ZXR 400 Oil Cooler - was ment to be a good day :(

[Bike Bunker]

Ok, so i got the entire bike sorted its had no running problems no engine rattle just needed exhaust and rear brake changing so all done and after 3 years offroad took the bike to the MOT passed no problems then to post office tax'd no problems......


After about 3 miles of fairly relaxed driving was no major pushing the bike , a oil leak springs just dripping so i leave the bike as i got to my destination, as its only driipping i consider getting home on it but as i start u it begin's to pour out, (engine oil) and i cant see where from as the fairing covers everything.

2hours later recovery arrive and drop me home i discover its a hose going to the oil cooler, i thaught great simple fix...i soon find the hose to be £160 from kawasaki , i then find i could get it made alot cheaper and i also discover lots of people take the oil coolor off and have a u-bent hose, so the oil goes out and back in and some people block it up with a plate/gasket home made.

Heres the real issue, the hose connects into the engine and i take one screw out with the most effort ive ever put into anything, and it has teenie bits of metal onit...a bad sign that the hole might need to be re-milled?

the second just willlll not budge! ideally i would like to take to cooler off ? just saves hassle in the near future also takes a shed load of weight of the bike, and from what ive read has 0 side effects if done correctly?

so heres the last idea as a final straw...

the start of the hose ( as they emerge fro mthe engine ) aare metal, i figured the oil is never going to burst them, so im tempted to make the hose go from one end to the other.? so almost a bent u-shape like the others? but instead of coming straight from one hole to the other it'll still have the metal piece's attatched?

[UrbanRacer]

The oil cooler is there for a reason, don't bypass or its a bigger job in the futur e.

[Bike Bunker]

i thaught that but a good 20 people on the zxr400 forum say it has no negative effects without the oil cooler infact it has less breakdowns without it because it always breaks/leaks?

[Robby]

Why not have a look for someone that makes hydraulic lines and get one made up to replace the damaged one. It's probably similar to the sort used in plant machinery.

I think Pirtek are the company that make up hoses, worth looking in to.

Removing the oil cooler may have no side effects, but it is there to cool the oil and so take the load off the cooling system. Without it, your oil will run hotter which can will shorten its working life, and I would want to stick to synthetic oils. Not saving you any money.

I wouldn't block it off entirely, unless I was sure of the oil flow - diagram should be in the workshop manual. If you remove a feed by blocking off the cooler, then oil isn't going somewhere in the correct volume at the correct pressure.

[CaNsA]

i have to agree with the lads on the ZXR400 forums.

Most of those who have dropped the oil cooler no longer have "hot start" issues.

Also, in the H model of the zxr400 there was no oil cooler and racers drop it too.

Ash,

Play it safe. If you have a feeling you are going to fuk it up then get someone to do it properly.

[Bike Bunker]