SoCal ZX-14 Rider
Expert Class
Posts: 351
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posted October 21, 2006 10:01 AM
Oil Leak from left side of valve cover
Well I remember reading a thread from a couple guys that experienced a film of oil along the left side of their fairing only to discover that it was an oil leak from the valve cover.
I searched for the thread but cant find it.
Anyone else finding this leak?
I have 8600 miles on mine and 2 days ago I smelt something burning coming from the head pipe area. There was a small amount of oil above the left pipe and thick black goo thats looks something like permagasket on the hoses on the inside of the fairing running down the hoses about 4 inches.
I havent taken my bike in for the 7500 mile service which includes valve adjustment. I am wondering if the valve adjustment could cause this leak. If the valves weren't fully closing on the compression stroke could there be pressure in the valve cover area that could force oil through the gasket?
I am also worried that if the valves are out of adjustment I could burn a valve.
The bike still pulls like brand new so I didn't think I needed to get it down there right at 7500 miles. I think they get about $600 for the service.
What do you guys think?
.
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stevewfl
Moderator
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posted October 21, 2006 10:13 AM
Hi, That was me that had the oil leak. Exact symptoms as you describe, oil on the left fairing on the outside, goo on the inside. The valve cover (they called it "head" cover gasket) was replaced, and four O-rings. Haven't seen a prob since they completed the work.
Hey please don't let the dealer jerk you around such as they did me on the warranty work. They gave my bike back oily and trashed after I asked them 3 times to correct it. But thats another issue I'm working with the GM and KHI consumers services and KHI Warranty department.
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2010 Concours14
'08 R1 YAMAHA
ZX14 gone!
CBR600RR track bike
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SoCal ZX-14 Rider
Expert Class
Posts: 351
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posted October 21, 2006 11:13 AM
If you need me to send pics to them to prove there may be a recall issue let me know. I hate to give my bike to the shop, everytime I do they say " well this is the first oil change or scheduled maintanence we've ever done on one of these" they didn't even have a manual on the 14 so they would ask for my operators manual to see what they were supposed to do. It wasn't even a shop manual!
Did you have to take your bike back to them over and over?
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Bently
Needs a life
2012 14r In Blue and no Mods!
Posts: 5428
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posted October 21, 2006 11:16 AM
Gee we are a small dealer and we had the shop manual long before the bike came in.
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ninja14
Pro
Posts: 1136
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posted October 21, 2006 11:23 AM
I put up a thread on that long ago.............on another site - and I know you saw it there :-)
I'll be doing valves soon........so I will solve it.
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serius blk
Zone Head
Posts: 543
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posted October 21, 2006 11:44 AM
yes i to am dealing with the same problem. I tried to tighten the valve cover just in case they were loose. Still have the same problem. I dont know if the warranty will still cover it even though i have a pipe and mods. I dont want to get screwed by the dealer either. I asked a dealer at highlands kaw. He told me they would do the work with no problem if i would have gotten it from them. I still need to talk to my dealer. I havent looked at the warranty yet. I dont know if it states the warranty work can be done at any dealership.
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Bently
Needs a life
2012 14r In Blue and no Mods!
Posts: 5428
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posted October 21, 2006 11:50 AM
You can have the warranty work done at any kawasaki dealer without a problem. Some dealers will put you on the back burnner if you did not purcahse it from them, but they still have to honor the warranty.
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stevewfl
Moderator
Posts: 27920
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posted October 21, 2006 12:12 PM
quote:
yes i to am dealing with the same problem. I tried to tighten the valve cover just in case they were loose. Still have the same problem. I dont know if the warranty will still cover it even though i have a pipe and mods. I dont want to get screwed by the dealer either. I asked a dealer at highlands kaw. He told me they would do the work with no problem if i would have gotten it from them. I still need to talk to my dealer. I havent looked at the warranty yet. I dont know if it states the warranty work can be done at any dealership.
The pipe/PC didn't pose a problem for mine being repaired under warranty.
____________
2010 Concours14
'08 R1 YAMAHA
ZX14 gone!
CBR600RR track bike
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SoCal ZX-14 Rider
Expert Class
Posts: 351
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posted October 21, 2006 01:22 PM
Anyone know if the valve adjustment not being done at 7500 could pose a problem in regards to the valves not seating well. I cant believe it does but Im trying to not rule anything out. If the valves are in need of adjustment would there be a obvious drop in power?
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serius blk
Zone Head
Posts: 543
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posted October 21, 2006 01:26 PM
I dont know about that. I do know that the oil leak most be one of those kaw problems. They should do a recall for that problem. Since more than one bike has had it.
