no gas going to engine - GS1000L 1979

[Guest]

I haven't been on here for almost a year. I finally put my bike back together, gas in and ready to go. Wife videoing with my phone and.......FAIL....she wouldn;t start.

The starter was going and it sounded as though it should start but....when I looked at the clear tube going from the tank, no fuel was flowing out.

This happens when I put the petcock in all 3 positions. On/ RES/ and PRI.
I can;t seem to get the fuel to come out.....

other facts.....

1)outside the petcock where the switch to RES, ON or PRI is, there seems to have the tiniest amount of gas that I could see on my fingers.....not sure if that means anything.

2)the black tube(I'm presuming the vacuum tube) has no suction in it whatsoever. I even disconnected it from the gas tank and tried to start the bike.....nothing.

any thoughts other than buy a new petcock? Or is that definitely the problem? THe bike when I got it ran perfectly fine. Then I took all the gas out, the tank off and the bike has been sitting for almost a year while I worked on it.

thanks everyone in advance

[koolaid_kid]

Unplug the larger line at the petcock. Put the petcock on PRI. If no fuel flows, it is your petcock. If fuel flows, there is a blockage at the carbs or in the line itself. Be sure and have a catch can below the petcock in case fuel does flow.

[Big T]

You will need to remove the gas tank and tip it or empty it so the gas doesn't spill all over

Remove the 2 screws on the petcock face and take off the face plate

Wiggle the lever out

Check the rubber disc with the 3 holes in it

With a catch bucket, tip the tank to the petcock and see if gas flows out of the holes

If not, remove the petcock from the tank and see of the screen is clogged

Maybe your tank is rusty?

BTW, the last time I looked, these petcocks are either NLA or about $260

[e7ats]

With the petcock on PRI you should have fuel coming out the supply tube. On and SEC requires vacuum to pull a diaphragm off to supply fuel to the carbs.

[speedorchid]

thanks

thanks so much for the replies.. I put it in all 3 positions and nothing flows out. Even if I disconnect the tube and put it to PRI nothing. The tank is full of gas and so I guess it should flow out. The actual filter part of the petcock is pristine and not clogged and the tank itself is pretty clean inside so I guess it must be the petcock.

Big T, when you say wiggle the lever out, do you mean move it back and forth between lets say ON and PRIM and pull it out at the same time? will this actually get the lever out? And if in fact I get it out and see a rubber disc with 3 holes in it, what am I looking for and can I get a replacement part for this if the rubber is mangled?

last Q....sorry for being such a newbie....

-What in the petcock would cause this to happen? Is it something that I can maybe fix on my own? 260$ is almost the total value of the bike when I started...lol.

thanks again, this forum is amazing because of guys like you.

[Big T]

Lever out - exactly correct - rotate it back and forth while pulling it out

The rubber disc is available. It's self explanatory when you look at it

The internal passages may be plugged up or the screen on top may be plugged. Otherwise, it would flow on Prime

If you get it cleaned out consider replacing the rubber disc and the O ring that goes around the lever. Lube them with silicone grease and buff the round edge of the lever disc before reinstalling

[speedorchid]

Lever out - exactly correct - rotate it back and forth while pulling it out

The rubber disc is available. It's self explanatory when you look at it

The internal passages may be plugged up or the screen on top may be plugged. Otherwise, it would flow on Prime

If you get it cleaned out consider replacing the rubber disc and the O ring that goes around the lever. Lube them with silicone grease and buff the round edge of the lever disc before reinstalling

Ok thanks again...maybe I'll give it a try. I'll take some gas out of the tank, take off the petcock, take it apart, unplug it all as best I can...any ideas where I can get the rubber disc and orings from? otherwise, I'll try my local motorbike shop......thanks again.

[koolaid_kid]

Ok thanks again...maybe I'll give it a try. I'll take some gas out of the tank, take off the petcock, take it apart, unplug it all as best I can...any ideas where I can get the rubber disc and orings from? otherwise, I'll try my local motorbike shop......thanks again.

If you are going to take this approach, I strongly suggest you remove all the fuel from the tank first. Then take the petcock apart and slowly start to pour fuel in. When you take it apart, all the fuel in the tank will most likely spill out, so I suggest you minimize the spillage.

[Big T]

Ok thanks again...maybe I'll give it a try. I'll take some gas out of the tank, take off the petcock, take it apart, unplug it all as best I can...any ideas where I can get the rubber disc and orings from? otherwise, I'll try my local motorbike shop......thanks again.

Suzuki dealer

[sedelen]

Does your petcock look like the one in this picture?
I'm asking because to me I think you may have a different one than this.
Pictures would be nice.
If yours does look like this, you might be in luck, this petcock is $77 not the couple of hundreds plus for the '78, '79 GS1000C/EC/N/EN.

http://www.boulevardsuzuki.com/fiche_section_detail.asp?section=95497&category=Motorcycles&make=SUZUKI&year=1979&fveh=2147

[chuck hahn]

I would take a length of hose that will go above the top of the tankso gas wont flow out it, put the petcock in the PRIme position and give it a little shot of air with a compressor..just a few little bursts to see if it will backflow some air and dislodge the jam.

If that works, drain the tank off using the PRI position into a 5 gallon can and remove and clean the petcock.

[sedelen]

I would take a length of hose that will go above the top of the tankso gas wont flow out it, put the petcock in the PRIme position and give it a little shot of air with a compressor..just a few little bursts to see if it will backflow some air and dislodge the jam.

If that works, drain the tank off using the PRI position into a 5 gallon can and remove and clean the petcock.

If that tank was empty for awhile and everything dried out that petcock is probably glued shut, plugged or something, a shot of air might do it.
Did you notice the parts diagram? The petcock they show looks more like the one on my '82 GS1100E than my '79 GS1000E.
Does the "face" of the petcock look like this


Or this?

[chuck hahn]

Sometimes a little burst of air does indeed pop things free. Enough to be able to use the PRI position to at least drain the tank so some investigation and repair can be done. Can syphon most off but not all. That's why I suggested that if the fuel starts to flow..even slowly at first..drain it all of with the petcock.

[speedorchid]

fuel not flowing - my petcock

The "face" of the petcock on mine looks like your top photo "CLASSIC CYCLE PARTS"...but not exactly as it has a nubby part sticking out the bottom and looks like the one in the site link that you sent to me.

here are a few picts of mine. THanks again to everyone...going to drain the fuel using that hose above the tank technique, then blow it out as best I can...maybe even try to take it apart and get a new Oring then if that doesnt work, I'll buy a rebuild petcock kit although I hear it is like firing in the dark in terms of success rate.









[/QUOTE]

[sedelen]

The "face" of the petcock on mine looks like your top photo "CLASSIC CYCLE PARTS"...but not exactly as it has a nubby part sticking out the bottom and looks like the one in the site link that you sent to me.

here are a few picts of mine. THanks again to everyone...going to drain the fuel using that hose above the tank technique, then blow it out as best I can...maybe even try to take it apart and get a new Oring then if that doesnt work, I'll buy a rebuild petcock kit although I hear it is like firing in the dark in terms of success rate.

[/QUOTE]

I'm glad I asked, I was pretty sure it was like the one's on my '79 GS1000E, it isn't. Anyway a new one is $77 and change Boulevard Suzuki.
But if you want to give it a go, the face cover just snaps on, you could probably just lift where it snaps on the sides and pull the lever and guts out. But I don't know if there's a rebuild kit for it, so be careful, and I would do this as a last resort, I checked E-bay for a rebuild kit, didn't see one. At least new OEM ones are not all that expensive, compared to the '78, '79 GS1000C's EC's, N's and EN's.