ZX600 Tear Down

[EvilTwin]

So yesterday I tore my 96 ZX600 down to the head:

I was determined to get at the head gasket to see if it was foocked up. b/c the bike was having a few tell tale problems such as sweet smelling exhaust and oil leaking out of the exhaust pipes. What does a blown head gasket look like by the way, b/c this one doesn't look that bad:

granted I've never seen a bad head gasket or a good one before, so I have no idea; but I kinda expected it to be obvious. All the black stuff is just the sealer I presume?

Anyways, one thing I noticed was that the spark plugs from cylinders 1,2, and 3 all appeared to have oil on them; the cylinder heads seem to back this assumption since 1-3 are black and 4 is just brown. But what do I know, I've never done this shit before. here are pictures:

Cylinder 1 is on the very left and then they go in order.

So, what now?

P.S. throughout this process of tearing the bike apart I have learned that the whole cooling system is rusted to shit.

[ninjascott]

How many miles? What was the reason for the teardown? Oil can only get into the cylinder from the top (bad valve guides and or seals) or the bottom (blow by bad rings). Either way it is going to be costly to rebuild the motor you have, you can find those motors around for $300 used. It is all based on how long you plan on keeping the bike. Thehead gasket apears to be good,but its hard to tell from pictures.

ninjaascott

[EvilTwin]

Exact miles are unknown, assume more than 10k. Reasons for tear down are stated in op, oil in the exhaust pipes and sweet smelling exhaust. I don't plan on keeping the bike, just fixing it to sell it. I have another bike and this one hasn't been ridden in... months. What should I be looking for on the head gasket?