It has been an interesting couple of weeks following this, I figured it's about time to toss in
my couple of pennies.
I took the bike to the dealer ... They said that the carburetors would need to be cleaned and that it probably needed valve work. I believe the first part, but not the second. I don’t think there is anything wrong with the valves, but that is just a gut feeling.
I ordered a Haynes manual on line and although helpful to a degree, it tells nothing about what the proper setting on the petcock screw should be.
1) What is the proper setting for the petcock screw?
2) Should I just replace the petcock all together?
3) I was reading in the archive about cleaning float chambers and pilot jets (yeah I have no idea what those are, but am sure I will soon find out!) and know I should do that.
4) The tank looks clean inside when you look down from the top, but it was full of rust. (Guess it was from the bottom….) Guess I should clean the tank.
1) I see from later posts that you have the dreaded 1980 petcock. The engineer that came up with that thing should have been taken out back and shot, and I don't mean with a hypodermic, either. There are only ON and PRI positions, I don't know which one is which, but that petcock is unique in that, unlike ALL the others, it also takes a bit of vacuum to get it flowing in the PRI position.
2) Test if first before you spend the money.
3) You will need to be cleaning a LOT more than just the bowls and jets. Someone already gave you the link to the cleaning pages.
4) Water has a higher density than gasoline, so it will collect at the bottom of the tank. That is why you will find most of your rusty crud down there. For cleaning tips, look farther down my post.
Petcock is not gravity fed it requires engine vacuum in order to operate correctly except int he PRI position. ... does the fuel flow when the petcock is set to PRI?
Because there is no fuel pump on the bike, the whole system is gravity-fed, but does require engine vacuum to turn on the petcock. On all years
except 1980, the PRI position will flow fuel freely to fill the carb bowls. On the 1980 models, you need a bit of vacuum to get the flow started, then it will continue without the vacuum. It would be as simple as putting the petcock in PRI, bump the starter, turn the key OFF, let the bowls fill. Fortunately, you should not have to do this very often.
it should have pri-on-res.
forwards/backwards/straight down.
Except for the fact that this is the dreaded 1980 petcock with the screwdriver slot that only has ON and PRI.
Where does one get "in tank carb cleaner"??? I am a mechanical novice but does that mean STP fuel system cleaner??
Just think "additive". STP is OK, Techron is better, Seafoam is probably the best. You can find it in virtually any auto parts store, Wal Mart and many others. Seafoam is in a white 16 oz. can with red lettering. If you are trying to clean the system, I would put in more than they recommend, then run out the entire tank. They typically recommend about 1 oz. per gallon, so you would only add 3-4 ounces to your tank. I would put in half the tank. Go for a ride, burn out the entire tank, then refill it before parking for the night. For those that like to add it regularly, a couple of ounces per tank will keep things fresh. By the way, Seafoam is great for winterizing the bike, too. Just add it to the tank at the recommended ratio, run the bike long enough to make sure it gets through the carbs (a 5-mile ride would be nice) then change the oil and park the bike.
If you're trying to avoid rebuilding the carbs.....First of all, DON'T !! Aside from cleaning the carbs throughly, there are also o-rings between the carbs that need replaced otherwise at some point they will leak.
I think what he is trying to say here is not "Don't clean the carbs", but "Don't
avoid cleaning the carbs". There is no way around it and there are NO shortcuts. I see from one of your posts that you have dropped the float bowls and spritzed some cleaner around. That might make
you feel better, but the bike won't run any better. There is just NO substitute for removing the carbs, taking them
completely apart, soaking the carb bodies overnight in Berryman's (or Gunk) carb dip and re-assembling them with new o-rings from
www.cycleorings.com. The guy that runs that little place is a member of this board and provides a fine service.
When you separate the carbs, just don't touch the throttle adjustment screws and lock nuts (that's what one adjusts with the carb sync). They have spring-loaded clamps so you can just pull them apart, then slip them back together. When you put them back together they'll be sync'd as they were before, just cleaner.
Yeah, it probably won't be any worse than it was before, but that does not mean it was anywhere near RIGHT to begin with. Before putting the carbs back on the bike. hold them up to a light and look through the carb throats. I usually look from the engine side. Look at the sliver of light coming around the throttle butterflies. Adjust those screws so the sliver of light is about the same on all the carbs. This is called a "bench sync".
Remembered the name of Kreem, but not the other name, so I am going back to re-read through the thread and then go searching the local stores for it...DOn't really want to do internet..Takes too long... Avoiding the Kreem because most of the gas around here contains ethanol, and so what would be the point if Kreem is soluble in alcohol?? ... BF's brother has a 30 something Suburban, he cleaned his gas tank the hard way - (steam jenny- kerosine and nuts and bolts for scouring agents) and now swears by the following to keep the inside in good shape..Marvel Miracle oil and Stabil in every gas up to the proportions on the bottle...Anyone ever hear of that one before?? :?:Says he read it somewhere... Oh he IS a mechanic...
Kreem is a decent product, but they made a name for themselves long before ethanol was added to the gas. Many people don't realize that it's the ethanol (alcohol) that is messing up the Kreem.
That actually sounds like a decent way to clean a tank. I have a friend that has cleaned several tanks by steaming them out, putting in a couple handfuls of hardware and covering the openings. He then wraps the tank in a piece of old carpet and uses blocks of foam to wedge it into his small cement mixer and lets it run for a couple of hours. He changes the position of the tank and lets it go for a couple more. Does a fantastic job.
Some people swear by the use of Marvel Mystery Oil, Sta-Bil, Seafoam, whatever in every tank of gas. Personally, I have never found the benefit. For occasional cleaning, sure, but not necessary in every tank. That is, unless they only fill the tank a couple of times a year. Any one of those three products will work well to stabilize fuel in a tank for winterizing, and will do a decent job of cleaning, but simply running fresh fuel through the system on a regular basis does wonders, too,
Oh, back to your original statement about the dealer saying it might need some valve work. HE WAS RIGHT.
It might not need the valves re-surfaced or anything like that, but the clearances need to be adjusted every 3-4000 miles. The clearances on these bikes tend to decrease, and that can lead to some serious problems if not caught in time. You should have
BassCliff's site bookmarked, he has information there on how to adjust the valves. Look at my sig, you can also get a copy of my spreadsheet that helps you figure out what you need.
As you can see, waiting for stuff ordered on that Interweb thingy won't take much time, compared to all the rest of the stuff you have to do to the bike.
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It's that syncronization (sp?) that's so intimidating...
ray: (but then again that describes All of my mechanic work....I did tell you I know NOTHING about mechanics!) I know that the wires are in the grooves, but as for the solid parts??? who knows?? I will recheck those... (Majorly sucks that these parts are so hard to see/reach!)
