fitting alloy cam end plugs

[steve big zed]

fitting alloy cam end plugs ,can anyone tell me if i need to put any sealant ? on them first does the cam cover gasket fit dry.And what type of sealant is best please thanks .

[chrisu]

YES

a thin smear of silicone sealer or kawabond.

[z1000puddin]

Steve,
I hope you went with ape ones, as some of the evil bay alloy end plugs are not the best fit (found out the hard way)

But yes def, use sealant, I used kawabond

stu

[chrisNI]

Use sealant for sure, but even the APE ones might not fit straight out of the packet - had a chat with Jeff Saunders about this recently he said there can be quite a difference in the depth of the heads from manufacturing you might need to take a fraction off the top of them to make sure they're flush. I need to revisit mine they're leaky think the gasket hasn't quite seated...

[z1000puddin]

Chris,
Mine did leak to start with,
I ended up filing for about 20 minutes (In/Out/In/Out ):cry:
Till I got it right, No leaks since, So advice is to take it a little at a time.

Stu

[steve big zed]

thanks top men apprecaite that

[PAULJAC47]

Steer clear i say,stick to the rubber jobs as others have said, many are a poor fit with no real advantage and you could end up damaging your head!

[chrisNI]

Steer clear i say,stick to the rubber jobs as others have said, many are a poor fit with no real advantage and you could end up damaging your head!

The point is the metal ones are all the one size the line boring in the heads isn't so the rubber ones will squash in and seal. The metal ones are cool though as long as they're black.... not keen on blue ones or say, pink

[KeithZ1R]

In the absence of a mill It's easier scraping ally with a old 30 mm machine shop hacksaw blade edge ground flat providing you don have too much to remove , files tend to clog

[CAT3]

I've had mine in for around 18 years now without any problem, admitedly I had them made at a local machine shop & then I adjusted them to fit. Then had them anodised.
Because they have a groove in they can never come out unless the cam cover is removed, unlike the original rubber items which fell out on my way to France.
Do the APE ones & other have a groove or are they the same as the rubber items ?

[scott reid]

Mine were supplied with little lengths of rubber seals. I didnt use any sealant and always fit gaskets dry... each to their own

[Ginger Bear]

If it's not too late, I'd suggest that you thoroughly degrease both surfaces with a quick wipe of brake cleaner before applying sealant. If you really want to go 'Belt & Braces' then you could give both surfaces a 'Key' with some scotchbrite or something similar.
APE items have a 'flange' on both sides, so they cant get 'sucked in' or 'Blown out'.

[robert]

Here's a tip, put them in reverse so the never blow out, it's a trick of the trade. Was done to my 900 20 years ago and never a problem. The guy that worked on my bike used to drag race z's and gs's way back out on Long Island NY.....Vinnie was his name, he ran Corona Cycles in Queens...a Jamaican lad.....

[Jeff Saunders]

Fitment is usually down to the individual head. The cam line boring is rarely a perfect intersection of the caps and head - consequently the half moon cutouts can sit high or low - and rarely perfect...

I struggled with these on my turbo Z1, and found with that head, the cutout sat very high - to the tune of nearly 20 thou.

If you put the plug in dry and put a ruler across the top, it's usually darned obvious when they sit high or low. If they sit high, you can carefully remove the surplus using a very flat surface and some fine wet/dry paper with light oil on it.

If they sit low, you must use a goo to fill the hole.

We had ours made with an o-ring channel to give a little squish. While even that can't handle all the variation, although it's far better than the solid billet version.

[chrisNI]

We had ours made with an o-ring channel to give a little squish. While even that can't handle all the variation, although it's far better than the solid billet version.

When I need another set for the next oneI think I'll get a set of yours instead of APE ones Jeff...