No gas in float bowls

[kfholler]

Hello all, need some help desperately. Trying to get bike running after a year sitting. Did a bunch of stuff today, but at the end of the day, I have the petcock on prime, gas is flowing out of the petcock, but is not making it's way into the carbs. I reattached the fuel line, left it on prime, and opened the drain plugs on the bowls. They drained yesterday (the one year old gas) but today there's not a drop coming out of them. I have other problems but this is the most glaring and trying to take it one problem at a time. Need help, any suggestions would be great!

Apologies if there's another thread dealing with this I could not find it.
Thanks so much,
-KH

[tom203]

Hello all, need some help desperately. Trying to get bike running after a year sitting. Did a bunch of stuff today, but at the end of the day, I have the petcock on prime, gas is flowing out of the petcock, but is not making it's way into the carbs. I reattached the fuel line, left it on prime, and opened the drain plugs on the bowls. They drained yesterday (the one year old gas) but today there's not a drop coming out of them. I have other problems but this is the most glaring and trying to take it one problem at a time.

One problem at a time is good approach! What bike is this?
Does fuel flow down unattached fuel line ( on prime )? Float needles could be stuck in closed position, but this seems unlikely for multiple carbs all at same time. Anyways, have you tried tapping gently on each carb?

[kfholler]

It's a 1982650GLZ. Fuel does flow out of the petcock on pri, but I have not detached the carb side to see if it is making it all the way through.

[Steve]

Just because the petcock is in PRIME does not mean that it can flow gas.

There is an o-ring inside that seals the port. If that o-ring is stuck (typical, if the petcock has not been used for a LONG time), it won't flow any fuel.

.

[Adler]

If youre sure fuel is flowing through the fuel line and into the carbs then the problem has to be in the fuel rail of the carbs. Either every single float is stuck or there is a blockage in the T connector. Either way, if unstabilized fuel was left in the carbs for a year I think they need to be torn down anyway.

[kfholler]

I know that fuel is coming out of the petcock, when the fuel line is detached, I switch the petcock to prime and it flows freely and I can drain the tank. I don't know where it is stopping beyond there after the fuel line is re-attached. If only everything was clear!

Is it silly of me to be trying everything I can not to tear down the carbs? I completely rebuilt them 3 years ago and am trying to avoid dissassembling them again. How much should I expect a shop to charge me to clean the carbs? If it's a reasonab le price maybe I am doing too much work here to avoid getting a shop to do it for me.

Thanks all for suggestions! This forum is the difference between me calmly(ish) troubleshooting my bike, and my grabbing for the sledge hammer in frustration!

[Adler]

I've never had a shop do them but I bet they charge well into the hundreds of dollars for a set of carbs. They really arent too hard to do yourself, theres even a illustrated guide! The hardest part is usually getting the darn things off the bike!

Anyhow, you say fuel flows out of the petcock... Does it also flow out of the other end of the fuel line? In other words, are you positive fuel is entering the carbs?

[kfholler]

Thanks for your response - I don't know if fuel is making it's way through the fuel line yet. I discovered close to the end of the time I had that no fuel was in the carb bowls. I checked the petcock is working (on pri) but nothing else yet. As soon as I get 20 min to rub together I can pull the line from the carb end and make sure it's not kinked or clogged itself. I don't remember how difficult it is to reach the carb end of that line. Thanks again.

Does anyone know a ballpark of how much a shop would charge? I have a little one and a pregnant wife, so time is difficult to come by right now and paying a shop might be worth it to ride this fall!

[tom203]

Thanks for your response - I don't know if fuel is making it's way through the fuel line yet. I discovered close to the end of the time I had that no fuel was in the carb bowls. I checked the petcock is working (on pri) but nothing else yet. As soon as I get 20 min to rub together I can pull the line from the carb end and make sure it's not kinked or clogged itself. I don't remember how difficult it is to reach the carb end of that line. Thanks again.

Does anyone know a ballpark of how much a shop would charge? I have a little one and a pregnant wife, so time is difficult to come by right now and paying a shop might be worth it to ride this fall!

