couple ZXI Q's....

[Tiplickhahaha]

Hi kawasaki Guys,

my ZXI was starting to act up today at the lake,,

i noticed some discolor (bare metal from the SBT paint) on the exhaust mani. it was overheating, the smell of oil was in the engine comparment, and some oil was leaked in the hull,,

the spark plugs had this rust (brown) color on the top of them just above the threads,

at the lake it's running time became choppy. i couldent sustain high rpm and it would out of no where cut off.

heres my dumb mistake. i poured some very old/fouled (2/3/4 years ) oil in the injection system.....this would cause what im experiencing? just making sure it's not somthing else....

tomorrow im going to buy some new fresh oil pour it in as it's prolly 4/10 filled right now prolly drain the old oil 2


also, how much water in the hull is normal? i notice every ride there is water from the back to the front on the bottom. maybe 2 inches deep...


anyways, sorry about my dumb quesitons but just some thoughts i had today.

thanks

[john zigler]

well, i would never recomend mixing / using any old oil.

it sounds to me like you overheated. start by doing a compresion check. you should have about 150.

i have had machines come through my shop here, where customers had mixed oils, and they were not compatable. usually the oil will gel, and the injection system will fail, causing a crank bearing failure.

could be a fuel related problem.

could also just be the SBT motor died.

what caused your original eng failure?

zig

[OutlawGPR]

I would say 120 psi would be more accurate if you havent done any head work....

[john zigler]

I would say 120 psi would be more accurate if you havent done any head work....

sorrey you are correct. ( i didn't specify).

if your motor is a tripple, 900, or 1100 it should be in the 120 to 130 range.

if it is a twinn, 750, it should be 150 lbs.

of course this is with a quality, calibrated gauge.

[Tiplickhahaha]

i'll do a compression check tomorrow or tonight if i get a chance,

the engine turned over and started last night when it was on the trailer....

[Tiplickhahaha]

compression:
115/120/120


heres a pic of what the plugs look like

[Hydrotoys]

Ouch!
that one on the left looks like "grey death" to me.

Me thinks you got a lean cylinder or lost oil to that cylinder. Look on the carb and see if the oil injection line came off the carb.

...and I've really never seen "old 2 stroke oil" as long as it was in a sealed contaner.

[800wildcat]

If the left plug is the front cylinder check the fuel screen in the front carb. Sometimes paper fibers from the stock fuel filter would come off and partially clog the individual screens in the carbs, but it would hit the front first and then the middle with nothing in the rear. It can be enough to cause the front cylinder to detonate.

If this happened install an aftermarket universal auto filter and you won't see it again. (And you'll save $20 on the filter.)

[way2fast]

If the left plug is the front cylinder check the fuel screen in the front carb. Sometimes paper fibers from the stock fuel filter would come off and partially clog the individual screens in the carbs, but it would hit the front first and then the middle with nothing in the rear. It can be enough to cause the front cylinder to detonate.

If this happened install an aftermarket universal auto filter and you won't see it again. (And you'll save $20 on the filter.)

The OEM filter for the Ultras has a plastic screen element, I believe those for the ZXI do too. If that is the case, there will be no paper fibers to cause clogging.


Richard

[Tiplickhahaha]

i found a oil line to the carb had came off. what still baffles me is im only getting a reading of 20 compression in the rear cylinder , though the engine still starts