 on: January 19, 2015, 02:07:25 PM »
I copied this post from Mark over to this thread to get this rolling.  Maybe this thread should be in sections like engine, oil injection, lubrication, suspension etc???  I will try to clean up and combine the posts to keep them on subject and helpfull with trouble shooting a "new to you" sled.  This will take some time but all suggestions are welcome!

mswyka
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 Re: Running premix instaed of pump
« Reply #5 on: January 09, 2015, 07:13:16 AM »QuoteModifyRemoveSplit TopicWe have purchased, and been given, multiple Kawasaki sleds over the course of the past decade.  After reviewing the information provided with each sled and performing our own forensic analysis we find a fairly familiar theme related to oil management and engine operation.  This is the way we believe it plays out:

1.  Kawasaki sleds are susceptible to crank seal failure. 
2.  The owner either does not know about this or is not willing to believe that this is the case.  They find that they lose compression and then see the top of the piston and the top ring chewed up and assume that there was not enough oil to keep things lubricated.
3.  They don't have a clutch puller and therefore cannot take the engine out of the chassis so they only replace the pistons.
4.  Again assuming a lack of oil they assume oil pump failure and switch to pre-mix only to have the problem repeat itself. 
5.  The sled sits for a year or two or more before it comes to us.  Tearing the engine down the first thing we see is that the crank seals are shot - usually the mag side, but every once in a while the PTO side.

It is a very sad story, but one that seems to repeat itself all too often.  The long and the short of this tale is that we have found the Kawasaki engine and its oil injection system to be extremely reliable.  We have also learned that every engine that we take in needs to be torn down, inspected and rebuilt to factory specification before attempting to use it.  Any time we have been tempted to take short cuts we have had engine failure.  Each time we cover all the bases we build engines that run, and continue to run reliably season after season.
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« Last Edit: January 19, 2015, 02:13:54 PM by Interceptor398 »

mswyka

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Re: What to do with this thread.
« Reply #6 on: January 19, 2015, 08:18:54 PM »
If I can find some free time I will try to do a step by step disassembly of the oil pump with better photos.
Intruders:  1978, 1979, 1981 Custom (Pink)
Invaders:   1980 440
Projects:    1981 Invader 440

mswyka

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Re: What to do with this thread.
« Reply #7 on: January 20, 2015, 08:28:31 AM »
In the tool department there are a few specialty tools other than a good socket set that make owning and working on these sleds much more convenient.  URLs included for reference. 

1.  Clutch Puller Tool for Primary Clutch - Best if used with pneumatic impact tool - https://www.denniskirk.com/parts-unlimited/clutch-puller-kawasaki.p28146.prd/28146.sku

2.  Harmonic Balancer Puller to pull the flywheel - http://www.sears.com/craftsman-harmonic-balancer-puller/p-00947626000P?sid=IDx01192011x000001&kpid=00947626000&kispla=00947626000P&kpid=00947626000&mktRedirect=y  You will need to buy 3 - 8mm bolts to fit the flywheel grade 8.8 is ok but will bend.  Recommend grade 10.9
 
3.  Bearing Splitter to pull bearings and oil pump gear off of crank - http://www.amazon.com/OTC-1123-Bearing-Splitter-4-5/dp/B0002SR46I

4.  Compression Gauge
Intruders:  1978, 1979, 1981 Custom (Pink)
Invaders:   1980 440
Projects:    1981 Invader 440

kawhead

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Re: What to do with this thread.
« Reply #8 on: January 20, 2015, 10:13:41 AM »
add a spark tester to the list,just an adjustable gap type.

jimvw57

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Re: What to do with this thread.
« Reply #9 on: January 20, 2015, 01:03:29 PM »
sorry, have not been around lately, my sleds are gone.  another tool that is good to have is the carb balancing tool. It can be the homemade one described in http://kawasakitrax.com/kawiforum/index.php?topic=10.0 It makes a big difference when the carbs are both pulling the same amount.

and just for you mswyka, Crank Seals,  Crank Seals,  Crank Seals !!

kawhead

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Re: What to do with this thread.
« Reply #10 on: January 20, 2015, 04:29:26 PM »
 :)i feel better now ,thanks jim 8)