You done the carbs once before, so have a big headstart! Pull seat off, remove tank bolts and tilt tank up so you can reach in and pull fuel line off carbs ( maybe ten minutes of work). Does fuel come out on prime?
Nobody but you will do a thorough carb cleaning! and you wouldn't believe what they would charge! I bet this is #1 reason old bikes get dumped to strippers.

[kfholler]

Tom, thanks for the response I really appreciate the help. I have some new info for everyone:

When I got home from work I loosened the tank to see if I could do just what you suggested, reach in and yank the fuel line from the carb. I was worried I wouldn't be able to get it back on, so I skipped it. Then I loosened the drain plug on carb 1 (left most while seated on bike) and it was full of gas! Something must have worked loose over night. I switched it to pri and it flowed freely out of carb 1. Replaced the plug, checked carb 2 and same story, gas flowing freely. Carb 4 had some gas when I first removed the plug, but I couldn't get it to flow through it on pri. I couldn't check carb 3 today. At different points in my testing I had gas coming out of each of the 3 overflow lines, 2 on carb bodies, and 1 on the airbox. I had put some seafoam in tank, and directly in fuel line so maybe that helped de-gum some stuff. I'm still worried about carb 4, and 3 is an unknown, but I know a lot more than I did before without having to pull the carbs, or hard-to-reach fuel lines. I want to check the plugs are sparking, and get a new battery, and maybe tomorrow I'll be trying to start it. I have a bunch of questions first, if you guys could chime in with your opinions I would appreciate it:

1 - is trying to start her up just a plain bad idea?
2 - will trying to start it help the gas path into carb 4?
3 - is the gas in the airbox something to worry about?
4 - any other considerations I am missing?
5 - assuming it starts, but runs like crap, what're your opinions on carb cleaning additives to try and degum the carbs without tearing them down?

Thanks!

[BassCliff]

Greetings and Salutations!!

Hi Mr. kfholler,

The road to GS happiness always begins at clean carbs (with new o-rings) and a tightly sealed air intake system. We always worry about the petcock too. Keep us informed.

I apologize for my Profound Glimpse into the Obvious.

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Here is your very own magical, mystical, mythical, mind-expanding "mega-welcome". Please take notice of the "Top 10 Common Issues", the Carb Rebuild Series, and the Stator Papers. Now let me roll out the welcome mat for you...

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Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[kfholler]

Thanks for the warm welcome, and all the help so far. I am still hoping for some feedback on my general questions about trying to start the bike tonight, and it sounds like there is no alternative to tearing down and cleaning the carbs myself. Does anyone have experience with paying someone else to do it? I had a shop that would do it for me but they closed 2 years ago, and I am left in a bit of a lurch here. Thanks. -KH

[Larry D]

Thanks for the warm welcome, and all the help so far. I am still hoping for some feedback on my general questions about trying to start the bike tonight, and it sounds like there is no alternative to tearing down and cleaning the carbs myself. Does anyone have experience with paying someone else to do it? I had a shop that would do it for me but they closed 2 years ago, and I am left in a bit of a lurch here. Thanks. -KH

Chef will do it.....but, really, you can do it yourself, it ain't rocket science.

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?t=148764

[tom203]

Those two lines going up and over airbox are carb vent lines- if they are spitting gas it means your carbs float needles are stuck open- fuel is entering carbs and overfilling and rising up and out of vent tubes. Also fuel in airbox means same thing. You can try tapping on them (each carb) and hope they close, but who knows?
It might start ( and run like crap ), but I'd try to get float needles to at least do most of their job. There's too much gas floating around here!
Was bike running ok when you parked it a year ago?

[kfholler]

Thanks Tom and Larry - Tom, it was running great a year ago, besides a nasty screech from the front wheel. I couldn't figure out the screeching, and gradual procrastination led to a year of sitting. I think now that the screech is the speedo, and I'm exicted to fix it, but I need to get the bike running first!

I'm really, REALLY, hoping that the seafoam I put in the tank is doing it's job and creeping around de-varnishing everything and freeing up stuck stuff. Major improvement from no fuel flow to too much, tomorrow I'm hoping to assess the situation again. Hopefully I am too smart to try and start it, but I might not be able to resist!