new petcock problem

[Guest]

Bought a aftermarket petcock for my 80 850, thought it would fit because bolt holes are right. And I put one on my wife's 450 a while back. Well the filter is too wide to fit through the hole on the tank. by maybe 1 and 1/2 mm. Thought of shaving it down but not much to shave without tearing it up. Know I could widen the hole in the tank but didn't know if that would cause leak issues. Also will have to wait for last of gas I couldn't get out of the tank to evaporate. Wondering is I could use couple hard plastic tubes (if I can find any) cut the same length as filter and reserve tube and install in line filter? terrylee

[bwringer]

Widening the hole in the tank shouldn't cause issues with leaking, although it would be mighty difficult to capture all the shavings. The seal is formed by the o-ring and by the seals around the mounting bolts.

If possible, I'd avoid removing the petcock filter and replacing it with an inline filter. Gunk inside the petcock can cause plenty of problems even if it never gets to the carbs.

Is the interference maybe just a layer of paint, or is it metal?

[terrylee]

Thanks Brian, it's the metal. But only 1 or at most 2 mm. I thought about the shaving, was trying to think of something I could put inside hole and get back out easily that would help caught them. Your right it would be best to keep the filter. If I enlarge the hole on one end I was planning on using a grinding wheel on my dremel. Maybe flush tank out afterwards with something that won't flash rust tank. terrylee

[GSX1000E]

I have done many of those. Drain the tank, grind out to fit the new filter, add water and drain, blow out the tank with compressed air until dry, install new petcock with new seals including the sealing washers, install on bike, fill with gas, done.

[tom203]

Too much work -just get the right petcock (under $50) for the 80 tank and sell the other.

[terrylee]

You right Tom, but don't have the extra money right now, and dying to ride. Will try grinding and see how that goes. terrylee

[terrylee]

Ground the filter hole very little with cone shaped grinding stone on my dremel and filter slid right in. Took about five minutes to complete! But then I dropped the tank and have fairly large dent in the side. Then checking the por-15 sealer in the another tank I have that I sealed two weeks ago and have put nothing in yet, and it's peeling in several places. Not been a good day. terrylee