ZN1300 valve shims

[briguyga]

Anyone have valve shims for a ZN1300 they are willing to part with?

I have a 1988 ZN1300 that has sat for 9 years and compression is between 20-40 psi across all 6 cylinders. I have spark at all 6, but the low compression is keeping it from firing. I am hoping this is the problem and not bad rings.

Thanks.

[richardb, austin]

not a 1300-kind-of-guy, but doesn't it have hydraulic valves like the ZG1200? I.e., no valve adjust -> no shims?

[briguyga]

That would be nice, but alas there are shims between the cam and lifter. Just verified it in the shop manual.

[Lucasind]

.... I would not be so fast to think valve shims are the problem on a bike that has been sitting soo long.... did you check valve clearence with a feeler gauge first ?? squirt some engine oil into the spark plug holes.. and turn the engine over awhile... then re-check ur compression... then check back with us...... remember... this bike RAN before it was neglected....

[briguyga]

I haven't checked the valve clearances, but from what I have read on other sites, low compression is generally tied to the valves being out of adjustment.

I will give them a check this weekend. What will the oil in the cylinders do? Think there could be a problem with the oil system from sitting and needing to be primed?

I know it ran as the odometer shows 42K miles. Don't know anything about its history though.

Thanks for the help.

[Me Again]

What will the oil in the cylinders do?

Oil in the cylinders will help free up moving parts and lubricate the cylinders.
Probably would have been helpful before you turned it over after 9 years.
I still think the valve shims are the problem .

[Lucasind]

.....The shims/valve clearance, becoming tight,, thus hanging valves open , causing low compression on all 6 cylinders at the same time is highly improbable.

[mountainman]

I don't think it's improbable. My opinion on the older Asian bike engines is yes it could happen maybe not so much from shims but don't rule them out. Also you have to consider carbon build up in seat area of the valves. the valve lash on some of these Asian bikes is so close or tight that they will build enough carbon around seat area that it requires cleaning to get them to re-seat. Makes for horrible start ups cold. Start with the simple and most economical things to look at first then move on to the next. And if it sat for a while you could have stuck rings.

Also the 1300 not being know as a gas sipper would tell me that there could be a higher chance of carbon at valves seats or in piston ring area then one would usually find because of a higher inefficiency of combustion on this unit.

[briguyga]

Well got it apart and was able to check the clearances. Seems the intakes are way tight and exhaust is loose.

#1 int <.038 ext .229
#2 int <.038 ext .178
#3 int <.038 ext .178
#4 int <.038 ext .140
#5 int <.038 ext .203
#6 int <.038 ext .178

0.038 is the smallest feeler gauge I have.

Looks like I need to get the valve tools and move some shims around. Hopefully that is the only issue. The engine spins freely and the cam sprocket is in good shape. There was oil around the cams and lifters so that's a good sign oil is circulating.

Still need a few shims though if anyone has any.

Will update after getting it adjusted.

[mbearsky]

If this bike ran when you parked it years ago, it will not help to change clearance in valve train to start the bike. It ran with the excessive clearance and will start again with it. The shims do not shrink when not used!! Do the oil thing as sugested earlier and look at plugs to see if wet, if dry I would use some starting fluid to prime. Mine sat for about 5 years and started on first attempt. And I do have a 1986 ZN1300 with near 100,000 miles on it..And if yours starts on starting fluid you need to look into the fuel system. I do have a shop manual on mine if you need any more info I can scan and email to you..

[Me Again]

If this bike ran when you parked it years ago, it will not help to change clearance in valve train to start the bike. It ran with the excessive clearance and will start again with it. The shims do not shrink when not used!! Do the oil thing as sugested earlier and look at plugs to see if wet, if dry I would use some starting fluid to prime. Mine sat for about 5 years and started on first attempt. And I do have a 1986 ZN1300 with near 100,000 miles on it..And if yours starts on starting fluid you need to look into the fuel system. I do have a shop manual on mine if you need any more info I can scan and email to you..

Good point.
The bike may have been parked years ago because it was hard to start ,but ,it should still start .
Mine sat for 9 years also and after a little PM ,I looked to hard at the start button and it started right up.Shocked the heck out of me.
You have already pulled it apart so you should set the valves now anyway.

