KZ400 head cover gasket question

[sosedoff]

Hi all,

Im working on a 75 KZ400 engine and cant figure out whats the original part number for the
head cover gasket. Here on the parts list #29 (http://www.partzilla.com/parts/search/Kawasaki/Motorcycle/1975/KZ400-D/CYLINDER+HEAD-COVERS+%28%2774+-%2775+KZ400-KZ4/parts.html) it shows silicone, but on head cover i have an old rubber gasket. Ebay shows just a few sellers overseas (UK).

Are there any compatible gaskets i can find? What are my other options?
Thanks

 

[diggerdanh]

I just went through this quest recently myself after taking the top end apart to try to fix some oil leaks that have gotten worse over time.

The cylinder head cover was changed by Kawasaki a few times to try to fix oil leaks - basically they went from using an o-ring to using silicone/rtv, though they did change the part a few times. The changes are spelled out in this service bulletin: http://kz400.com/Workshop%20manual%20bilder/Service%20bulletins/sb4.jpg

Bottom line: use silicone/rtv. Same goes for the breather cover. My breather cover still has the o-ring in place and is in pretty good shape so I just smear a small amount of RTV over it. My rocker cover (cylinder head cover) did have the o-ring still in place when I pulled it off but it crumbled into a pile of goo. I used black RTV and it held oil just fine. I put it on pretty thick to fill the channel where the o-ring used to be but then smoothed it with my finger to try to keep it from oozing on the inside when I tightened it down. I had to remove it again a few days later (realized my worst oil leak was at the base gasket) and found that there was a little RTV on the inside surfaces but not much. I was a little more careful the second time around.

 

[sosedoff]

Thanks for the info, diggerdanh,

I ordered the breather cover oring, the old one has tears in it so i didnt want to reuse it.
As for the cylinder head cover - i've never used silicone, my main concern is i dont want it to clog the oil passages.
Do you have a photo showing how much silicone you applied ?

Thanks

 

[diggerdanh]

I had the same concerns. Ah, a pic, would have been a good idea but I did not take any. After adding the RTV and smoothing it I did go around and wipe any excess from the inside of the cover. I tried to get just enough but not too much