Maintenance & Technical > KX500 Original

'86 KX500 and Milk in the Tranny... And Hello!

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Erwin8r:
Hi fellas!  Newb from the Los Angeles area, Been lurking here a while, and thought I would finally post...  I have a weird machine--it's a Kawasaki Tecate 4 with an '86 KX500 engine.  I picked up the bike because it was sold to me as a "good hybrid with a '91 low-hour KX5 engine."  Well, that was obviously not the case.  After using the good engine number year tracer on here, I determined that the engine was an '86 (or at least the cases).  It threw me off becuase the engine has no paint on it, and I remember my old '86 KX5 had a black engine (one of the few details I really remember). 

In any event, first thing I noticed when I pulled off the fill cap was some white stuff on it... then the dreaded milky cream stuff came out of the drain plug...  I'm yanking the head/cylinders off in the morning (going for a full tear-down on what I initially thought was going to be a simple carb swap, oil change, and ride!).  Can you all tell me if a simple head gasket issue would cause water to be in the tranny?  Or am I looking at a blown seal somewhere?  I think there is oil in the cooling system too, but I will confirm in the morning.

Is the '86 a good platform to use?  Any known issues with the '86 K5 that would cause me to turn and run?  I guess I kind just want a "sure, its a great engine, go for it!!"   :mrgreen:   Does it have a KIPS?  It seems it was tuned by "Selvy" and has a Selvy hand made pipe...

Any help or tips would be appreciated. 

TIA

I will post more pics as the tear down/build-up progresses...

jonny500:
DONT TEAR DOWN YET. i would say your problem is most definatly the water pump seal. remove pump cover, remove impeller, take off clutch cover and pull out pump shaft and seal (take note of its orientation). inspect the pump shaft for groves and pitting as this will destroy the new seal. if the shaft is bad it needs to be replaced or reconditioned. if ok renew seal be sure to put it in the right way. rebuild and put cheap gear oil in. run for abit checking water level regularly. if ok and oil ok (oil will still be a bit milky) change oil. ride and have fun but keep an eye on the water.
if the water pump shaft is bad or you are unsure post a pic. i will give you instructions for the machine shop
sorry if you know all this but may useful to some one
best regards
john

Hillclimb#42:
Ditto on the water pump seal. Easy fix. nice quad. Bet it rips. Welcome. '86 were good motors, I'm sure. Problem will be getting parts very soon, if not already.

Erwin8r:
John, Thank you very much!!  This is just the type of advice I was looking for, as the only two-stroke "repair" experience I have is when I was re-doing my Banshee.... Every other dirt bike I've had a shop do (my old KX5, CR500, KX450F, etc.).   Its only when I got into quads did I start making the time to do things myself.  

I'll pull the covers and the impeller off and have a good look.  I'll note the orientation of the seal and the bearings.  Any special tricks to removing the seal or will it be painfully obvious?

It's supposed to have a billet basket, but I guess I'll find out when I pull the cover off.  Oh, and will I need a clutch cover gasket?  

And, without trying to start controversy, after the initial changes, what oil should I run in it?  

Edit.  Hillclimb:  Yeah, I figure that stuff might be hard to get for this engine.  And although the case numbers tell me it's an '86, it looks an awful lot like an '87/'88 too... Hmmm...  Still, I'm intruiged by the idea of a KX500-powered quad and going to do this one right--especially after seeing what some of you have done with your older KX'!  Wow!  (espcially that nut that runs his in the snow, and takes his old British bike out in the frigid Canadian winter... gotta love it!  LOL!). 

jonny500:
i think that the pump seal is shared with much later models. dont know about the shaft but like i said that can be fixed

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