'86 ZL900 for sale

[ARCHIVE_Jarney]

Need opinions

Hello all,
Looks like I've still got a problem with my Eli. Here's the short version of the story. For the past 2 or 3 years I've had an overheating problem with the Eli in trafffic and slow speeds - city driving - which I do very little of. Last winter I decided to do a minor rebuild of the entire bike - almost everything except the motor was either rebuilt or replaced. Once done, I started to tackle the overheating problem. I ended up doing almost no riding last year and ran out of time and money on the overheating problem. Winter came and I put the Eli up for this winter hoping to do some more work on it here in a month or two. Today I went out to start the Eli and charge the battery as the weather was unusually nice. After letting the bike idle for a bit and running it up and down the driveway, I shut it off only to hear a bunch of sizzling - like when water is spilled on something very hot. After closer inspection, I found that my #1 and #4 plugs had some water in them - after sitting in a semi heated garage not running for about a month. Now, I know that when a valve cover gasket leaks you get oil in the spark plug cylinders (don't ask how I know this), so is it safe to say that water in the spark plug cylinders is a blown head gasket? This would explain at least part of my overheating problem. I didn't have time to check the oil for water - I had to put the Eli back in the garage and move on to another project while the weather was halfway nice out. Opinions on the head gasket requested. Thanks.

 

[ARCHIVE_Joker]

Could you be more specific on where you found the coolant? Was it just around the spark plug, or on top of the piston when you removed the spark plug?If it was just around the spark plug before you removed it I would look around at any of the coolant lines that run above the valve cover as it is probly just a leaky seal or hose. If the coolant was aroung the piston after you removed the spark plug you problems probly run deeper, like a head gasket or worse. definately check the oil for cooland though.
Miniking

 

[ARCHIVE_Jarney]

Location of water

Hello miniking,
When I said the ater was in the spark plug cylinder I meant it was in the cavity where the spark plug and spark plug boot go. There was no water on top of the valve cover. I did not have time to remove any of the spark plugs for inspection. I will check the oil when I get a chance. Later.

 

[ARCHIVE_Elimiboss]

Well Jarney here's the deal on this.... First I would hope that there is another reason for the water in the spark plug holes... Second if it truly is coolant in there you may have a major problem. You would have to crack the cylinder head for coolant to get through the cooling channels in the head to the spark plug holes. When plugs are installed, the spark plug holes are sealed from the cylinder and everything else. To test, empty the spark plug holes of water, crank her up and run her up to operating temp, then shut down and re-check to see if there is more coolant in there.

There may be a simpler explanation as well, however I don't know what it may be.

 

[ARCHIVE_Jarney]

possible explanation

Hello guys,
You are right Ethan, there may be a simpler explanation. I went out today and looked at the oil - it looks fine. I didn't do much riding last year and after thinking about it, one of the last times I rode, I came home from work in a downpour of rain. That would explain the water getting in and only being in the outside (#1 and #4) spark plug holes. Although it still seems strange - the bike has not had the usual "miss" that is associated with water or moisture in the spark plug holes. There also may still be a problem as the "sizzling" sound seemed to be under pressure. Maybe this was just due to the heat and steam created in the spark plug hole from the water boiling, pressurizing the spark plug hole with the spark plug boot on. Or maybe there is still some sort of leak - I'll fire it up again this weekend as the plug holes are dry now and the weather is supposed to be fairly warm this weekend (accompanied by rain of course). I'll let you know what I find out. Thanks for the replies.

 

[ARCHIVE_TheELIMINUTTER]

Hey Jarney, Would only cause a "Miss" if the water got High eneough to get to the Coil Wire.Do you have the Stock Plug Boots?? There should not be a Problem with water geting in there unless there Cracked or Dryrotted.Let me know what you Find, Later Rocky,.

 

[Guest]

Overheating

Jarney,

It's much more likely that you just had water in there from your wet ride, after all, you didn't specify if it was green or not. I'd take a straw or a piece of vacuum line with your finger on one end and get some of that water into a glass to see if it's water or coolant. I wouldn't recommend trying to suck it out unless you wanna look like a red-assed baboon. Your principle overheating may be two-fold. 1st chk your thermostat or just simply replace it if it's been in there awhile. 2nd if you'll inspect your lower radiator hoses & those to & from the water pump, you'll see that they run close to the exhaust in several areas, hence the overheating. I re-routed mine away from the exhaust using steel braided hoses & AN fittings.

