Carb Problem Making me Go "Hmmm"

[Anonymous]

The Problem(s) :
:arrow: Carbs are leaking from overflow nipples on the bottom.
Battery will not hold a charge, or flat just is not getting one.

Bike: 19977 Suzuki GS550(not sure of the model)

Miles: Its got alot(been rolled over probably)

Usage: I bought the bike in March of 2001 and have been riding whenever weather is good...and sometimes not

Recent Work Done: Oil change, thats all I have done to it since I got it everything else seems to be fine, gas tank & tail peice repainted.

Events Leading up to the carbs leaking:
I decided to repaint my gas tank because the previous owner had painted it a flat ugly black. I un-mounted the gas tank screws(per clymer manual instructions), disconnected the fuel line & the vacuum line(now what i am assuming was the fuel filter i.e. was left attached to the hose going INTO the engine. The other half of the hose was left on the fuel valve that say's Pri, On, Res & taped shut & the valve itself I left on(turned out later I forgot to mask that and its now a chrome color ). After draining the gas tank(it was almost full, what a bummer, & taping the afore mentioned hose closed) I picked up the gas was startled to hear a rattling sound, I am assuming that in might be a piece for some sort of jurry rigged fuel gauge because the bike does not have a fuel gauge this did/does concern me at this point.

[three days later]

Paint job turned out decent....although I admit....I'm not good with bondo you can see where I used it , even though i sanded it as flush as i could get it, I never used bondo before and it hardened to quick.

after re-attaching the fuel line & vacuum line & putting the gas back in I was trying to start when I to suprise I noticed that the far right(as your looking at the bike from the back was just spewing gas out of the overflow nipple 8O , after the bike started it the leaking eased or completely stopped(or so i thought).

Finally I get it started & after running for about two minutes I took it around my neighborhood for a spin....and it died at a stop sign. The battery ran down after two cranks I tried to kick start it and to my horror/shock/anger<-puting mildly I noticed each time after pushing the kick start twice or so the far left carb was spewing gas out of the overflow nipple....like when the piston comes up to compress the gas just spews out the carb(s) I guess.

After pushing it three blocks back to my house and trying to start it gas is coming out of the second right hand side carb(that's three if you've been counting) and also the far right carb. So I am assuming all the carbs are doing this even though I didnt see the fourth do it.

In conclusion(bet your saying thank god)

I did NOT have this problem prior and or up to until I removed the gas tank. I am positive that I correctly hooked up the fuel and vacuum lines.
so....what the [expletive deleted] and where did I go wrong?
What might have caused this to just start happening now?
Are the O-rings or floats shot?
numerous questions(that the clymer manual I have for the bike do not answer :x )are going through my head.

Thank you for you time and patience and I sincerely appreciate any and or all help, hints/tips advice, counseling, questions, money that you guys have

[SqDancerLynn1]

I would suspect that you got rust from the tank in the carbs Need to remove the carbs for cleaning and the floats are sticking

[Anonymous]

Well I did run the gas out of the bike once before (gets exactley 118 miles on a full tank, when it says 118 your stopped....cause your outa gas)

wouldn't the rust getting into the carbs have shown up then?

[Anonymous]

The 77 GS550 did not come with a fuel gauge. The rattling sound you hear might be the fuel filter in the tank. It's supposed to be on top of the petcock and might have come off while you were draining the fuel and moving the fuel tank around. It might have blocked the rust particles in the fuel tank. Without that filter all the rust was washed into the carbs, the first time you were trying to start the bike. Unless you also have an inline fuel filter installed, that would explain the overflowing carbs. You'll have to take the carbs and petcock off the bike and check.
As for the battery: are you sure that you didn't pull a connector or ground cable while you were removing the fuel tank or putting it back on?

[Anonymous]

no I didnt do anything like that, the battery hasnt been holding a charge since i bought the bike(it was already like that). the previous owner just twisted the wires and stuck them in the negative side. the hot wire was corroded I fixed the ground wires and cleaned the hot wire terminal up. As well as the terminals on the battery.

Im dreading the thought of having to take the carbs off


note: the picture i posted isnt the fuel filter? or this in-line fuel filter you speak of?


Another note: I've never worked on a motorcycle or had to work on one up until I got bit by the ridin bug. So I'm not up on all the mechanical terminology and what all the parts are called etc. etc.......if it was a car that'd be different, ive worked on car engine or two.

[frosty5011]

Jimmy,

Yes, the picture you posted is the (in-line) fuel filter. The fuel filter that JoJo was taking about is the original one, standard on the bike. It is really more of a "strainer" than a filter, good for filtering out larger rust particles/flakes. You do not see it, unless you take the petcock off of the tank. It is fairly loosely attached to the top of the petcock, and can easily come off if not careful - that's what JoJo meant might be the rattle in your tank.

As far as taking the carbs off, , well, sooner or later you'll probably end up doing it anyway. Last night, I had mine off of the bike and installed 4 times, trying to correct a float height problem. Do it, you'll love it......builds character.......

[Anonymous]

Yes indeed... doin' carbs will make a man of you. It's not as bad as you think if you do one VERY important thing. Go to the Carb Clean-Up link on the front page of the website. Its a step-by-step guideline to carburated nirvana. Takes you all the way through disassembly, cleaning, etc.

