Z 400 Motor Issue

[leev26]

My brother has a bone stock 05 Z400 that he bought brand new over a year ago. He doesn't ride it alot, especially during the winter. About a month ago he took it for about a half-an-hour ride and parked it. Yesterday he went to check the oil and it was milky almost like water got in with the oil. It was good when he checked it a month ago. THe weird thing is that the resivor is at the same level as well as the oil. What in the hell could have happened. Thanks a lot for the help guys.

[shorgasm]

05-06 coolant issue...corroded cross pipe leaked coolant into the oil.It's a big problem with them apparently.

[kfxwizzard400]

the exact thing happend to me and im supposed to go riding 2morrow im so pissed off. How do you fix the problem and is it hard? thanks

[Rosko]

you need a clutch cover off an '04 its aluminum instead of magnesium. some people are getting the dealers to pay for them and some are not.

A guy I work with had his coolant lines plug up with the goo it creates and pretty much took out his whole motor from overheating and suzuki wont fix it, all they did was give him the $60 cover and his motor in pieces back in a box.

[IrideMHSC]

I have an 03 so i havent ever had to deal with this situation but ive talked to alot of guys in the 05s and 06s that clean the corroded area out as long as it isnt to ate up then switch to Evans coolant and they dont have anymore problems.

[Hon300ex]

Im thinkin about gettin a z400 and I wasnt aware of this problem. it would be an 05 or 06 so I would be affected. is this common? is there any way to prevent it? this isnt what i was looking to hear.

[Hon300ex]

I just looked it up a little bit more, and your need to by a different clutch cover before you go riding or evans coolant? Can someone explain this to me in full detail?

[Rosko]

basically suzuki tried to lighten the bikes up a bit by switching to magnesium covers instead of aluminum.

the coolant will react with the cover and corrode it badly. It will corrode it till it eats all the way through the cover letting coolant leak into the motor oil. It will also gel up the coolant and slow or stop the flow of coolant causing the bike to overheat.

Dont let it stop you from buying one just make the dealer switch the clutch cover with an aluminum one from an '04. its a $60 part for them.

http://www.z400central.com/invision/index.php?showtopic=52767

check that out for some pics of the damage.

[IrideMHSC]

In the 05 and 06 z-400 the magnesium clutch covers react with the coolant causing to it corrode and possibly cause serious motor problems. The best thing to to do (especially if your buying new) is to have the dealer remove the cover and check to see if there is a problem. Also have them flush the coolant and run the evans coolant so that you wont have a problem. If the dealer wont do this for you the probally dont want to sell you the quad that bad so I would look else were but its all a matter of personal preferance. You could also just switch the cover to an 04 or 03 model which is aluminum and you wont have to worry about what kind of coolant you run. Either way its not THAT big of an issue. The Suzuki z-400s are a very dependable machine and are well worth the money and minor preventative maintnence that are involved in owning one. Ive had 2 now and other than the normal wear and tear of riding/racing the bike it is one of the most dependable out there.

[jc's z]

I own an 06 z400.

Some of you are talking of replacing the magnesium clutch cover or magnesium water pump cover.

Are these two different parts?

[Byte]

Contact your dealer. Suzuki has finally issued a recall of sorts. Thia has been a huge problem and Suzuki has been in denial for some time. I guess it all finally caught up to them.

[GooseZ400]

clutch cover from what my dealer told me

Thanks for any and everyone thats made a stink about it. It looks as if this is going to get fixed finally

[leev26]

My brothers quad went in the shop on Feb. 18 and he still don't have it back. Suzuki is supposidly taken care of the problem but they haven't got the parts yet. First it was April 1st, then May 1st and now they have no idea. It is a bunch of bull. I was planning on buying a 06 KFX but the way that they have jacked him aroung I am sticking with the 400ex.

[<DRS>GPF]

just changing the coolant isnt going to fix it..
it may slow it down, but you will still have galvanic corrosin as long as they are dissimilar metals in the same solution..

basic chemistry stuff.. they made a battery and they should step up and admit the mistake..