• Required reading for all forum users!!!

    Welcome!
    Register to access the full functionality of the GSResources forum. Until you register and activate your account you will not have full forum access, nor will you be able to post or reply to messages.

    A note to new registrants...
    All new forum registrations must be activated via email before you have full access to the forum.

    A Special Note about Email accounts!
    DO NOT SIGN UP USING hotmail, outlook, gmx, sbcglobal, att, bellsouth or email.com. They delete our forum signup emails.

    A note to old forum members...
    I receive numerous requests from people who can no longer log in because their accounts were deleted. As mentioned in the forum FAQ, user accounts are deleted if you haven't logged in for the past 6 months. If you can't log in, then create a new forum account. If you don't get an error message, then check your email account for an activation message. If you get a message stating that the email address is already in use, then your account still exists so follow the instructions in the forum FAQ for resetting your password.

    Have you forgotten your password or have a new email address? Then read the forum FAQ for details on how to reset it.

    Any email requests for "can't log in anymore" problems or "lost my password" problems will be deleted. Read the forum FAQ and follow the instructions there - that's what we have one for...

  • Returning Visitors

    If you are a returning visitor who never received your confirmation email, then odds are your email provider is blockinig emails from our server. The only thing that can be done to get around this is you will have to try creating another forum account using an email address from another domain.

    If you are a returning visitor to the forum and can't log in using your old forum name and password but used to be able to then chances are your account is deleted. Purges of the databases are done regularly. You will have to create a new forum account and you should be all set.

Petcock Spring ?!?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Vinny
  • Start date Start date
V

Vinny

Guest
Hi guys,

I just bought a Suzuki 400L 1979 for a restoration project.

My petcock was not working correctly(always open) in any position so I was having some fuel in the crankcase (carb rebuild is my next step).

After a dissasembly of the petcock I figure out that the diaphragm spring was missing. And obviously, by the look of the philips screws I knew that I was not the first one to open this petcock. Unfortunately, the rebuild kit that I found do not include this spring.


Where can I buy this spring ? :confused:


Thank you
 
Or maybe someone could tell me the dimensions of the spring and I could find a similar one on Mcmaster...

p.s.
Since I started to work on my bike, I used a lot of good informations and tutorials from this forum. Thanks to everyone for this great Community.
 
Welcome,

My suggestion is to buy a new fuel petcock. Z1 Enterprises has em' and they cost about $50. Buy genuine Suzuki parts so she runs great!




Ed
 
Cut the nib off of the lever, and file the notch in the cover. Then you should have enough clearance so you can turn it to the up position That will be an Off
 
I've swapped petcocks across three 400's with no issue with the hole-spacing, so I'd stick my neck out as a good guess that a petcock for the American 450T will fit your "L" fine.(...though to look at them they might not be a happy fit for a 400 E where the tap is close to the frame and sidecovers)

the spring is just strong enough to push the diaphragm plug back in versus the bike (or you!) sucking on the vacuum to open it. It's not awful thick or strong and you should be able to find something similar around. Quickly, I'll attach a bad picture,but it gives a clue.

View attachment 21137

..actually, between the two settingsRUN-RES might work as total shut-off?

the funky diaphragm is cut from a Taymor rubber-raft repair kit! and still works fine but I'm a sick/thrifty person.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the brainstorm :)

First I will try my luck with a similar spring and use a drilled water bucket as a benchmark. I really want a reliable petcock so if it's not perfectly waterproof I will look forward on the replacement option.

SqDancerLynn1 your proposed modification is very clever, it could be a cool upgraded feature to my petcock.

Thanks for your help !!!
I will give you feedback when the problem will be solved
 
hello, i have got exactly the same problem as you, finding the spring missing when i opened up the fuel tap, to be honest i didn't even know there was supposed to be one till i opened my spare tap & the spring popped out.my bike is a gsx250- 8 valve, is yours the 8 valve 400 ? my local suzuki supplier seam to have all the internal carb stuff for my bike & i'm going on monday to see if they have a spring & the rubber "O" rings that go on the petrol prime screw which have perished, by the way ,my spring is 20mm long X 10mm dia & the guage is roughly 0.5mm. i'll measure the guage properly when i get access to a vernier on monday.
 
hugo151 said:
hello, i have got exactly the same problem as you, finding the spring missing when i opened up the fuel tap, to be honest i didn't even know there was supposed to be one till i opened my spare tap & the spring popped out.my bike is a gsx250- 8 valve, is yours the 8 valve 400 ? my local suzuki supplier seam to have all the internal carb stuff for my bike & i'm going on monday to see if they have a spring & the rubber "O" rings that go on the petrol prime screw which have perished, by the way ,my spring is 20mm long X 10mm dia & the guage is roughly 0.5mm. i'll measure the guage properly when i get access to a vernier on monday.
Click to expand...
yes the guage is 0.5mm. the suzuki shop said the spring & little "O" rings are not listed. i found a spring which looked similar but felt alot stronger. this was 0.7mm guage, i'm going to look for one at an old bike breakers i know, & then to a fuel injection place to see if i can get the O rings.
 
Thanks Hugo.

I will start my tests with your dimensions. A friend of mine will provide me with some differents industrials springs :dancing:
 
hello vinny, my fuel tap was also dribbling out in the off position, i'm pretty sure its because the little rubber seal on the end of the prime screw is not seating properly, i've ordered some viton o rings to fit it . its 2mm i/s x 4mm o/s x 1mm cross section, i've also ordered a rebuild kit, i'm confident it'll work. ps i found a spring the right guage but a bit longer but a bit smaller dia, & adjusted it to fit.
 
i have found the springs that hold the carbon brushes on a 9" grinder are possible
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top