Hi guys,

So I started the tear down for the 351cc install on my bike and decided i would check the valve clearance once the cover was off and before i got any further...

Any way I put the "T" mark at the correct location on the alternator cover grove and it looks like my cams might be 180 degrees out????? The timing marks don’t look correct and the lobe on the intact appears to be 180 degrees out. doesnt look like it should in this post https://www.kawasakiforums.com/forum...acement-35136/

Can you guru's take a look at this picture and give me your thoughts?

Ill add that the bike is an 06 AU model with 3,000klm’s on it which I have bought 2nd hand a couple of years back with only 100klms on the clock so as far as I am aware the valves have never been checked. Bike runs fine so I am not sure????

Thanks for your help I am sure one of you will be able to either see what’s wrong or tell me what I am doing wrong....

 

The crankshaft goes around twice every time the cams go around once. Try giving your motor one more rotation and your cams should line up at TDC.

 

ive rotated it a number of times now and each time I line up the "T" i get the same result.

Ill add that this is what my "T" mark looks like and im pretty sure its correct...



Note: that this isnt actually a picture of my bike because I couldnt get a good photo of the "T" so I borrowed this picture.

 

Like akarob posted, you CAN'T get the same results by turning the crank 360 degrees.

Ride on
Brewster

 

You are at TDC, but on the exhaust stroke. Turn the crank ONE more turn and the cams will be right.

This is the intake.



You can't take a valve lash measurement on the exhaust stroke.

Cams turn half what the crank does, so for every 2 turns of the crank, the cams turn once.

David

 

OK thanks guys ill try that... Sorry must have had a brain fart working on it late last night... im sure i tried one more rotation but couldnt find the "T" mark.... ill be giveing her another go today so hopefully it was just my stupidity...

 

Watch the cams and then look for the T.

Spark plug out, only turn engine forward. If you pass the T, go around 2 turns.

I put the bike in 6th gear and bump the rear wheel.

I used the straw from a spray can in the spark plug hole. It will stop going up when you are at TDC (of course) and will not fall in at Bottom Dead Center. It can't hurt a thing.

David.

 

Ok I am a dumbass... Got everything correctly orientated. Last night I didn’t have enough light so must have been missing the "T" mark in the correct location as I was rotating the engine.... All good now thanks for the help.

One last thing after measuring my clearances both of my intake valves measure .11mm clearances and both the exhaust valves measure in at .17mm clearance. They are all in spec but getting close to one side of the scale (intake should be between .10 -.19mm and exhaust should be between .15mm – .24mm).

Would you adjust the shims now or just run it for a while longer

 

I came upon the same thing when I did my 351 and decided to leave it for a while. I will do the valve shims in the fall and maybe retorque the head bolts. I had to order a new valve cover gasket because the old one shrunk quite a bit. It was a pain in the rectum to get it back on. That was probably the hardest part of the project!! One of the valve cover bolts came pre-stripped from the factory so I had to heli-coil it but that was no big deal.
Good luck with the rest of your job. It is worth it.

 

I adjusted mine. Since I had the cams OUT, It made sense for me to put em in the middle of the spec. This saves me thinking about it later. Valves get tighter as time goes on. Its a slow process and adjustment does not change much with shims and buckets. The first time I took it apart, I checked the lash and checked what the shims were so I know what to buy. Then I had the proper parts next time I tore it down.

I like to have parts in hand before starting job. I glued the gasket to the valve cover so the next few times I took it off, I did not need a gasket. That thing is almost forty bucks!

Good luck, you are going to love your new bike!

Triple check your timing before re assembling. I turn it by hand a couple of revolutions first, then crank it with the starter with spark plug out until oil shows up at the top end. Check timing again. Burping the radiator takes time. Start the bike, run it a few minutes then shut it off and check the coolant level. Repeat. The first time its fired up, there is a lot of ring drag because its new so you will have to turn the idle up quite a bit till it breaks in. I put my hand right on the cylinder to monitor the heat at first.

Edit of course: Cranking the engine with the starter and no spark plug will pump oil out the hole the timing cover goes on so put that cover back on first then remove it if you need to check the T again.

David