Kickstarter problems after splitting an engine
“No fail” method to install Kawasaki triple kicker
(Also known as “I don’t want to have to split
the cases AGAIN”) Too many people are having trouble with their
kickstarter when they re-assemble their triple engine after splitting the cases.
They go to the trouble of completely “buttoning up” their engine and then when
they try to use their kicker they realize “something went wrong” with the
process they followed (the one in the manual) and the kicker doesn’t work.
If you follow these instructions, there is NO WAY you will have the
engine back together without being assured the kicker will work the way it
should. It also actually saves you some steps
with engine dis-assembly and engine re-assembly.
The starting point for these instructions will be made with the assumption that
you have your engine apart and the top of your engine (the part with the
cylinders, crankshaft and tranny gears) is on a workbench with the engine studs
facing you (up), you have your engine case sealer already applied (on the lower
half) and are completely ready to put the halves together. It also assumes that
your “stop bolt” for the kick pawl is tightened and in place because
you do NOT need to back it out when you first
split the engine (There is a step saved already – plus the kicker spring
tension actually helps to separate the engine halves for you.) IF you did back
out the stop bolt, tighten it back up now.
It is also assumed that you have your kickstart shaft correctly and completely
assembled before you “drop” it in the upper case.
Place the kickshaft assembly in the upper engine case, being sure that the hole
in the bearing bushing is over the dowel pin in the upper engine half, the
spring tang is in the channel in the upper case and the kicker pawl (and gear)
is rotated so it is up against the stop bolt. You will know if you have it right
if the end of the spring that sits in the other groove on the back of the engine
case is raised up from that groove. In other words, if you feel tension
(resistance) when you try to pull that end of the spring down to get it in the
groove in the upper engine half, you then know that you have it correct.
You are now ready to assemble the engine cases.
If you can get your wife or someone else to help you at this point, that would
help, but I have done the next step many times by myself.
Set the bottom half of the engine on the ends of the engine studs so it is ready
to be slid down on the studs. Take a normal flat-bladed screwdriver (about 6”
long blade) and reach in and locate that free end (tang) of the kicker spring
with the end of the screwdriver - what you will want to end up doing is pulling
that tang down with the end of the screwdriver into the groove for it that is in
the upper case and HOLDING it there as you (or your helper) slides down the
lower case to “trap” the tang between the 2 engine halves. Keep holding your
screwdriver (and that end of the spring) down in the groove until the other
engine half is about ¼” away from being together, then slide the screwdriver
out. You should then have the end of the spring “trapped” between the engine
halves and then you can slide the case all the way down. You may get some of the
case sealer on the screwdriver but that’s not a big deal.
At this point, I usually put on one of the larger nuts for the crankcase area
and one of the smaller nuts diagonally opposite it at the back of the engine to
hold the halves together temporarily. Then I slide the kicker on the shaft and
see if I have good tension on it and that it rotates all the way to the stop
like it should and returns all the way back quickly. Then I check to make sure
everything else feels right. I will spin the crankshaft to make sure it is not
binding and spin both tranny shafts also. If nothing is binding, I put the rest
of the nuts on and tighten. You do NOT need to do anything else. (Another step
saved as you don’t have to “look in the window, rotate the shaft, and install
the stop bolt”).