my buddy has ben havung serious problems getting his z to start, he bought it used and the valve train was chattering bad so he pulled off the valve cover and attempted to adjust the valves. to our surprise you have to use shims to adjust the valves, since buying the 400 ran him broke he didn't want to buy any new parts. and just decided to reassemble the bike, well we cannot get this thing to run, we set the base timing, correctly, it has a good spark. the bike was running good before so we are assuming the carb is still functioning. all we did was take it apart and checked the valve clearance and reassembled it. any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

What were the valve clearances?? Mine were too tight for a while and it was way hard to start.

 

the bike is mine when we checked the valves the intake was .17 and the exhaust was .24 it was like it should be i do know now that the timimg chain is realy loose but like we said the bike ran fine before we took it apart and now it does nothing it doesnt even try to start please help i really cant afford to take it to the shop so any advise right now is good advise thanks

 

Well you need to adjust the timing on the exhaust to .20, .17 for the intake is alright. You also need to get a new cam chain, and a manual chain adjuster to prevent the stretching of the cam chain. You refer to it as the timing chain...same thing. I can't remember what site has the chains and adjusters but I notice some Z400 owners on here have them, so maybe they will pipe up...

 

Tick, Tick, Tick, That was what I heard from mine for a while also. Of course your first responce is valve clearance but not so on the Z400. I shimmed my valves to the closest setting allowable and still it ticked.

After learning about the problems with the timing chains I removed the tensioner only to find it is at it's maximum.

Time for a timing chain. I found one on E-bay. It is a heavy duty made by D.I.D. chains. I don't remember the dealer but if anyone wants to know I can get the address.

Process---- I recommed getting a shop manual so you get the crank and cams timed right. Do the obvious, remove gas tank, body plastic ect., drain oil, drain cooling system. Remove cam cover and chain tentioner. Then remove the bolts holding the clutch side cover. Remove the cover slowly and you can salvage the gasket. Once the cover is off remove the bolts holding the clutch springs and remove clutch plates. Then bend back the safety washer holding the 27mm nut holding the clutch basket in place, remove the clutch basket. Next, remove the 27mm nut holding the drive sprocket on the crankshaft and remove the gear.

Remove the cams and the bolt that keeps the chain from falling down into the crank case. Now the chain will work out from around the crankshaft.

Install the new chain and reverse the process. This is just a quick overwiew of the job.If you don't feel comfortable tearing down engines I'd recommend paying to have it done. If you tackle the job yourself I can't state the need for cleanliness and watching for trust washer placement and timing marks.

Mine is as quiet as the day I bought it back in May of 2003.

JDRider