Seized Engine....I thought

[bighamms]

ok, picked up an 81 gs450s. Put a little penetrating oiling in the spark plug holes 2 weeks ago. Bike will not fire up because the spark plugs don't spark. How do I dry out the cylinders. Will seafoam do the trick?

[SqDancerLynn1]

It will smoke like h#ll and clean itself

[bighamms]

@sqdancer....yeah, that's what I thought, but I don't seam to be getting spark because its a little wet in there. am wondering if the seafoam will act like wd-40 and help displace some of the moisture

[koolaid_kid]

Have you tested the plugs outside the engine? Like grounding them and turning the engine over with the starter? They should spark outside the engine at the very least. If not, you've got a bit of investigation to do.

[Steve]

To dry out your plugs, simply get a new set of plugs.

.

[bwringer]

To dry out your plugs, simply get a new set of plugs.

.

Weeeeellllll, that might cost a whole $3.98...

[corporalagarn]

question from a newbie....isn't it suggested that in the case of a seized engine that one shouldn't go right to the "firing up" stage, but rather hand turn it so as to not overly force the issue? just trying to learn.

[tkent02]

Some engines are just lightly stuck, others are rusted solid.
It sounds like this one freed itself with a squirt of penetrating oil?
Does it spin freely now?
The spark problem isn't caused by oil, unless there is a ton of it in there.

[Pete Logan]

question from a newbie....isn't it suggested that in the case of a seized engine that one shouldn't go right to the "firing up" stage, but rather hand turn it so as to not overly force the issue? just trying to learn.

Yeah, but if he is not getting spark then he must be already turning the motor over. In general it is best to get a stuck motor to move mechanically rather than by just seeing if the starter motor will do it.

[koolaid_kid]

Weeeeellllll, that might cost a whole $3.98...

Where do you shop? I spent nearly $8 (including tax) at Napa for mine. I went without lunch for two days...
But it sure do run better now, bubba.

[tkent02]

Anywhere but NAPA, they are always higher than most.

[bighamms]

wow! i step away from my PC for a day and the conversation just carries on without me. Nice...

Ok, so here's were I'm at. Engine is not seized. I was able to turn in by hand and have since gotten the bike to fire up and run for several minutes at a time. After the initial post (by after, I mean literally seconds after I posted), I realized that the best way to get spark is a brand spanking new set of plugs (autozone...NKG's $3.00). Popped them in and it pretty much fired right up....

but now I have a whole new problem. The bike wont stay running because it appears to be starved for fuel. My tanks petcock is on the lower left corner. If I tip the tank, it dumps fuel in the carbs. If I set the tank on the bike in the mounts, nothing. It's almost as if the vacuum is being created and therefore fuel is not being "sucked" into the bike properly. I have decide to replace the petcock, but they are hard to find. Any good suggestions on a replacement/universal petcock? Side note: the old one is trashed. the base (part that screws to tank) is badly deteriorated and leaks fuels. This could be part of the vacuum problem.

HELP...

[samson]

http://www.bikebandit.com/1981-suzuki-motorcycle-gs450sx/o/m6044

is a good place to start

[samson]

Also try here:

http://www.cmsnl.com/suzuki-gs450_model13427/

[koolaid_kid]

partshark and babbitsonline are also good sources, and tend to be cheaper than bikebandit. They also use true Suzuki part numbers, which can help in searching for parts.