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zx12mark
Pro
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posted October 21, 2006 10:38 PM
zx12r's did the same thing.
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INTIMIDA2OR
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posted October 21, 2006 10:50 PM
 Edited By: INTIMIDA2OR on 21 Oct 2006 23:52
quote:
Anyone know if the valve adjustment not being done at 7500 could pose a problem in regards to the valves not seating well. I cant believe it does but Im trying to not rule anything out. If the valves are in need of adjustment would there be a obvious drop in power?
Looks like you are gonna be the guinea pig on this one 
Basically if your valves are ticking badly then a slight performance drop will be noticed.
On the other hand if they are too tight then the rider tends to rev higher to get the power out of it and idle quaility and low speeds usually suffer ill running.
But none of that should cause a valve cover gasket to blow out .
Perhaps something in the crankcase ventilation system failed allowing high crankcase pressures?
There are 4 ZX14's in my neighborhood including mine and none of them yet has a leak of any kind.
BTW socal, are you riding with us sunday???
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'06 Passion Red ZX-14
*Lee*
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SoCal ZX-14 Rider
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posted October 23, 2006 08:32 AM
quote:
quote:
Anyone know if the valve adjustment not being done at 7500 could pose a problem in regards to the valves not seating well. I cant believe it does but Im trying to not rule anything out. If the valves are in need of adjustment would there be a obvious drop in power?
Looks like you are gonna be the guinea pig on this one
Basically if your valves are ticking badly then a slight performance drop will be noticed.
On the other hand if they are too tight then the rider tends to rev higher to get the power out of it and idle quaility and low speeds usually suffer ill running.
But none of that should cause a valve cover gasket to blow out .
Perhaps something in the crankcase ventilation system failed allowing high crankcase pressures?
There are 4 ZX14's in my neighborhood including mine and none of them yet has a leak of any kind.
BTW socal, are you riding with us sunday???
I need to get this thing fixed before I do any more hi-rev tire-tearing pipe-flamin helmet-jerkin jacket-rippin glove-twistin boot-scraping car-scarin cop-ditchin brain-screamin nut-shrinkin weekends with you guys. lol
I would still like you to give me a hand with the flys thou if you dont mind spending some time in your (or my) garage on a saturday in the future, I always appreciate having a real bike mechanic around for the tediuos stuff.
Right now is my busiest time of year, just trying to find the time to tear the bike down to look at what its gonna take to fix this may take weeks. I usually only take the bike in for warrenty work or if they got a tool I dont own.
Keep posting the Sunday rides, I need to get out of here soon.
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ninja14
Pro
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posted October 23, 2006 11:08 AM
quote:
I need to get this thing fixed before I do any more hi-rev tire-tearing pipe-flamin helmet-jerkin jacket-rippin glove-twistin boot-scraping car-scarin cop-ditchin brain-screamin nut-shrinkin weekends with you guys. lol
I would still like you to give me a hand with the flys thou if you dont mind spending some time in your (or my) garage on a saturday in the future, I always appreciate having a real bike mechanic around for the tediuos stuff.
Since I can't ride right now you can come by and we can get you fixed.............I'm in Culver City.
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INTIMIDA2OR
Needs a life
RED rider!
Posts: 13081
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posted October 23, 2006 02:48 PM
quote:
I need to get this thing fixed before I do any more hi-rev tire-tearing pipe-flamin helmet-jerkin jacket-rippin glove-twistin boot-scraping car-scarin cop-ditchin brain-screamin nut-shrinkin weekends with you guys. lol
I would still like you to give me a hand with the flys thou if you dont mind spending some time in your (or my) garage on a saturday in the future, I always appreciate having a real bike mechanic around for the tediuos stuff.
Right now is my busiest time of year, just trying to find the time to tear the bike down to look at what its gonna take to fix this may take weeks. I usually only take the bike in for warrenty work or if they got a tool I dont own.
Keep posting the Sunday rides, I need to get out of here soon.
No problem , we ride every weekend and i will keep posting rides in case anybody wishes to join us !
And yes we need to plan a saturday to pull them flies out cause you've had them in much too long
How this Sat the 28th sound?
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'06 Passion Red ZX-14
*Lee*
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SoCal ZX-14 Rider
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posted October 24, 2006 09:02 AM
quote:
quote:
I need to get this thing fixed before I do any more hi-rev tire-tearing pipe-flamin helmet-jerkin jacket-rippin glove-twistin boot-scraping car-scarin cop-ditchin brain-screamin nut-shrinkin weekends with you guys. lol
I would still like you to give me a hand with the flys thou if you dont mind spending some time in your (or my) garage on a saturday in the future, I always appreciate having a real bike mechanic around for the tediuos stuff.
