autotec

Hello everyone,

I'm working on a 1979 Kawasaki Drifter 440. The problem I'm having is I'm having a hard time starting this thing. And when I do finally get it started, I have to keep it at wide open throttle just to keep it running. I cleaned the carb, drained the tank, cleaned all of the fuel lines, checked the fuel pump, installed new spark plugs, checked for good spark, checked compression and everything else a found on this site to check. Everything is good.

The thing I can see that doesn't look right is the primary clutch looks to be getting wet with fuel/oil. Am I missing something here, or is this probably the next step? If the crank seal is leaking the fuel mixture, would it make the the engine flood at lower rpm's?

Any help would be great, thanks in advance for all of the help.

J

gbryanton

The problem sounds like the crankshaft seals need replacing.The pressure in the base is escaping through the seal on the clutch side,not letting the fuel get to the combustion chamber.You seem like you covered all the other items fire fuel compression.By the way what was the psi in the cylinders?

autotec

Both were 130+ psi. I did't see any dampness until the sled backfired a few times. Then I started seeing the clutch get wet.

Either way, the seals were probably on their way out lastyear. Towards the end of the year, it started runing kind of bad. I should have looked at it closer when it was atleast above 0. LOL.

J

autotec

Does anybody have any pointers when it comes to replacing the crank seals on this 1979 Kawasaki Drifter 440? Any tips or tricks or even where to find parts would be great.

Thanks again

J

gbryanton

The crank seal on the clutch involves taking the clutch off and prying out the old seal and if you can find a piece of pipe the outside diameter of the seal tap the new seal into place.If the seal has a o-ring incorporated in the outside diameter of the seal you will need to tear down the base of the engine.[split the base in half]

autotec

Thanks for all of the info. If I can find parts, I'm going to try to get it done before next weekend. I'm probably just going to tear it down and replace all of the gaskets and seals.

J

jbazan2127

From recent experience (the last day or two) i was having the same problem with a invader 440. Make sure the vacumn line from the case to the fuel pump is connected and tight.

autotec

I couldn't be that lucky. That was the first thing that I checked after I cleaned the carb. I'll remove the engine this weekend and start the tear down.

Invader440

If you don't know about it, here is where a lot of us Kawasaki addicts hang out:
KAWASAKITRAX Index

fyrman1

I am having the exact same problems that you describe. I was wondering how your tear down went and if you found the parts you needed, and, did the repair work?

kawasaki

i have one i got cheap so i took it apart to look now i need to get it runnin it only starts when it wants to can you give me a list of stuff to check before i start it and were can i find parts and a pdf manual thanks

fyrman1

i found that the plugs were dirty and the jets in the carb were worn out. also, new fuel hoses for some reason makes a difference. keep searching ebay for books and parts but dennis kirk.com has a few things.

kawasaki

thanks