So I got the infamous valve cover gasket oil leak around 5000 miles and took the bike in to the dealership to be repaired. I was tempted to spend the $90.00 for the parts and do it myself but since the bike is under warranty and I'm wicked busy these days, I will let the dealer do it. I verified beforehand that they ordered the right kit number as specified in the recall notice above.
Well I get the bike back in two days and drive off to my track day and about halfway there it starts leaking 100 times worse than before! WTF?!?!?!?! I carefully drove the bike home as it was POURING oil that was getting all over the back tire, brakes, my riding boots, etc. Needless to say, it was nerve-wracking experience (thought I was going to crash from total lack of traction). When I got home, I didn't take the bike apart, but I looked in through the fairing vents and saw what looks like white RTV sealant all around the valve cover. WHY anyone use that shit on a modern engine is beyond me. The original didn't come with RTV on it, so why would you think it's a good idea to put it on the new gasket? It's obvious the dealership did not properly fix the valve cover gasket the first time. What action should I take? I think besides fixing it correctly, they owe me a new back tire and back brakes. This is the third time the bike has been in the shop for major repair since April. I am rapidly loosing confidence in this bike (and this dealership).
So I got the infamous valve cover gasket oil leak around 5000 miles and took the bike in to the dealership to be repaired. I was tempted to spend the $90.00 for the parts and do it myself but since the bike is under warranty and I'm wicked busy these days, I will let the dealer do it. I verified beforehand that they ordered the right kit number as specified in the recall notice above.
Well I get the bike back in two days and drive off to my track day and about halfway there it starts leaking 100 times worse than before! WTF?!?!?!?! I carefully drove the bike home as it was POURING oil that was getting all over the back tire, brakes, my riding boots, etc. Needless to say, it was nerve-wracking experience (thought I was going to crash from total lack of traction). When I got home, I didn't take the bike apart, but I looked in through the fairing vents and saw what looks like white RTV sealant all around the valve cover. WHY anyone use that shit on a modern engine is beyond me. The original didn't come with RTV on it, so why would you think it's a good idea to put it on the new gasket? It's obvious the dealership did not properly fix the valve cover gasket the first time. What action should I take? I think besides fixing it correctly, they owe me a new back tire and back brakes. This is the third time the bike has been in the shop for major repair since April. I am rapidly loosing confidence in this bike (and this dealership).
I would call them and explain what happened to a manager, tell them you need them to come get it if possible and make it right. What if you never saw the leak again and lost control and crashed.
Cars are the same now a days, You have a warranty so logical thinking is hey i mine as well use it before it expires and save money. In the end we just wish we would have done it are selves instead of taking it to the dealer for sub par work.
thats why i've been holding off on getting mine done. right now its just a minor seep and i'm worried that they'll do a rush hack job on it and eff it up even more.
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07 zx6r ebony, zero gravity double bubble, jumper mod, rear brake res relocate, rear pegs/brackets removed, kleen air mod, k&n air filter, pinebox fe 4.0, 07 zzr kickstand, seat cowl, xtre
Has anyone in CANADA had the leak fixed if the warranty has expired??? I noticed a bit of oil on the left fairing on my 2008 and the dealer said they've never heard of a recall or service bulletin! I've now called two Canadian dealerships in different provinces and either of them knew anything about it...
Well it hasn't leaked yet since I got it back from them, but when I tore the bike apart to clean the sprayed oil off everything I noticed that the six rubber grommets that seal the valve cover allen bolts all have cracks in them. The original ones were cracked too when I took it in. I know for sure the dealer ordered the recall kit b/c the number listed in the recall notice here matches what was on my invoice. Question for anyone who has had this recall done, do those o-rings come pre-cracked from kawi (looks like dry-rot rubber), or is it possible the dealer didn't replace mine?
Has anyone in CANADA had the leak fixed if the warranty has expired??? I noticed a bit of oil on the left fairing on my 2008 and the dealer said they've never heard of a recall or service bulletin! I've now called two Canadian dealerships in different provinces and either of them knew anything about it...
My '07 ZX6R is out-of-warranty.
I called Kawasaki Canada myself before bringing in my bike to the dealer to make sure it would be covered under the service bulletin.
I was transferred to their service department and the tech confirmed that there is a service bulletin for my bike in or out of warranty.
I had to point my dealer in the right direction because he also did not know anything about it.
Gave him the bulletin # and asked him to call Kawasaki Canada. After a little research on his part he performed the service bulletin for free.
got the ball roillin today. dropping her off next week. service manager says they have to pull the head and measure, that it's not just the gasket. he says if the head is out of spec kawi should cover that too, just alot of bs to go through with kawi. he said he has done bikes so bad that when you put the head on the ground it wobbles.
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07 zx6r ebony, zero gravity double bubble, jumper mod, rear brake res relocate, rear pegs/brackets removed, kleen air mod, k&n air filter, pinebox fe 4.0, 07 zzr kickstand, seat cowl, xtre
I'm gonna call BS on that one. I' am the service manager at a kawi dealer in birmingham and we have never had to pull the head to fix the leak. I've personally done mine, the defective part is the gasket, not the head. Tell that service manager to quit being a fuck tard and do the repair the right way.
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"You should have been there, I had my knee on the ground and all. It was awesome. Then that damn pothole in the road jumped out and fucked my world up. The moral of this story is potholes cause collisions with guard rails." Quote taken from my late friend Jimmy just after smashing into a guard rail on his "GIXXER"
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