Boot o-rings

[bexabarr]

I was just wondering if these really need to be replaced... My budget is tight, and there are a lot of little things that I need to buy for the bike and I have to start cutting corners (I realize that the boot o-rings may not be the place to start doing that). Just looking for opinions that all. Thanks,

Beni

[tconroy]

Yes!!!They are shot and you need to sand down the faces of that metal on the intake boots also.There is siqnificant build up that needs to be sanded off flat so there is just metal showing.use fine sand paper on a flat surface to do it.The o-rings are about a buck a piece.Put high temp grease on them when you replace them.just a thin layer will do.Replace your phillips screws with allen hex heads also and torque to 6ft.lbs.Should be 6mm by 1.0"You can get them at most hardware stores.Check the boots for cracks and separation around the flanges.I just did this to my bike and it made a world of difference.If your boots are cracked replacing the just the o-rings wont do any good.The boots are 25 bucks a piece at the dealer and takes a week to get.

[wolfie]

I was able to get the build up off of my flanges using carb cleaner and a rag. Be careful not to get it on the rubber. Also, if your boots are salvagable, spray them with WD-40 and leave them for a while. It helps soften the rubber. Plus, it will help when you are mounting the carbs back up. I agree, by the way, your O-rings are shot. Replace them.

[KEITH KRAUSE]

They're too cheap and too important to engine performance, to not replace them.
As said earlier, apply some hi-temp bearing grease and torque to about 6 ft/lb.

[bwringer]

DO NOT USE HARDWARE STORE O-RINGS FOR YOUR INTAKE BOOTS!
DO NOT USE HARDWARE STORE O-RINGS FOR YOUR INTAKE BOOTS!
DO NOT USE HARDWARE STORE O-RINGS FOR YOUR INTAKE BOOTS!
DO NOT USE HARDWARE STORE O-RINGS FOR YOUR INTAKE BOOTS!
DO NOT USE HARDWARE STORE O-RINGS FOR YOUR INTAKE BOOTS!
DO NOT USE HARDWARE STORE O-RINGS FOR YOUR INTAKE BOOTS!

Got that?

Regular buna-n o-rings will deteriorate very quickly in the heat of the cylinder head. You'll very quickly be worse off than when you started.

The correct o-rings are less than $2 each. They are made of a special heat-resistant rubber called Viton.

There was a guy around here selling sets of Viton o-rings in the proper size for real cheap -- maybe he'll show up soon...

More on intake o-rings:

http://bwringer.com/gs/intakeorings.html

http://cycleorings.com/intake.html

[bexabarr]

Thanks guys, for some reason I thought these o-rings were a lot more expensive. I think that the boots are fine, they they seem a bit deformed but no crarcks or anything of that sort. I was getting to cold cylenders (I pulled my carbs and just finished dipping them), do you think that these o-rings are a likely culprit? Thanks,

Beni

[KEITH KRAUSE]

The culprit of what symptoms/problems?
Intake leaks will cause hard starting/no starting. The classic symptom of an intake leak is a motor that idles about 1,000 rpm when cold but rises significantly once warmed up and generally won't return to normal idle until the motor is cold again.
Regardless, since you have the carbs off, the o-rings should be replaced if you don't know how old they are, even if they appear OK. They're cheap.

[bexabarr]

Keith, thanks. I've been having trouble starting the bike, and when it did it did just what you described. I had pulled and cleaned the carbs on various occasions, even changed the points. I think that I may have found the solution to my rough starting problems! And for the record... if I knew that the o-rings were that cheap I would of never posted this thread! Thanks again everyone.

[tconroy]

listen to these guys ,they no there gs's

[JayH]

Thanks guys, for some reason I thought these o-rings were a lot more expensive. I think that the boots are fine, they they seem a bit deformed but no crarcks or anything of that sort. I was getting to cold cylenders (I pulled my carbs and just finished dipping them), do you think that these o-rings are a likely culprit? Thanks,

Beni

Unless one of the previous owners replaced the carb and airbox boots a little earlier in your bike's life I'm pretty sure that if you try to push on the rubber boots they will be hard and have cracks in em. Replace them and the O rings ASAP.

[bexabarr]

The carb to engine intake boots (the one's in the picture) don't have any cracks and are quite flexible. However the airbox intake boots seemed a bit more worned out, where can I buy these. I've looked on many sites, and I have found some for other bike models but not for mine. Thanks again.

[semerm]

parts

you can watch ebay and often they have them on there. You may have to buy the whole airbox but they still are not too high proced for good used ones. i woudl just ask the person selling them the condition of htem as you hate to "buy" worse than you "own". good luck.