Help for a new couple?? Sorry kinda long

[MelodicMetalGod]

It's nice having a wife that loves to turn wrenches!!

It must be! My girl refers to all tools as either wrenches or screwdrivers or some variation of "thingy". You are lucky indeed!

[GS750]

If you are going to clean the carbs I suggest that you use some carb cleaner spray whilst they are apart, and the use of a air compressor to blow through the various circuits whilst everything is apart wont hurt either.

Sometimes petrol can dry off and leave a varnish like substance which goes hard and then cant be softened again.

[Clone]

Does your bike have an air filter installed? Also is the airbox lid installed? Your problem could be as simple as a lack of vacuum. If you don't want to tear into the carbs too much, put in a can of seafoam and run that through the carbs. stuck floats are common when the bike has sat. lots of cleaner and a can of seafoam will help a lot. check the petcock is working properly too by sucking on the vacuum tube to see if fuel flows and stops when you stop the suction.

[donkris]

Thanks for the suggestions. The carbs are all torn down, I followed the carb cleanup series. I used the dip and a spray cleaner. I soaked everything for about an hour. There was a lot of goop in there! I also used compressed air and a bristle from a wire brush to get the passages clean. Everything looks really clean now. I'm just waiting for my o-ring kit to come in so I can put it back together. Most of the old o-rings were dry and brittle. A couple were missing. No wonder the bike ran so crappy. I'll let you guys know when I get it back together. Thanks again and enjoy the weekend.

[txironhead]

While you've got the carbs off, go ahead and inspect the intake boots and replace the o-rings between the boots and the head. Cheap insurance, and when those things go out they are a major pain to diagnose.

[Schweisshund]

You said you didn't know how long that bike had been sitting. My guess is that if it had goop in the petcock, that it had been sitting for a long time. That goop in the petcock was the gas that had turned to varnish. So yes, clean the carburetors and keep in mind - the same goop is in your engine. Get it running nice and hot then use seafoam deep creep (really fabulous stuff) and spray it while your bike is revving at 5,000 rpms through the carbs. Put some seafoam in the gas as well. This stuff really cleans thoroughly and be prepared for a lot of smoke to come pouring out your exhaust.

[donkris]

I'll try the seafoam treatment, I saw some at NAPA a little while ago. I ordered the o-rings for the boots when I ordered the ones for the carb. How the hell do those stupid little screws come out? Man those things are tight! I've got some penetrating oil on 'em right now. I'm afraid to strip the darn things. I also ordered the stainless bolts to replace them. I'm just waiting for my goodies to come in so I can get it back together. Thanks again for the tips. I've got a lot to learn but you got to start somewhere right?

[twistedwankel]

Money is always wasted on iron no matter what it is called.

[quote=txironhead;669263]Money is never wasted on old Mustangs, unless they were made from '72-84 or don't have a V8 (although the newer V6's are pretty stout).quote]

My "unrestored but repainted twice by MAACO"- '84 LX convertible with "improved" TBI 5.0 W/AOD is not an embarassment to the automotive world. Grown men and women love to hear the exhaust note even at idle. It might be the ONLY one in central FL from the sound of the locals? 164,000mi but only 44k on the rebuild. It is more practical to use than the topless GS with an old partner or in the rain or hot sun. Of course the same "locals" haven't seen an "authentic" - '81 GS750E in along time either. The only questionable Mustang is the Mustang2. My $750 ebay (sold in '05) '82 mustang had no problem running 13's on pump gas either - with a passenger. It was ugly Black Betty GT with the original 4speed and diff. The exhaust note made grown men NASCAR smile with those side pipes at rpm on the race track or on the street. On second thought even the MustangII had a following. So there are no bad Mustangs. Unless "bad" means "good":-D

[txironhead]

Touche. I was mainly thinking of the ugly body styles of the 70's (I think '71 was the last decent body of that era) and the Mustang II's. I remember a friend of mine had a Mustang II that you couldn't even chirp the tires on. And the '80's did have the lowest HP ratings of any of the 'Stangs, even the V8's. They started getting a little better towards the mid-80's and the new GT fastback style saved them. The coupes did have their following. My nephew would love your '84, that's his dream car.

