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Fuel Problem

Scary Harry

Scary Harry

Fear is not boring. COG# 4090
Member
Just finished fixing a leaky thermostat. I fired up my bike and noticed that fuel was dripping from the petcock. So, I started rotating the petcock valve to see if I could stop the leak by playing with it. I noticed that it would stop dripping if in the PRIME position. So I fire up the bike again, and fuel starts flooding the airbox. Fun. Now what? I shut off the fuel and let it sit. I removed the tank and tried again. The bike starts, but I see that smoke or water vapor is coming from the left exhaust pipe. I let it idle and run until it runs out of fuel. I put the tank back on and give it prime for just a second and let it run some more. I notice that every time I let more fuel into the carbs, it starts to stall. So what do you think? Stuck fuel float? If so, can I get it unstuck and how? As for the leak, I'll try replacing the parts in my petcock as I have one on hand. Any other suggestions would be welcome.
 
hello, i had the same leak last year....i changed the whole pet **** assembly...i hand pumped the fuel for the tank removed the tank and installed it... the part cost about 75.00 good luck geofd
 
Harry Order s set of needle valves from Murph and a jet kit from him or Steve in Sunny Florida. Remove the carb rack and clean and rebuild the cars with need needled valves. Read my article in the last Concourier on polishing the valve seats with a Q-Tip and metal polish. Last but not least rebuild or replace the petcock, Don't skimp on any of the above you don'r want to hydrolock and bend a rod!
 
I pulled the petcock and replaced the rubber parts after cleaning all the metal pieces. Put it back together and now the fuel leak is gone. So I went back and tried it all over again. It looks like I may be running only on three cylinders. I'll recheck the wiring for proper routing and make sure the spark is available for the left two cylinders. It has to be the left side as there is smoke or unburnt fuel coming out of the left exhaust pipe. With a little luck, I may be able to go for a ride this weekend...
 
Colin, Thanks for the suggestion. I want to make sure it's not a lack of spark. The bike is trying to run, and for the most part, is running fairly smooth till I give it the gas. The exhaust tells me I may only be running three cylinders. I did rebuild the petcock and it did stop the fuel leak. Harry
 
Colin, I just re-read your article. Good advice. I pulled the #1 plug wire and confirmed a good spark. When I removed the plug, it was obvious that the #1 cylinder was filling up with gas. This explains why it idles ok until I start to roll the throttle. As soon as I hook the gas tank back up, it starts to flood again. Good thing I decided to NOT take it for a test ride. Darn, and it seems like I just cleaned the carbs not too long ago. Oh well, I'll order some new needles and polish the valve barrels as you suggest. At least I fixed my water leak and the fuel leak. Damn 86 Connie. I thought it was above such problems. :) Harry
 
Harry, go read the complete carb service article I wrote in the Concourier entitled "Carbs, it ain't a diet thang", and thet should get you good to go on the COMPLETE discourse of doing the "Q-Tip seat polish...(hmmm wonder where that tid bit came from?) Really Harry, don't pull them off blindly and dive in without reading that primer, you'll just get frustrated, and the bike will be down till folks talk you thru the on-off-on-off-on-off carb thing, which is kinda the way it goes. best of luck, feel free to call me, I still offer tech advice.....
 
I shall beat those carbies into submission. How dare they feed too much fuel to the cylinders. I been inside them before. No mystery there.
 
Rich, Thanks for your help. As I suspected, a big friggn piece of rubber somehow got into the fuel system and jammed the needle valve open. The carbs were relatively clean except for microscopic bits of rust, easily cleaned out. For the next round of cleaning I'll do the complete rebuild including new boots. I had a hell of a time reinstalling the carbs, but that was to be expected. My kids thought I went insane with the ritual swearing the precedes getting everything to line up just right. Damn good to get the bike back on the road. Harry
 
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