Recently got a 94 zx6 from a coworker that had been sitting for a couple of years. The bike had been running fine till his cousin took it apart to fix the seemedly common second gear problem. New gears were bought and put in and then all put back together. Never could get it to run after that so it just set till I got it. First off the battery was dead so I replaced that. Engine oil was at right level so cranked it but no spark. Ignition coils were not even mounted to the side just laying there so I fixed that. Traced out all the wiring and found out when they put the right side cover on they had pinched and shorted the pickup coil wires out. I fixed that and now was getting spark to all cylinders. Still not starting. Pulled the carbs and cleaned them. Chokes would not even pull out and throttle sticking. Cleaned good and got it running even though not that good. Two major issues I have questions about now. First one when the engine is running whenever the clutch is disengaged (lever out) I have this really bad clattering noise coming from the clutch/transmission area in with the bike in neutral. Also it jerks like it is trying to pop into gear. I am thinking that when they put the transmission back together they did not do something right. Also noticed that the oil has turned white. Went ahead and drained the oil and it is white looking with like chunks of white stuff in it. It is almost like white grease. At this point I am wondering if when the guy put the transmission back together if he used white grease on the gears and now it has mixed with the oil. I did take the clutch cover off and pulled the clutch to see if the noise I am hearing could be that. The clutch cover was coated with like a white grease. I know that if water is getting in the oil it turns white or milky but does it make it seem like grease or chunks of grease. I guess at the point I am going to put it back together and put in new oil and see if the noise is still there and also if the oil changes color again. Does it sound like maybe they did not assemble the transmission correctly and could it be white grease in the oil or do I have a blown head gasket or a bad water pump seal as well as a bad tranny. Any comments would be appreciated.

 

start with page 5-4 in your factory manual. clutch section. Time to weed out a few things.

 

Check the waterpump seal. White greasy stuff is from water mixing in the oil. If the seal is good, it could be a head gasket or something else.I would dis-assemble and start over. Replace all the gaskets & seals especially the waterpump seal. The clutch will rattle if the carbs aren't fully cleaned and sychronized. Do that before you tear into the transmission.