[briguyga]

I bought it from a guy who started to take it apart (plastics only thank god). I don't know the last time it was started. From talking to the former owner it was at least 9 years ago. I will give the spray start a try, but have also ordered some smaller shims and will see if that brings the compression up, which should help it start.

From my previous attempts to start it the plugs when taken out did appear wet so I don't think there is a fuel issue, but never know. The engine spins freely with a wrench and the dot on the timing gear is in the correct position, so I am fairly confident the timing is good. Once I get the new shims and put it back together I will give it another try.

[Mr Jensee]

From my experience with an old GS1000. take the plugs out and put a teaspoon of Marvel Mystery Oil or just plain engine oil in each cylinder and use the electric starter to turn the engine over several times. Check the plugs for spark then put them back in. let it sit over night then try starting it. Worry about the valve tightness once you get it to run. If the cylinders are dry the MMO will free up the rings and should bring up your compression. I assume you have a compression tester.

[Lucasind]

...was hoping by now that you would have done a compression test and posted the results.. do you have a good battery for the bike yet ?.... so you can spin the engine over . If you've never performed a compression test on an engine,,, take a few minutes to read up on it,

[cushman eagle]

If you already have valve clearance,adding to it will do very little to increase compression,only by the reduction of effective valve timing.

[briguyga]

...was hoping by now that you would have done a compression test and posted the results.. do you have a good battery for the bike yet ?.... so you can spin the engine over . If you've never performed a compression test on an engine,,, take a few minutes to read up on it,

Read the very first post. My compression was between 20-40. It spins freely with a wrench and on battery. There is oil in the cam valley so I know I have oil flow. While the battery I have isn't the best it is spinning the motor easily and quickly.

I am going to try some starter fluid and see if that does anything. Still waiting for the new shims to arrive. If the current shims are too thick they are holding the valves open causing the low compression. Increasing it can only make starting easier and the engine run better. Currently there is no clearance between the intake lobes and lifter.

[briguyga]

Good news. The shims were delivered on Saturday and I spent several hours yesterday installing them and putting it all back together.

Checked compression first thing and all were up significantly. Ranged from 70-120 psi with most in the 120 range. 1 shim is a little large, but I didn't have any smaller ones left.
Hooked up the fuel pump and she fired right off. Definitely wanted to run and actually did if I held the throttle a little. Now to run some fuel injector cleaner though it and put the mufflers on.

So while she didn't purr she is showing signs of life. A nice sign after the bike was essentially abandoned for 10 years.

Hopefully I can tinker some more this coming weekend and get the old girl to idle.

[Mrace4u2c]

Talk to a friend of mine yesterday who is the Kawasaki mechanic and he looked up the shims for this bike the zn1300 uses the same shims that the KLR 650 uses the KLR 650 still uses the shims from the beginning of time that they started making them up into 2017 so there's your source for shims

[Mrace4u2c]

Yes it is very likely that all of the cylinders have lost their clearance on the intake side especially I had that happen on mine it started out as being hard to start when it's cold but once it warmed up it ran great eventually it got to where it would not start hardly at all cold as soon as I adjusted the valve clearance with all of them had to be adjusted somewhat on the intake side just touch the button and it ran smooth as can be unfortunately because there was carbon built up in the seats after getting it out and running it about 10,000 miles the carbon deposits in the seats finally beat out and I'm getting to readjust them again same situation valve clearance closed on five of the six cylinders intake valves so yes it is very likely that it happened on all the cylinders as long as it gets some compression it will start but when all of the cylinders get to load then it won't

[Mrace4u2c]

Anyone have valve shims for a ZN1300 they are willing to part with?

I have a 1988 ZN1300 that has sat for 9 years and compression is between 20-40 psi across all 6 cylinders. I have spark at all 6, but the low compression is keeping it from firing. I am hoping this is the problem and not bad rings.

Thanks.

They can be purchased from any Kawasaki dealership if you ask for shims for a klr 650 they use the same shin ask the way up to 2017... If you have a good Kawasaki dealer the service dept will usually exchange shims with you if you have figured out the sizes you need and want to trade