 

[ARCHIVE_Joker]

Fuelr I don't suppose that you could post some close up pics of your line re routing. I have a problem with my temp light coming on in town, i.e. a lot of stop lights. But if you get moving with clean air for more than a block or two it goes out right away, Sometimes it will go out just sitting at a stoplight, Like the fan finally kicks on or something. Has any one here tried to use one of the aluminum Muzzy fans? Do they do any good? Or how can I get my fan to kick on at a slightly lower temp?
Thanks
Miniking

 

[Guest]

Overheating

Miniking,

I busted my digital cam, & am still finishing up the plumbing, but what I did is I tapped into the side of my water manifold tubing so as to have the coolant path exit to the left, instead of straight down & re-routed the hoses & metal tubing away from the exhaust. It's a pain to do & there's a bit of fab work involved, but it's worth it. You really can't tell what I mean till you remove the radiator & look at the lower front of the engine. Using that RedLine coolant helps to dissipate heat better also.

 

[ARCHIVE_Joker]

Hey Fuelr
Thanks for the information, When you get the camera fixed or replaced I would really like to see some more close up pictures of some of the modifications that you have made. Like the lines and some little stuff like that. Thanks
Miniking

 

[ARCHIVE_terry]

Do the 900/1000's have the holes in the side of the head to drain water out of the spark plug cavity. I know on the 600 if these holes become plugged, usually the boiling water will pop off one or more plug caps. At least thats what Kawasaki mechanics tell me.

 

[ARCHIVE_Jarney]

Replies and info

Hello all,
First off, thanks for the replies. I fired up the old girl again today, let it sit and idle for a while, and other than a small amount of moisture (looked most like normal condensation) there was no water in the spark plug holes. I guess and hope, that it was just that last rainy ride I had that filled the holes with water. Crossing my fingers and knocking on wood.

Rocky: Thanks for the info and no they are not the stock boots. I put on Accel coils and wires quite a while ago and the boots that came with the wires are in very good shape - been keeping them good and soft with Armor All.

fuelr: Unfortunately, I'm unable to tell where the water was coming from by going off of color. I spent most of the year working on the bike and once I started diving into the overheating problem, I was constantly draining and filling the radiator, so I opted for just using distilled water instead of the actual radiator coolant - to save a little money. Don't get me wrong, I've always kept good coolant in her during the riding season. As stated in the original post (I think), I replaced or rebuilt everything except the motor, so the thermostat and hoses (expensive) are brand new. Once I started looking at the overheating I also flushed out the radiator a couple of times with Prestone radiator flush, also had the water pump off to make sure that water was flowing through the system - aka no clogs. I also would love to see pics of your rerouting and fab work.

miniking: It sounds like your bike is doing exactly what mine is doing, only my temp light never comes on - it does work, I checked. The old girl gets hot in traffic and city driving, but once out on the open road (where I ride most) she cools right down. I've never tried one of the Muzzy fans. Several things you can do for your fan, you can install a switch for manual operation - aka when in traffic, occasionally turn the fan on manually, then shut it off when out on the open road and let the sensors take over. Or you could get a lower temp sensor and install. There was a post on one of the other forums I think of someone doing this or something like that. That's where I first heard/read about it. A ZX10 or 11 temp sensor is used - it is the same size, just a lower temp. I have one to install but have not yet done it and don't know how much good it will do - I'll let you know next summer. You could also try and find a lower temp thermostat - I have not had time to research that yet - something I would like to do someday.

terry: I don't think the 900's have those holes - not sure.

Thanks again everyone, I'll let you know if I run across anymore problems or solutions. Later.

 

[ARCHIVE_Joker]

Hey thanks for the input sorry I could not be more help
Miniking

 

[Michael121]

Have a buddy he has an 86 900 for sale. About 500.00 needs a set of rings and a head gasket is missing 1 chome side cover he gave up on parts searching.

The bike was running until a the rings. Contact me and I will try to hook you up.

It is in Cincinnati, Ohio USA as you would probably have to come get it. It has a clean title.

 

[wuputt]

Hey Michael,
Is this bike still in one piece?
I may be interested since it is only a couple hours away from me.
See if you can get me a pic or two.
Thanks
wuputt

 

[Michael121]

Got the engine apart some. Needs rings and head gasket.

Other than that it was running. It is purple. Missing 1 chrome side cover.

Cheap for a parts bike or rings and gasket.

 

[wuputt]

My son wants a 900, he just started a new job so money is tight right now. I told him about this bike and he is interested but will be a couple weeks before he has any spare cash. Keep me posted on this one.

 

[Michael121]

I'll talk to him he didn't need to sell it tomorrow. So I'll check and see what he says.

 

[puttputt]

Have a buddy he has an 86 900 for sale. About 500.00 needs a set of rings and a head gasket is missing 1 chome side cover he gave up on parts searching.

The bike was running until a the rings. Contact me and I will try to hook you up.

It is in Cincinnati, Ohio USA as you would probably have to come get it. It has a clean title.

i was just wondering if there is any way to get a pic or two of this bike if its still up for sale i may be interested in it i have been looking for a 900 for a while just havnt came by any deals let me know thanks. putput

 

[puttputt]

i was just wondering if there is any way to get a pic or two of this bike if its still up for sale i may be interested in it i have been looking for a 900 for a while just havnt came by any deals let me know thanks. putput