how good's an 88 Zilla, up keep, parts avaliable ect. Looked at one
today that overheated and fried the rings. Is this a common problem.
thanks,Rob

 

parts are not hard to find for the quadzilla..dennis kirk , rockymountian, and all kinds of places have parts for them.

 

No! the QZ500r does not have a cooling problem. It has one of the best cooling systems, however, the water pump impeller needs some particular attention. The bolt holding the impeller is left handed and is made of soft material. If it works itself loose...well you know! Just make sure it is tightened to spec and you should have no problem. I never did.

87 QZ
87 QS

 

The cooling system is very good and it might be the pump bearing/seal, but I bet if you look under the reed cage at te base gasket right where the case halfs meet you will find that there is a piece of base gasket missing. This will cause a very lean condition and burn that 500 down right quick! They are notorious for this and great care has to be taken when mating the case halfs togeather to keep them from cookie cutting the gasket.
If niether of these is right then start looking for an intake leak.
Happy hunting

Drew

 

I've never had a zilla before, but from what I understand, the 88 models are quite desirable because they have updated suspension parts.

 

As the majority of the people in here have already stated, the LT500's are notorious for water pump problems, I would also replace the radiator cap, I had one go bad and if I hadn't caught it in time it could've possibly fried the motor.

Other than that, parts are readily available, I have never had any problems finding parts for mine, aftermarket or OEM.