Leaking VM carb fuel Tee

[Nessism]

Classic situation I guess after doing some searching. The rubberized fuel inlet Tee fitting is leaking on my freshly rebuilt 550 carbs.

So far the options seem to be: $50 fitting from motorcyclecarbs.com, teflon tape, cut notches in the leaking Tee and install o-rings, order Kawasaki Tee from '77 kz1000. Are there any other options?

I'm tempted to try the notching thing but wonder how deep that rubberized coating is? If it's not too deep it should work. Also, has anyone had good results using teflon tape?

Thanks in advance.

[longgreensilverado]

I have run into this a while back when i bought my forst 4 cylinder bike whick was a gs1000g. I replaced the O-rings when i rebuilt the carbs and it went away. I would not do any notching or use any tape. bite the bullet and replace the tee and get new o-rings. doing it right the first time will pay off. making band aids and doing mickey mouse work will only build false hope.:-D

sorry for the lecture, but i am a maintanance freak.

[DimitriT]

$50 for a new T fitting? Are they insane?

Have you checked the OEM parts list?

Well, I'm usually with silverado on this but I don't like to get f*cked in the a$$ by overly expensive parts either.

I would try using a dremel cutting wheel to cut a pair of ring grooves in the existing fitting and at least test it out. I might even make a jig to get the grooves uniform.

[Nessism]

The VM carbs do not use o-rings on the Tee, the Tee itself has a rubberized coating with molded in ridges which create the seal. Mikuni must have realized that this design is flawed because the CV carbs use proper o-rings that can be replaced.

Unfortunately, the Tee is no longer available from Suzuki. The motorcyclecarbs.com Tee is aftermarket and a big rip off (my opinion of course).

I don't like the idea of notching the rubber coating because it's going to be difficult to control the depth of the notch and keep it smooth. The o-ring will have to seal on this notched surface and a knife cut is not going to be smooth enough to seal long term (my thinking anyway). Going to talk to a machinest friend today and see what he says about wittling me one out of steel.

[Steve]

I ran into this a few weeks ago when helping a fellow board member with his carbs. He had tried to cut off the coating and replace the o-rings, but the rings were not quite the right size. He had a replacement tee, but it was a bit loose. I wrapped a few turns of Teflon tape over the ends and it worked quite well. One side was a bit looser than the other, so it got a few more wraps of tape. 8-[


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[relic-rider]

I put a thin coat of liquid tape on the fittings on my 79 1000L when I had it apart. It is actually liquid rubber and dries to a nice thin coat. It made the fittings nice and snug and no leaks so far. It's worth a try.

[Steve]

How resistant is Liquid Tape to constant immersion in gas?
I have used it to seal connectors under an RV, but have never used it near gas.


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[SqDancerLynn1]

Just put a small O ring between the carb body & the T flange. WHen the carbs are assembled it will squish & seal the fitting

[relic-rider]

I don't know for sure yet, but I put some on the fittings anyway. They were quite loose and one had a small crack in the rubber, so I put some on when I rebuilt the carbs. It made the fittings nice and snug. I've run it a little when setting the carbs and snycing them and no leaks. If they leak down the road sometime, i'll have to get the replacement fittings or make some.

[Road_Clam]

$50 for a new T fitting? Are they insane?

Have you checked the OEM parts list?

Well, I'm usually with silverado on this but I don't like to get f*cked in the a$$ by overly expensive parts either.

I would try using a dremel cutting wheel to cut a pair of ring grooves in the existing fitting and at least test it out. I might even make a jig to get the grooves uniform.

Those transfer pipes are BIG money. I did the smart thing and replace a 3 pieces on my 1100. My dealer cost was almost $65 !!!!! The "T" is the most expensive one. They are a funky molded plastic pipe, and I highly doubt one could come up with a way to mickey the leaking stockers, remember what happens when gas leaks on a HOT engine...........

[Nessism]

Just put a small O ring between the carb body & the T flange. WHen the carbs are assembled it will squish & seal the fitting

Machinest and I looked at the old fitting this morning and there are two cracks in the rubber, one on each side of the Tee where the fill nipple comes in. Any kind of O-ring in this area is sure to leak.

I'm inclined to try the teflon tape wrap if my machinest friend can't make the time to whittle a new fitting. Problem is that I do not want to take this thing back apart and tape is not the answer to that question.

One other idea I had is to find a smaller Tee of some sort and put fuel hose on the barbs that has the proper OD to stuff into the holes in the carbs. No pressure there so as long as a reasonable amount of compression is on the tube, it should seal. Key work, "should". :?

[Nessism]

Hey VM experts, there is a replica Tee fitting for early KZ1000's available from Z1 for $14.82. Will this work?

http://www.z1enterprises.com/detail.aspx?ID=1910

[Nessism]

I'm pretty sure that KZ1000 Tee is the way to go but...didn't want to wait to get my bike running so...machinist friend and I made one. He made the main body and I drilled it and added the barbed inlet fitting and brazed it together. Turned out real nice if I must say so myself. \\/

[Spoiler]

Motorcyclecarbs.com lists the Tee that I need $39.95 for a 78 GS1000 but they dont list the connector pipes. I guess I will have to call them. We made some one time a few years ago out of aluminum but Id rather not waste my time again.

[Nessism]

Motorcyclecarbs.com lists the Tee that I need $39.95 for a 78 GS1000 but they dont list the connector pipes. I guess I will have to call them. We made some one time a few years ago out of aluminum but Id rather not waste my time again.

Why pay $40 for a Tee when you can get one from Z1 for $15?