Just but a 95 kawasaki bayou 400 guy I bought it from was doing the water pump and did finish it. He loosely put back together came with new seals and everything but trying to figure out where the seals go have the 2 seals with the springs and the oil seal and the bearing just need to know what order they go in.
People who don’t change the oil or clean the oil screen as recommended my the owners manual are what eats the top ends in these quads. Those same people also never check or change both inner and outer water pump bearings and seals as recommended by the owners manual, which allows coolant to mix with the oil. Coolant mixed with oil also eat top ends, rod bearings, crank case bearing, etc.
Yes that is common problems in any engine, in this one it's the shearing of the pump gear key. Every 400 I have torn down, it is sheared. Clean screens and oil.
I just rebuilt my 400 top end all new gaskets and now it’s leaking coolant into the crank case. Would you suspect head gasket? Milky oil being pushed out of crank case vent tube when running I’ll be testing the oil pump today to see if it’s functioning by pulling a line off and briefly running the motor
Will it start and run? If so, does white smoke that smells like coolant come out of the tail pipe? Open the coolant reservoir and look down in the fill hole. When you crack the engine or while it’s running, do bubbles come up into the coolant reservoir? If the answer is yes, you have a head gasket issue. Did you check the flatness of the head using a machinist edge? The max out of flat you are allowed on the head is 0.002” measures with s feeler gauge. The head has to be flat or the head gasket is worthless. I would also recommend getting a copper head gasket or coating the regular head gasket with copper coat, which will help the gasket seal. The head and deck much be flat in order for any head or copper coat to work. I would highly recommend buying a Clymer manual for this quad so that you can do a head job the correct way.
@ Starts and runs great. No coolant smell from exhaust. I only get coolant bubbles when it’s warmed up. I’m assuming when the thermostat opens. Do you still think it would be head gasket? To be honest I didn’t check the faces before reassembly.
If there is bubbles in the coolant reservoir during start-up and you have milky/bubbly oil, it sure sounds to me like you have coolant getting past your head gasket. During startup, the compression from the engine pushed gases past your head gasket. As the engine heats up, I suspect the leakage gets worse. It cannot be ran like this as coolant in the engine will ruin bearings. During a top end rebuild there are some very specific steps to get the engine right. A calibrated torque wrench needs to be used, the head bolts need to have moly disulfide grease in certain places for lubrication during torquing, torquing is done in two stages in a certain pattern, the head and deck have to be totally flat or within 0.002”, and a copper head gasket or copper coated head gasket needs to be used. If you get a good seal, there will be no coolant in the oil and no air bubbles in the coolant reservoir during startup or running. I don’t sell Clymer manuals or get anything for recommending them. They produce a great manual for this Bayou 400 which I have used mine until the pages are worn and I don’t think a proper engine rebuild could be done without one.
I suppose the question is, what causes the key to shear in the first place? I've read of instances where the plastic oil pump gear spins on the shaft therefore not driving the pump, but this is the first time I've heard of a sheared key. Was the oil pick-up screen torn by chance also letting chunks of debris into the oil pump?
I am having carburetor problems. It won’t idle gas is pouring out the overflow tube. It’s coughing and popping What do you think the problem is I’m not a mechanic thank you.
I battled this very same common carb issue with these machines. It is definitely due to the needle and seat not making a proper seal causing fuel to leak past when the carb is full of fuel. I tried everything from a new float needle, metal polish on a Qtip in a drill, to lightly tapping the seat with a ball bearing to reform the brass seat....nothing worked. I eventuality gave up and adapted a factory used ebay carb from a late 90's early 2000's Honda foreman 450 to work. Other than modding the carb/cables for the kawi controls to work, the only thing I had to play with was the idle jet.
You can remove a snap ring on the shaft that allows a collar to slip towards the transmission. There is a spring in between the splines from the front diff, and the front driveshaft front splines. Then the front shaft comes right out, and you can service your u-joint easily. At least this is how it is on my 1996 Bayou 400. He was dead right though, I took it all apart just to check and sure as could be the key is sheared for the oil pump gear. Thanks for the heads up!
The best way is to tame one thing out of the equation at a time. So main ground connection, wire harnesses ect. These have a bad spot on the steering column for rubbing through.
The video was very informative from a trouble shooting point of veiw but your terminology missed the m ark .The keyway did not shear, the Woodruff key did . I know what you are saying but people that are new to this need to know the correct terminology so things are easier to understand .
Hey man! Thanks for the video! Keep posting Bayou content!:)))
Unfortunately this bayou is off with it's new owner, who knows what will be in next, have a few Hondas and Suzukis sitting on the shelf.
Just but a 95 kawasaki bayou 400 guy I bought it from was doing the water pump and did finish it. He loosely put back together came with new seals and everything but trying to figure out where the seals go have the 2 seals with the springs and the oil seal and the bearing just need to know what order they go in.
where do you get parts for these i have one that has piston slap and cant find parts for it
Motor parts need to be fined used or nos. Getting harder and harder to find internals for these gems.
what socket fits the spark plug and how can you determine top dead center
People who don’t change the oil or clean the oil screen as recommended my the owners manual are what eats the top ends in these quads. Those same people also never check or change both inner and outer water pump bearings and seals as recommended by the owners manual, which allows coolant to mix with the oil. Coolant mixed with oil also eat top ends, rod bearings, crank case bearing, etc.
