RTV Sealant on the boots?

[mortation]

How bad would it be to use RTV sealant on the engine side boots between the boot and the engine? I had L & R for 2 & 3 swapped when I installed new boots and O rings and # 3 was popping. I realized my mistake and swapped em so they are not on the right cylinders but now 2 AND 3 are popping.

It only pops a little at 3k+ rpms when I am OFF the throttle. as soon as I give it a little the popping doesnt happen at all no matter what RPM I am at.

I was thinking about putting a little RTV sealant around the O-Ring and reclamping everything down....

Thoughts?

[Nessism]

I was thinking about putting a little RTV sealant around the O-Ring and reclamping everything down....

Thoughts?

If the O-rings and boots are in good shape RTV is not needed. Fix the bike right or you will be back a second time.

[mortation]

If the O-rings and boots are in good shape RTV is not needed. Fix the bike right or you will be back a second time.

They were all brand new. But I had them on backwards and now swapped em the correct way. Just running out of ideas where this damn popping is coming from

[Nessism]

Do you have the stock exhaust/airbox? Any mods? I assume this is for your 850 no?

[mortation]

Do you have the stock exhaust/airbox? Any mods? I assume this is for your 850 no?

Its an 83 GS850 GLD it has the stock airbox, OEM air filter, new boots on boths sides of all four carbs.

The exhaust isnt OEM though, its some sort of 4 - 2 w/o crossover.

[Nessism]

Its an 83 GS850 GLD it has the stock airbox, OEM air filter, new boots on boths sides of all four carbs.

The exhaust isnt OEM though, its some sort of 4 - 2 w/o crossover.

Sounds like it's a smig lean due to the exhaust. You may want to play with the jetting some - up one size on the pilot maybe?

[mortation]

Sounds like it's a smig lean due to the exhaust. You may want to play with the jetting some - up one size on the pilot maybe?

I have no idea how to do that and no instructions I already have the mixture screw out 2.5 turns. Perhaps I should try three? I think it may already be rich I gotta check my plugs.

[bwringer]

RTV won't work, either -- it will quickly dissolve in the hot gasoline vapor environment. All the RTV will do is make a mess.

Did you install new Suzuki o-rings? Hardware store o-rings will also break down very quickly in the heat.

You can use Viton o-rings (#128 for 80-83 GS850, #125 for 79 GS850), but you can't use regular buna-n or nitrile o-rings.

Have you sealed the airbox ends?

[Nessism]

I have no idea how to do that and no instructions I already have the mixture screw out 2.5 turns. Perhaps I should try three? I think it may already be rich I gotta check my plugs.

Checking plugs will only give you a general idea of the mixture condition - not specific to the condition you are interested in.

The mixture screws on my 550 are at 3+ turns right now. I was surprised that they took this many turns but it's fact on my bike anyway. You may as well play around with the adjustment some - it's a very easy adjustment so why not experiment? Regarding pilot jets, you can look in the manual to get the size and then just order the next size up as an experiment. Raising the needles are also an option. There are infinite possibilities in terms of mixture tuning for each particular exhaust/intake combination. Don't be afraid to play around.

[mortation]

RTV won't work, either -- it will quickly dissolve in the hot gasoline vapor environment. All the RTV will do is make a mess.

Did you install new Suzuki o-rings? Hardware store o-rings will also break down very quickly in the heat.

You can use Viton o-rings (#128 for 80-83 GS850, #125 for 79 GS850), but you can't use regular buna-n or nitrile o-rings.

Have you sealed the airbox ends?

They are brand new OEM O-Rings from Flatout.

[mortation]

Checking plugs will only give you a general idea of the mixture condition - not specific to the condition you are interested in.

The mixture screws on my 550 are at 3+ turns right now. I was surprised that they took this many turns but it's fact on my bike anyway. You may as well play around with the adjustment some - it's a very easy adjustment so why not experiment? Regarding pilot jets, you can look in the manual to get the size and then just order the next size up as an experiment. Raising the needles are also an option. There are infinite possibilities in terms of mixture tuning for each particular exhaust/intake combination. Don't be afraid to play around.

Perhaps I will pull 2 & 3 out to 3 and see how that goes. I was thinking about cranking all 4 down to 1 or 1.25. I hate to mess around to much. I finally am getting to ride this thing and I dont want to break anything :P

[nabrams]

It's not clear from your post if the bike ever has run without popping since you own it. If it's always popped, then it is very likely that a leak issue remains somewhere.
Of course, it's also quite possible that the carb jetting/tuning has never been right since you own it.
If it is an air leak somewhere:
Silicone sealant on the boots that connect the airbox to the carbs worked great for my friend's bike, but probably won't work well for long on the boots between carb and engine, for the reasons stated above.
The first thing you need to do is identify the air leak. Unfortunately, this can be a real challenge if it's a very minor leak. As suggested above, an exhaust leak can be the cause of the popping as well. A poorly sealed airbox and/or poorly fitted filter can be cuplrits as well.

By the way, as I've stated in many other posts: It took me WEEKS of riding and tinkering to discover and fix all my air leaks. Each fix made the bike incrementally better.

[Nessism]

Perhaps I will pull 2 & 3 out to 3 and see how that goes. I was thinking about cranking all 4 down to 1 or 1.25. I hate to mess around to much. I finally am getting to ride this thing and I dont want to break anything :P

Turning the screws out richens up the mixture which is what you need. Try three turns and see what happens.

[salty_monk]

Mine runs with the screws 3 turns out too...

The ethanol & oxygenated Gas seems to have an effect, it runs leaner on California gas than Nevada (filled up in CA Lake Tahoe whilst at Bruce's & got some performance back).

Dan

[mortation]

Hmmm I made some changes. Better much better but still some popping. Would 3.5 out be to much?

Oh changes:

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?t=104537&page=10

1) I pulled the seat and gas tank and checked both sides of my boots for at least the 6th time, everything was tight and correct. I ran the bike. Misted it with water and nothing so I got really coo coo for coco puffs and got the hose. Misted, sprayed, soaked and nothing till I got some on the back of the air box where it got sucked in to the air intake :P

2) I rerouted my vent hoses over the airbox as its supposed instead of under as I had it.

3) I turned the mixture screw for 2 & 3 out to 3 full turns, left 1 & 4 at 2.5 turns out.