On the battery... it could just be that you need a new battery. Sometimes they crap out all of a sudden, and a cycle battery's lifetime ain't all that long, especially if you don't get above 4000 rpm a lot. Try taking it to an auto shop or battery store and have them throw it on a tester to see if its still good.

The best for last... because I did this myself, I can suggest it and not make you feel bad in any way. The last time I had my tank off (to clean carbs), I ran the two hoses from the petcock to the wrong nipples on the carbs (I reversed them). This causes gas to just pour into the carbs unrestricted, flooding them one by one, and the airbox. Gas everywhere... I switched them back, and it ran like a dream. You may well have a rust-in-the-carb issue as the other folks have suggested, but I'd try that first.

Good luck,

Jon

[Anonymous]

Yes indeed... doin' carbs will make a man of you. It's not as bad as you think if you do one VERY important thing. Go to the Carb Clean-Up link on the front page of the website. Its a step-by-step guideline to carburated nirvana. Takes you all the way through disassembly, cleaning, etc.

On the battery... it could just be that you need a new battery. Sometimes they crap out all of a sudden, and a cycle battery's lifetime ain't all that long, especially if you don't get above 4000 rpm a lot. Try taking it to an auto shop or battery store and have them throw it on a tester to see if its still good.

The best for last... because I did this myself, I can suggest it and not make you feel bad in any way. The last time I had my tank off (to clean carbs), I ran the two hoses from the petcock to the wrong nipples on the carbs (I reversed them). This causes gas to just pour into the carbs unrestricted, flooding them one by one, and the airbox. Gas everywhere... I switched them back, and it ran like a dream. You may well have a rust-in-the-carb issue as the other folks have suggested, but I'd try that first.

Good luck,

Jon

[Anonymous]

ok i really feel stupid after last couple of post(hence i deleted them) turns out since im so inexperienced with working on motorcycles that the problem was not the carbs.

the problem was i had the throttle cable too tight....there was way to much play in it and i inadvertantly adjusted it way to tight, therefore the carbs where getting alot more gas than they were supposed to. Yes I bet your all laughing like hyenas right now at this and im feeling pretty stupid.

therefore they are no longer spraying extra gas out of the overflow jets, but now ive run into another problem, the idle on the bike if set below 1 thousand RPM's the bike will eventually cough sputter and die in first gear. if the idle is set slightly above 1 thousand or between one and two thousand RPM's it cause the bike to have a slightly high idle....i think it idles about 5 or ten mph.
I spent about three hours yesterday trying to adjust the idle to where it was lower or about 5 mph but to no such luck. Would having the bike idle at about 5 to 10 mph be alright....i think it needs to be set that high anyway to ensure that the bike doesnt die when stopped at a light in 1st gear.

could you guys help me out with this?

p.s. I tried adjusting the idle in neutral and in 1st gear but mainly first gear because i leave it in first gear when stopped at lights in case i need to move quickly to avoid someone who might rear end me.

note : I just took the bike out for a ride and to get more gas in it and the rpm's are jumping all over the place between 1 thousand to 4 thousand rpms. I tried adjusting the idle screw while riding it in my subdivision and the bike idles at about 10 - 20 mph. At ten mph idle it is really close to sputtering and dieing. also the bike is sluggish at times and there is a new popping sound out of the right hand side(as your looking from the rear)exhaust.

[AOD]

get the bike REALLY hot and warmed up before you mess with the idle screw. both of my GS550's idle around 2700 RPM. its high, but that's where they like it. if it gets below that point, usually one of the cylinders cut out...probably a coil problem.

if you get a 1500 idle out of the bike when its REALLY hot, that's good. however, when you go to start it cold, and get it going with the choke, then turn that off, you may find yourself seeing an idle below 1000 or the bike wanting to die. that's why mine have idles over 2000.

~Adam

[Jay B]

Your buke completly warmed up should idle between 800 to 1200 rpm. Anymore than that and its too fast. Any lower and the plugs will foul out. If you cannot get it to idle around that then you still have carb problems. My suggestion and it will be backed by just about everyone here is to take the carbs off and clean them completly.

Your throttle cable should be set so there is about 1/8th to 3/16th play in the cable before it starts to raise the rpm when turned. The choke cable should be set so the there is about 1/4 inch play before it starts to raise the rpm when pulled. Make all these settings with the airbox and filter installed and closed. Yes closed. I know a couple of guys that tried to make adjustments with the sirbox side cover removed. The bike will not run right with it off.

[AOD]

Jay, i dont want to be tight on this, but the idle speeds varied with the electronic ignition bikes like yours. In my Clymer manual it says 1000-2000 idle for 77-79 bikes. 80+ is 800ish.

I have a Suzuki repair manual that i haven't looked through much...its the original one for these bikes, so i can look at that for what they suggest for the idle speed.

~Adam

[Detman101]

Hmmm...sounds like the carbs are dirty. Take em down and clean em with the guide on the front page. It did wonders for me and its easier than you would think by looking at the carbs. I'm quite experienced now in carb-ology and have loads of help for my friends. They look at me like a king when I tell them that I put in my own Stage-3 jet kit and clean my own carbs.

It's true...working on your own carbs will either build character or drive you insane. :?

Dm of mD