www.zxrworld.co.uk

hi everyone my name is bleddyn im 18 from south wales. i bought a zxr400 l its a 95 plate. when i bought the bike the previous owner said it was overheating after a 20 mile ride. he seems to think its the water pump how can i find out if the pump is knackered or is it likley to be something else. im hoping for some sound advice here as im thinking the 4t engines may be a bit to much for my mechanical know how hope somebody can help as i dont realy want some money grabbing garage to have my money
thanks in advance

bledd

Hey there and welcome to the forum.

Personally i would steer clear of any bike with an overheating problem, as the results of overheating could mean much more cash to spend on it on top of the cost of fixing whatever is causing the problem in the first place. When he says overheating, where is the temperature gauge needle pointing to? Its quite normal for the bike to run up as much as half way up the gauge on a ZXR, so only be worried if its quite a bit over half way or burried in the red.

It could be the water pump, but they seem to rarely go wrong. You can find it on the left hand side of the bike and a few bolts undone and the whole lot comes out, you will need to drain the coolant first. More on it here http://www.zxrworld.co.uk/Manuals/H%20M ... er%203.pdf

But my first port of call would be the coolant level, is the expansion tank between the two markers? And is the radiator filled upto the cap?

Next would probably be to check that the radiator cap isnt faulty.

You may also want to check the thermostat and the temp sensor in the radiator.

If that all seems ok then your probbaly looking at a blown head gasket, if the coolant smells like exhaust and its done around 20K miles or more then its more than likely the head gasket as its pretty typicall for them to go at this mileage. It can be done at home as a few members here have done it themselves, there is the manual to go on (although sketchy) and what ever we can help you with here should you need it.

what did you pay for the bike and where are the pics???

p.s. refer to this thread

viewtopic.php?f=7&t=4268&start=15

thanks for the welcome ive only got 2 pics and a short sound video. i paid £400.00 for the bike witch is in pretty good condition apart from the overheating and a bit of damage to two bits of fairings ill get some more pics when i get the fairings off

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e297/ ... 100016.jpg

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e297/ ... 100015.jpg




bledd

sorted now

bledd

sorry about the pics can somebody delete one lot dont know whats happened to them

bledd

Welcome to the forums.

You payed £400 for that......what did you do hold a gun to his head.....why don't bargains like that ever happen to me!!!

At the bottom of the water pump there is a little hole. When my pump went it had coolant dribbling out of it. If yours does the same then the pump seals are knackered. Apart from that I can't help much.

Thats a bloody steal! Just hope your overheating is simple then its an even bigger steal!

whats wrong wi pics they look good to me?

the guy who sold me the bike wanted a fast sale as hes got his new supermoto thing in is garage and there was no room for the ninja he wasnt very specific of how bad it overheats the thing is now its sorn of road and im a bit dubious of riding it just in case i get pulled as ive only got a cbt it dosent need anything doing for the mot apart from a standed can and maybe new brake pads then ill get the engine sorted im taking all the body work off this week to see whats lurking below. panels are being repaired free of charge and ill get them sprayed for £100.00 good mate... ive got until may to get it sorted then im trying my restricted licence. not happy on my nsr 125 after i had a go of the zxr400 i found the ninja easier to ride

bledd

I bet you found it had a tad more go than the nsr! soon as you get the bike on the road see what happens with the temp and let us know, you could get the bike runnin on tickover and see what happens, the fan should kick in about half way, if the temp still rises with the fan going then there defo a problem.

ill try it out on monday if the weathers a bit better but the fan on this bike is on a switch you knock it on yourself can i do the head gasket and cam chain with the engine in the bike or does it need to be dropped

bledd

It believe it can be done in the frame, but its all a damn sight easier if you drop the engine out.

ok ill drop it out of the frame if its easier im taking the bike to a friend of mine to see whats causing it to overheat and i think he said hes gonna pressure test it .ive got nothing on for the next few days so im starting to get the fairings off tommorow and start the cleaning and yes its like a rocket compared to my nsr lol

bledd

welcome to the forum mate, nice looking bike, we'll all help you sort it out.

rite guys i went to get the bike from my mates factory unit today .started the bike up let it warm up a bit tried to pull off and it dies i thought it was a fuel problem but theres pleny off petrol in there anyhow i tried a few more times and still the same so now im guessing its got to be a duff plug as when i rev it it wont rev tidy just struggles to rev out. the bike was fine before today are the plugs easy to change ive tried looking at the online manual but most of the files are damaged so im hoping someone can advise me on what to do as my mechanical skills are pretty basic

bledd

what do you mean the files are damaged?