Yes that is common problems in any engine, in this one it's the shearing of the pump gear key. Every 400 I have torn down, it is sheared. Clean screens and oil.
I just rebuilt my 400 top end all new gaskets and now it’s leaking coolant into the crank case. Would you suspect head gasket?
Milky oil being pushed out of crank case vent tube when running
I’ll be testing the oil pump today to see if it’s functioning by pulling a line off and briefly running the motor
Will it start and run? If so, does white smoke that smells like coolant come out of the tail pipe? Open the coolant reservoir and look down in the fill hole. When you crack the engine or while it’s running, do bubbles come up into the coolant reservoir? If the answer is yes, you have a head gasket issue. Did you check the flatness of the head using a machinist edge? The max out of flat you are allowed on the head is 0.002” measures with s feeler gauge. The head has to be flat or the head gasket is worthless. I would also recommend getting a copper head gasket or coating the regular head gasket with copper coat, which will help the gasket seal. The head and deck much be flat in order for any head or copper coat to work. I would highly recommend buying a Clymer manual for this quad so that you can do a head job the correct way.
@
Starts and runs great. No coolant smell from exhaust. I only get coolant bubbles when it’s warmed up. I’m assuming when the thermostat opens.
Do you still think it would be head gasket?
To be honest I didn’t check the faces before reassembly.
If there is bubbles in the coolant reservoir during start-up and you have milky/bubbly oil, it sure sounds to me like you have coolant getting past your head gasket. During startup, the compression from the engine pushed gases past your head gasket. As the engine heats up, I suspect the leakage gets worse. It cannot be ran like this as coolant in the engine will ruin bearings. During a top end rebuild there are some very specific steps to get the engine right. A calibrated torque wrench needs to be used, the head bolts need to have moly disulfide grease in certain places for lubrication during torquing, torquing is done in two stages in a certain pattern, the head and deck have to be totally flat or within 0.002”, and a copper head gasket or copper coated head gasket needs to be used. If you get a good seal, there will be no coolant in the oil and no air bubbles in the coolant reservoir during startup or running. I don’t sell Clymer manuals or get anything for recommending them. They produce a great manual for this Bayou 400 which I have used mine until the pages are worn and I don’t think a proper engine rebuild could be done without one.
So what kawasaki 400 is reliable. Thanks
What size woodruff key did you replace with?
You are welcome, glad to keep these old machines ticking.
I had a assortment of keys, and shaved one to fit right.
I suppose the question is, what causes the key to shear in the first place? I've read of instances where the plastic oil pump gear spins on the shaft therefore not driving the pump, but this is the first time I've heard of a sheared key. Was the oil pick-up screen torn by chance also letting chunks of debris into the oil pump?
I am having carburetor problems. It won’t idle gas is pouring out the overflow tube. It’s coughing and popping What do you think the problem is I’m not a mechanic thank you.
I battled this very same common carb issue with these machines. It is definitely due to the needle and seat not making a proper seal causing fuel to leak past when the carb is full of fuel. I tried everything from a new float needle, metal polish on a Qtip in a drill, to lightly tapping the seat with a ball bearing to reform the brass seat....nothing worked. I eventuality gave up and adapted a factory used ebay carb from a late 90's early 2000's Honda foreman 450 to work. Other than modding the carb/cables for the kawi controls to work, the only thing I had to play with was the idle jet.
How did you get the motor out I can’t get the front drive shaft off
You'll need to loosen the front diff to make room to pull drive shaft off.
You can remove a snap ring on the shaft that allows a collar to slip towards the transmission. There is a spring in between the splines from the front diff, and the front driveshaft front splines. Then the front shaft comes right out, and you can service your u-joint easily. At least this is how it is on my 1996 Bayou 400.
He was dead right though, I took it all apart just to check and sure as could be the key is sheared for the oil pump gear. Thanks for the heads up!
I gotta ask where did you get that kickstart extension
That’s the factory kick starter
I have a 98 Bayou 400. It has a grounding issue. How would I go about finding it?
The best way is to tame one thing out of the equation at a time. So main ground connection, wire harnesses ect. These have a bad spot on the steering column for rubbing through.
@@millennialmechanic thanks so much! ☺️ I will start the process & see how it goes
In theory could you not just weld said gear in place?
In theory I guess, not usually the best idea to weld on the crank.
The video was very informative from a trouble shooting point of veiw but your terminology missed the m ark .The keyway did not shear, the Woodruff key did . I know what you are saying but people that are new to this need to know the correct terminology so things are easier to understand .
Is this a problem on 300s as well or just the 400
I believe it's just common to the 400s.
Good looking bayou
That one did turn out nice! Almost should have kept it