Z1OwnersClub GB

Is it possible to remove the head and barrels from the engin while its still in the bike its a 900a4

cheers in advance

barrie

Barrie, Yes. I'm about to do so on my Rickman. I had the head off it two years ago with no clearance issues. Slightly different fame of course but if anything mine was a bit tighter in clearances than the standard Zed. So you should be ok. Get some Gunk in a hand spay, douse the engine block and take it to the local jet wash. get it all clean before dismantling particularly round the base gasket area. Rubber mallet to loosen and off she pops. Catch the cam chain and tie up on the frame rails out the way. Get clean rags round those conrods and protect the bottom end from ingress of any residual muck and grime. Make sure you have all the parts you need before you start. Get a torque wrench...Good Luck.

I have a 1981 Z1000J. Had no problems removing head and barrels in frame. Had to remove ignition coils to get clearance and I think the biggest hassle is removing the carbs which are a very tight fit. I would endorse Rickmans comments about cleaning the engine first. Of course I rushed in without doing that and then spent some time picking up small stones etc out of the crank area. Other than my comment about pulling the carbs out being the hardest work, the next pain is cleaning the residual base gasket off the cases without allowing fragments to drop in. Lots of wrags and plenty of patience helps but those jap gaskets are sometime #### to remove. Slight tap with the rubber mallet on the block was enough to remove. There are small prying spots on either sice of the block into which a flat bladed screw driver can be put but I have not found that necessary on the two Z's I have pulled down

As the two guys before have said it is possible. I did it on my Z900 A4. The only bit that was a bit tight for room was the cam cover. Once the head and carbs are off there is bags of room.

But remove the plug leads first though, and tank,and exhaust, haha, sorry.

Very good Ash, but you're right. Amazing what you miss when your all set to get stuck in about it. I recall from a few years back (1981? jeez...?) me and a mate struggled to get my complete engine out and then noticed the clutch cable was still attached....what a fud....lol

I've currently got the head, barrels, carbs etc of my A4 with the engine in situ, for cam chain running gear replacement.

As pointed out by previous poster getting the carbs off was the hardest part, I was sure I was going to damage something.

The Kawasaki shop manual was really helpful:-

"Loosen the four intake manifold clamps and the four air cleaner hose clamps, and pull the carburetors off to the rear"

Yeah, right, I don't think so!!

Has anyone got any tips for getting the carbs back on?

Andy

Easest way is with the airbox in place push carbs back on with clamps lose , then get a heat gun warm each rubber up and roll the ends of the rubber back so as to give a little room to work um back onto the carbs, and there u have it,As above you do the same taking um off,

(Edited by ash at 7:55 pm on June 6, 2006)

Best way to remove any stuck gaskets is to apply Nitromores paint stripper, leave it on overnight and then when you wake next morning the gasket will be all soft,you can then remove with a blunt scraper. Take care if you have the black painted crank cases !

You cam remove the old gasket with a scarper...BUT, use something softer than the casings.. such as stiff plasic or copper pipe flattened.. The copper works well for stubborn bits and doesn't damage casing surfaces if care is taken.

Personally I use a stanley knife blade (without the knife)and just slice it off the mating surface by hand

If you lick it very gently for about 4 hours Ive found it comes off a treat with no damsge what so ever to the mating surfaces. Oops wrong web site .

The best approach I found to getting the gasket off the cases and block was to get the wife to do it. Having her frequently mention "Quality time" I invited her to the garage, presented her with the parts and the scraper and set her to it, whilst I dealt with the more taxing head assembly work. Hasn't been seen since and the whinging about garage time has ceased. Did a good job too, just like one of her aluminimum saucepans, not that I am too familiar with them!

Testing one, two, three.
RegardZ