For myself, nothing beats a '69 or '70 fastback. Doesn't matter what's in it, because I want to slam a fuel-injected 460 in it with a beefed-up C6 or E4OD (unless it comes with a CobraJet, then it's getting restored).

Okay, enough hijacking.

The best way to get those screws out is with a hand impact driver. Having the correct size bit is the most important thing. Lightly tighten the screw before loosening it, this lessens the tendency to break. Can't really heat them up due to the close proximity of the rubber boots, but giving them a good rap with a hammer before trying to remove them will probably help. Make sure to treat the stainless bolts with anti-seize before installing them or they will chemically bond and be very difficult to remove.

[txironhead]

BTW, I learned to work on bikes with my first bike, too. It was just a little more difficult than yours. It was a 1985 Honda Shadow VT700C that had been sitting under a tree for seven years. A Clymer manual, several Ebay purchases, a LOT of elbow grease and some paint and people were telling me what an awesome looking Sportster it was. Idiots. Sure, a Sportster with a shaft drive, pipes on each side and a radiator. Okay.

Anyway, several bikes, skinned knuckles and way too much money spent on tools and here I am helping you learn about bikes. I didn't even have the benefit of being a member on this forum then, although I'm really glad to be a member now. There is no better place to learn about GS's than right here.

[donkris]

Hey it's nice to hear about the humble beginnings of others. I'm slowly learning how this thing is put together. Kinda like a car only smaller I guess. I'm doing a lot of reading while waiting for my parts to get here. Maybe before too long I'll be able to help out the next new guy.

I managed to get the screws out of the intake boots after soaking them with penetrating oil. Somebody had stripped most of the phillips heads so after staring at it and scratching my head for a while I decided to use my dremmel to cut a flat slot in the screw heads. Worked like a charm. And there are no o-rings behind them. Someone used permatex on 'em! The boots look good and they're not stiff or cracked. They just weren't sealed. I really hate undoing other peoples crappy work. Thanks for the tip on the anti-seize, I'll be sure to get some before I put her back together. I can't wait to see how/if she'll run with the new stuff. Got my fingers crossed! Can you guys think of anything else I should be doing while it torn apart??

[bradleymaynar]

One thing that I haven't seen mentioned. Manometer. Once you get the carbs back on you'll need to synch them. The best tool is the Morgan Carbtune (I think). But you can pick up a Motion-Pro mercury manometer for around $50.

Brad bt

[txironhead]

They're also called Carburetor Synchronizers. Some places figure no-one will know what the heck a Manometer is.

[bradleymaynar]

They're also called Carburetor Synchronizers. Some places figure no-one will know what the heck a Manometer is.

Ain't that the truth. "Manometer" sounds like something a woman would use on a blind date.

Brad bt

[donkris]

Update: Now it won't start at all!! Not even if I blow in the vent tubes.

Ok, I got my new o-ring kit installed and got the carbs as clean as I could. They were completely disassembled and dipped. I soaked all the parts and the carb body for about an hour and followed that with some of the spray stuff and compressed air through the passages. I also used a small wire to clean the jets and passages as per the carb cleanup series. Floats were set to 22.4MM. Only one was a little off. Got it all back together, turned the petcock to "prime" and got good flow. I hooked the fuel line up to the carbs and tried to start. It turns over but won't start. I pulled the bowl drains and there is fuel in the carbs. What did I miss??

Prior to installing the carbs I did the bench sync method found on this site. The air/mix screws are backed out two full turns. I know the plugs need to be changed(new ones on the way) but the bike started with them prior to the carb work. Any suggestions?? The only thing different that I noticed is now the brake light isn't working but it worked before. All the others work to include the turn signals. When I apply the brake the guage lights come on even when the light switch is turned off. I'll check wiring tomorrow. What do you guys think about the no start issue?