New here, and tech question...

[Anonymous]

Hey all!

Me and my gf bought a 78 Suzuki GS550E for practically nothing. Wasnt running, faded and rusted out chrome.

A few hours of labour and it looks like brand new.

Problem was the carbs gummed up after sitting for 2 years. So i rebuilt the carbs (it took a few tries but i did it) and not it runs... but only on cylinders 1 & 2. Three and four are blank. They are all getting spark, and have new plugs.

I adjusted the float levels in the carbs, and i know cylinders 1 & 2 are running, but running quite rich. Is there any way 3 & 4 are running so incredibly rich that theyre not firing fronm so much gas?

And i have adjusted the air screws as well.

G

 

[Anonymous]

Re: New here, and tech question...

I adjusted the float levels in the carbs, and i know cylinders 1 & 2 are running, but running quite rich. Is there any way 3 & 4 are running so incredibly rich that theyre not firing fronm so much gas?

Absolutely. But there are many, many other factors as well.

Check for fuel-richness by letting it run for a bit, then pulling out the plugs and seeing if they are wet. For that matter, you should probably replace all the spark plugs. Just for kicks, while you have the plugs out, ground each one to the engine block and turn the engine over once or twice. See if there is a nice, fat, blue spark. If not, get new plugs and properly set the gap. Try again.

Michael

 

[SqDancerLynn1]

Make sure you did not get the plug wires mixed up. Sitting on the bike the left coil fires plugs 1&4 Rt coil fires 2&3. The float valves could be gummed up causing the carbs to flood

 

[Anonymous]

runner

runner

check for compression in all four cylinders 8O with the throttle wide.

 

[Anonymous]

I should have been more in depth...

Ive done a spark check, and all four get the same amount of spark. I will be replacing the plugs with ones that are one notch higher.

I rebuilt the carbs BECAUSE the floats were gummed and stuck. The internals of the carb are as clean as the were stock. Its soaked with cleaner over night and has been blown out. New gaskets, seals all put in it.

I did re-adjust the floats, fisrt time, they were set too shallow and wouldnt run, 2nd time was to high, and they puked gas out of the overflows. Third time i winged it, guestimated the measurement and it kinda ran.

Carbs still need to be synced, will do that as soon as i can.

Ill check the wires tommorow and see if that is the problem. Thanks again

Any more help is awesome.

G

 

[SqDancerLynn1]

Float level is critical!

 

[Anonymous]

Is it ok to go with one range hotter plug?

 

[earlfor]

NO, there is no reason to. If there is a carburation problem, the heat range of the plugs is not the answer.

The float levels need to be set precisely. Good enough to kinda work really isnt going to do. Synching the carbs sets the intake velocity which controls fuel pick up/metering and intake mixture, it is something that should be checked first, not last. No intake vacuum, no fuel flow, no firee firee, no vroom vroom

Earl

Is it ok to go with one range hotter plug?

 

[Anonymous]

Is it ok to go with one range hotter plug?

Yeah, it's OK for now, but you definitely do not yet know that it's the answer.

Michael

 

[Anonymous]

Well, did a compression check just to be safe, and #1 is @ 140psi, and #2,3 and 4 are @135psi. So thats a relief.

Now onto tearing the carb apart for the 11th time.

G

 

[Anonymous]

carb floats havebeen adjusted,1 and two were just over a mm too high (prob why there were running rich) and 3 and 4 were WAY over. Got them all dialed in perfectly now at 26mm. Ill put it back together tonight, then sync all four carbs and she should be off to the races. If not, ill have one heat range hotter plugs to put in, and then itll be onto trouble shooting other things

G

 

[Wingnut]

Make sure you did not get the plug wires mixed up. Sitting on the bike the left coil fires plugs 1&4 Rt coil fires 2&3.

I'm betting on the plug wires! Had the same problem with mine after rebuild. You would think the left coil fires the left cylinders but it doesn't as stated above.

Did you have the plug wires off?? On an 82 850 there are two long spark plug wire recepticles and two short ones. The short ones go on the outside cylinders.

bob

 

[Anonymous]

wires are all matched up. Double checked those.

 

[Anonymous]

This sounds like and electrical problem. Does your bike have points? If so, check the condition and gap on both sets. Also check or replace the condesers. Especially, check for oil or dirt on the contact surfaces or between the points and the carrier plate.
The coil is the other real suspect. If possible, replace the one on the non-running cylinders. You might also try swapping the two coils, if the engine now fires on the other cylinders you have your culprit. If you have a manual for your bike, check the condesers and coils with an Ohmmeter.
The plug wires should be carefully checked for cracks. High tension electricty can arc through very small flaws.
If you have EI, and the coils check, I would start suspecting the signal generators.
Hope this helps, and good luck.

 

[Anonymous]

yeah im starting to think its more along the lines of electrical.

Carbs are re-built and re-adjusted now, and i put them back in and she still is only running on the two cylinders. All i can do now is sync them. Is there any way this could be the problem?

After this ill be replacing the points, if not that then wires...and then finally the coils.

Any more ideas?

 

[Anonymous]

For as minor as this sounds...

For as minor as this sounds...

The only reason I say this is because I noticed nobody has touched on the subject yet. Check your hoses. I had HUGE issue with a vacuum hose once that caused one side of my carbs to NOT get fuel, hence not firing on all cylinders.

Hey, its worth a try. I completely understand removing the carbs for the 11th time!

 

[Sandy]

For diagnostic purposes, if when you get it back together and it still only runs on 1 and 2, and not on 3 and 4, try swapping the 1 and 4 plug wires, and the 2 and 3 plug wires. Since one coil fires 1 and 4 and the other coil fires 2 and 3 you should be able to eliminate a couple of things by doing this. For instance if it now fires properly on 3 and 4 and doesn't fire on 1 and 2, you have eliminated possible carb problems and should probably look to electrical or ignition. If after changing the wires it stills fires on 1 and 2 and not 3 and 4 you have narrowed it down to either fuel (carburation), air (check air intakes) or compression, which you have already checked. This could speed up your trouble shooting time.

 

[Anonymous]

Very good tip guys, i will do that tonight! Thanks again

G

Ill keep informing all you on the progress

 

[Anonymous]

OK,
so, its impossible for me to sync the carbs when its running on only 2 cylinders due to the erratic idle of the bike. So...

onto other things, i just went to pop off the cover on the side of the bike for the points inspection that i was about to do. And realized, the three screws that hold that cover on are completely rounded out. The is nothing left for a screwdriver to grab onto. The guy that owned this bike before us musta stripped the shit outta these things. WHAT NOW?!? How should i go about getting these out?

G

 

[Sandy]

The easiest way to remove the stripped screws is to just drill the heads off, remove the cover then take out the remainder of the screw with pliers or vise grips if they are really stiff. Once you release the pressure off the threads by drilling the heads off, the remainder usually comes out quite easily. You'll obviously have to buy new screws. Use a 6mm or 1/4" drill bit and be carefull to keep the drill centered in the screw head so as not to damage the hole in the case. When you drill down the depth of the head it should just pop off. If you are off center a bit, when you reach the depth of the screw head stop drilling and use the butt end of the drill bit in the hole you just drilled to twist the head off.