PLEASE HELP!! ZXR400 Engine down...
 

Hi, congratulations to all members for the forum!

Let me introduce... I'm writing from Spain (Barcelona) -sorry for my bad English-, and I'm the owner of an 1989 "H" model, recently imported from Italy wit 35.000 kms.
ZXR400 is a very strange motorbike in my country, as it was never officially imported by Kawasaki.

I bought it for racing, and after only 100 kms the engine was broken in Valencia circuit.
Suddenly a blue smoke appeareed and I had to stop the engine without crashing.

The result is this (fist picture is the bike):
http://img300.imageshack.us/img300/9...renginemj4.jpg

I don't know anything about mechanicals... but a friend who love to repair old Spanish motorbikes will help me to repair the Kawa.

Could any of you advise about which could be the best option? Whic pieces I have to buy and where?

Thank you so much!!!!

Hey welcome to KF,, as much as I would like to I cannont answer your question but Im sure someone will chime in (WH) Nice bike and hope you get it back on the road soon

wow that thing is f'd mang.

welcome to KF tho, we will help as much as possible

thanks J!!

welcome to KF!! and don't worry about your english. you've got better sentence structure and grammer that almost all of America!! :D


wow. thats the worste valve failure and detonation (maybe?) that i've EVER seen. and i've seen some bad motors..


well, you'll need a full rebuild.. i hope that you haven't gotten any metal in the oil pump or bearings.

man.. i wish i was closer to ya.. i could tell you if the case and crank are salvagable then.

i would honestly look at a "new" motor. assuming the intake valve on that #2 cylinder is laying inside the case, i would question the rod and bearing condition.

i'll list everything that will probably be effected in a worst-case scenario, and you can inspect the motor off the list and go from there..

-cam lobes on intake and exhaust on #2 cylinder (probably slightly dented?)
-buckets (cracked?)
-shims (broken?)
-cylinder bore condition (scored/scratched, warped? )
-deck condition ..(the flat place where the head gasket goes)-(warped?)
-connecting rod replace all anyway..
-inspect oil pump housing and rotor
-clean sump
-clean pickup and screen
-inspect cam surfaces
-inspect crank for twist, balance and bearing surface condition
-inspect cam chain, guides and tensioner

-new head. that ones non repairable.
-new piston, but i would do all new ones.. might as well.
-new valves
-probably 2 new buckets and shims
-head gasket

-i'm sure theres more.. :(



thats a very basic list.. i can't tell you exactly what else you may or may not need.. i could also be wrong on tht bike being a shim-under-bucket style valvetrain.. could be adjustable tappets?

i wish you the very best luck, hope you can find another motor instead, as it'll probably be less expensive, and i'll offer to take that bike off your hands if you get disgusted with it!! ;)

haha

If the situation is like the Japanese imports into Australia where you will get little official support you might have to go to another EU country that officially imported the bike for parts.

gammac

You've dropped a valve and wrecked the piston.

You might, if you're very lucky, get away with two valves and a single piston and set of rings, plus a full gasket set. You'll have to do a full strip down to remove the bits from the crankcase, and everything will need checking, as Whitehendrix lists. I'd rebore, and replace all the bearings while it's stripped.

In your position I would either give the motor to a reputable tuner and pay a lot of money for a rebuild with lots of mods - cams, porting, full blueprinting etc., or buy a second hand motor.

I'd guess that rebuilding this is beyond your capabilities at this time, but if you have a friend who really knows what he's doing it could be a good learning experience.

Rob

and at only 33kms, what does the other 3 cylinders tell ya?

33kms? it has 35,000kms, if thats race kms thats a bloody lot for a race engine.

Mate you will be lucky to get parts for that unless you find another second hand motor and have it inspected before you use it. It's a shame that some people sell other people faulty stuff.

I found this http://www.zxrworld.co.uk/zxr400/main.htm which may help? It looks very comprehensive and has manuals and many other things. Good luck

hmm, still does not answer the question, and still a bummer on your end.

Thank you VERY much for your comments.

I think that all the previous kms were done by road, not racing...
The Kawasaki mechanic tha inspected the bike when I bought it told me that maybe it had more kms than 35.000 kms, based on how it sounds... Maybe it is the answer??

Now it's done! So, I think that based on all comments received the best solution is to find a new engine, I'll try...