Right now is my busiest time of year, just trying to find the time to tear the bike down to look at what its gonna take to fix this may take weeks. I usually only take the bike in for warrenty work or if they got a tool I dont own.
Keep posting the Sunday rides, I need to get out of here soon.
No problem , we ride every weekend and i will keep posting rides in case anybody wishes to join us !
And yes we need to plan a saturday to pull them flies out cause you've had them in much too long
How this Sat the 28th sound?
Sounds good to me, I dont have the PCIII yet is this gonna cause any problems with heat?
Dont wanna burn a valve or a piston.
____________
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INTIMIDA2OR
Needs a life
RED rider!
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posted October 24, 2006 01:29 PM
quote:
quote:
quote:
I need to get this thing fixed before I do any more hi-rev tire-tearing pipe-flamin helmet-jerkin jacket-rippin glove-twistin boot-scraping car-scarin cop-ditchin brain-screamin nut-shrinkin weekends with you guys. lol
I would still like you to give me a hand with the flys thou if you dont mind spending some time in your (or my) garage on a saturday in the future, I always appreciate having a real bike mechanic around for the tediuos stuff.
Right now is my busiest time of year, just trying to find the time to tear the bike down to look at what its gonna take to fix this may take weeks. I usually only take the bike in for warrenty work or if they got a tool I dont own.
Keep posting the Sunday rides, I need to get out of here soon.
No problem , we ride every weekend and i will keep posting rides in case anybody wishes to join us !
And yes we need to plan a saturday to pull them flies out cause you've had them in much too long
How this Sat the 28th sound?
Sounds good to me, I dont have the PCIII yet is this gonna cause any problems with heat?
Dont wanna burn a valve or a piston.
You don't have an aftermarket exhaust installed do you ?
Should be fine with with the stockers unless you are hamfisted with the thing at 2000 rpm's 
My dad and our buddy with daily rider 14's are running no PCIII's and are waiting to get their full systems before getting their PCIII's.
I've seen no sign of heat damage on the plugs .
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'06 Passion Red ZX-14
*Lee*
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SoCal Zx-14 Rider
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posted October 25, 2006 08:00 AM
Ok, I might have to take the bike in for warranty work for the leak, will having the fly's out void the warranty you think?
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INTIMIDA2OR
Needs a life
RED rider!
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posted October 25, 2006 01:31 PM
quote:
Ok, I might have to take the bike in for warranty work for the leak, will having the fly's out void the warranty you think?
Depends on what your dealer called illegal.
Mine said any mod short of going internally is ok and will not void warranty.
On the other hand like many i've heard of where an aftermarket exhaust of any kind will void you then it's safe to say flies out then would void you!
They'll have to physically check too .
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'06 Passion Red ZX-14
*Lee*
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stevewfl
Moderator
Posts: 27920
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posted October 25, 2006 01:49 PM
After-market exhaust and PCIII on mine didn't void the warranty, and the oil leak was repaired at no charge. The service man laughed when he saw I was concerned about the topic. Flies-out, I have no experience to share and prefer not to speculate and assume.
Maybe ask the dealer is a good option. Maybe even "call" and ask, in case you need to pop the flies back in hehe
____________
2010 Concours14
'08 R1 YAMAHA
ZX14 gone!
CBR600RR track bike
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ninja14
Pro
Posts: 1136
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posted October 25, 2006 03:51 PM
It is illegal to deny warranty unless a failure is caused by the mod...............but what can you do if they say no.......
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SoCal ZX-14 Rider
Expert Class
Posts: 351
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posted October 26, 2006 07:56 AM
quote:
It is illegal to deny warranty unless a failure is caused by the mod...............but what can you do if they say no.......
Ya, I will call, disguise me voice...........these guys know me. I still want the flys out so Intimida2or are we on for Sat.? I sent you a PM with my phone number.
____________
If I'm not riding her, I'm dreaming about riding her! Mount up!
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ninja14
Pro
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posted October 26, 2006 08:13 AM
I can help you w/ the flies Sat if you like...........I live over near LAX
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INTIMIDA2OR
Needs a life
RED rider!
Posts: 13081
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posted October 26, 2006 12:38 PM
quote:
quote:
It is illegal to deny warranty unless a failure is caused by the mod...............but what can you do if they say no.......
Ya, I will call, disguise me voice...........these guys know me. I still want the flys out so Intimida2or are we on for Sat.? I sent you a PM with my phone number.
Just checked my pm.
Ring ya later !
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'06 Passion Red ZX-14
*Lee*
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Jim K
Expert Class
Posts: 141
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posted October 28, 2006 12:46 PM
Valve adjustments are at 15,000 miles.
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