81 GS850GLX carb question

[DaveDanger]

A query for you knowledgeable folks... The first thing I did when I took possession of my 81 GS850GLX a few weeks ago, was to pull the carbs and disassemble them for cleaning and reseal. Everything looked pretty good with one notable exception on all of them. There was an amorphous blob of black rubbery goo in the passage for the pilot jet on each carb when I pulled the float bowl. It seemed to me to have been a dollop of maybe RTV silicone sealant put in behind each pilot jet after installation when the carbs were supposedly rebuilt about 3 years ago. It came out with the consistency of soft tar. The bike has sat in a hangar since that last rebuild with gummy and broken down gasoline in the carbs all that time. I looked up on Alpha-sports.com and see that there is a specific rubber plug P/N: 13357-44080 listed for that location. I had none on hand when I reassembled the carbs, but they seem so far to run without any problems. Admittedly, I've done nothing but idle it in my hangar since the carb rebuild while I de-rust and slosh the fuel tank. Is there a specific need for those rubber plugs and what purpose do they serve??

[DaveDanger]

Nobody???

[Anonymous]

I believe i call it an air idle jet ( not sure, that's just what I call it.). The tops of mine had those aluminum plugs (like hockey pucks with center pinholes) which are probably oem plugs. If you clean the carbs, the plugs are probably drilled out and tossed to pull the needle. It seems as if you may not have been the first one to be into the carbs ( I don't want to be the one to say your carbs aren't virgin :twisted: ). I'd bet after they were done, they blobed the tops in lieu of the aluminum caps. Not sure if you need either.


mike

[duaneage]

I saw the same S#it come out of a carb once. The owner put WAY too much fuel stabilizer in that little gas tank. I had to spray a half a can of carb cleaner through the fuel line and run it for an hour to get it cleared out.

[KEITH KRAUSE]

Personally, I think the rubber plugs over the pilot jets are just an attempt by the factory to stop emissions related tampering. I haven't noticed any performance problems with the plugs missing either. The fuel still enters through the main jet and then up to the pilot jet.
In the past, a member or two have said they thought the bike ran rich without the plugs??? One member said they believe the bike can run richer, but only when the bike is on the sidestand and the tilted level in the float bowl may make it too easy for the pilot jet to draw fuel, resulting in a rich mixture.

[DaveDanger]

Thanks guys, I can get the plugs online for about $4.00 each it appears, just wanted to make sure I'm not harming anything running it a bit without them.

[LW_Icarus]

dave you mean the rubber plugs in the bowls, not the tamper caps at the top outside right?the pilot jet is supposed to have 4 little rubber plugs, Ive had people say you need em in there, Id just pick up some new ones at the suzi dealer or bike bandit to be on the safe side.

[Anonymous]

dave you mean the rubber plugs in the bowls, not the tamper caps at the top outside right?the pilot jet is supposed to have 4 little rubber plugs, Ive had people say you need em in there, Id just pick up some new ones at the suzi dealer or bike bandit to be on the safe side.

Hey, I didn't even think about those. I can't imagine using a liquid goop on those inside the bowl. I used a fuel resistant goop on the gaskets though. Hmmm...

mike

[DaveDanger]

LW-icarus, the plugs INSIDE the float chambers are the exact ones I'm referring to. I noted after starting to clean that there was a small "plateau" built up inside the bottom of the float bowls that would tend to hold in place a rubber plug inside the bottom of those air-jet openings. (That's the bottom when the carbs are in standard, mounted position). Mikeonbike, your reaction to the goop was the same as mine... why in the world do that inside the carb?