Forks and carbs leaking

[Anonymous]

Hi. I am back again with troubles. My forks are leaking oil right out of the dust covers up top. Do I need to rebuild them? Is there an easy way to stop the leak without tearing it down? I highly doubt there is any air in them as the bike sat for 6 years until I got it this year and I have not put air in them yet. Oh btw its a 79 GS850G. On to my next problem. I have been told by several people to use Marvel Miracle oil in my tank whenever I fill up. I keep a cuart of it in my windjammer and have been using it every time I get gas according to the instructions on the bottle. Now this morning after my daily ride I found something leaking off of the drain screw for the #3 carb. I wiped it with my finger and smelled it and sure as $hit it was miracle oil leaking from the carb. Should this not be working through the engine and get burned up like the gas dose. I know my #3 is in top notch condition and know its firing and everything is working right so I don?t know why this would happen. 1 last question is with my #4 cylinder. It dose not want to fire. It is getting gas and spark and everything seems right but it just dose not fire any suggestions? Thanks in advance its very appreciated.

[Anonymous]

Hey Jason, glad the bike's working for you (more or less). At least it's rideable, right?

If the MMO is leaking from the drain screw, the screw might just be loose. It might be leaking from the bowl gasket though too. Check to make sure they're tight.
Have you tried different spark plugs to rule out a bad one? How about switch wires from 1 to 4 and see if the problem follows. If #1 is OK, it could be a bad plug, wire or cap.

[mdole]

How much miracle oil are you putting in for a tank of gas?

It shouldn't be any kind of a problem unless you add quit a bit. I run my four stroke Honda Reflex on premix that we use in the Fantic and Sherco trials bikes just so I don't have to keep another can of gas around and it runs fine on a mix or Super M and gas (70:1 ratio).

If you get up to greater than 40 to one you will probably start oil-fouling plugs.

Mike

[mdole]

I have done quick seal changes on my forks when I either can't get the Allen out of the lower fork tube or just want to get it done in a hurry.

I will remove the fork tube, dump out the fork oil and pump the fork a few times to ensure I have it all out. Next I remove the dust cover and the retaining ring. I now drive a small screwdriver into the fork seat and start prying it out. I usually have to drive it in on at least two sides and use the screwdriver in the holes I've made to pry it out.

I use a piece of split gas line of a piece of an old inner tube between the fork tube lip and the screwdriver when I am prying the seal out so I don't damage the lip. When driving the screw driver into the seal drive it so there is no possibility of hitting the upper fork tube slider or the inner diameter of the lower fork tube with the screw driver and be careful not to hit the slider with the hammer.

When you get the seal out, clean up the lower fork tube where the seal came out. Then I take a piece of plastic wrap and push it over the upper tube to make a hole in the plastic an leave it on the upper fork tube. I put a light coating of grease on the new seal. Then place it over the upper fork tube but have the plastic so that is wraps around the seal so that only the plastic wrap contacts the fork tube and the plastic wrap protects the new seal as I slide it down the upper tube. I pull the plastic wrap out when I get close to the lower tube. I start the seal by hand the put the old seal on top of it and us a soft face mallet to drive the seal into place. Then remove the old seal, install the retaining ring and dust seal. I usually replace the dust seal when replacing the fork seal.

I put the forks back on the bike before filling them but don?t tighten the triple clamps. Now just fill the fork to the proper level, install the fork spring, spacer, and the fork cap. I have a piece of wire that is folded over to set in the top of the compressed forks and notched to use as a dip stick for filling the forks. I have found that after I get the forks filled I can replace the front fender and tire, tighten up the triple clamps, and then with the forks secured in the clamps use a 1/2" drive ratchet and socket to install the fork caps. This gives me enough leverage to compress the springs and I have both hands free to use in getting the fork cap reinstalled. Go slow with this and take it easy to avoid cross threading the cap.

That?s about it your done. This only saves much time if you can't get the Allen bolt out or know you'll have other problems getting the forks apart. It usually has a thread lock compound on it and the only way I've been able to get them loose is to use a slide hammer on the Allen while compressing the fork tube so the spring tension will hold the damper in place or to use a tool to hold the damper from the inside.

Mike

[Anonymous]

That almost makes sence to me he he hee. So no matter what I have to pull the front wheel and fender off and for the most part take the forks off the bike right? Break pads to I guess? Hmmmm I wander if my repair manual shows me how to do this to??? I guess I should have looked there first. Well I am off to read to book. Thanks for the help. BTW I use 3oz of MMO with every 7G of gas. The bottle recomends 4oz for every 10G. Sence my tank is only 7G I just subtracted an oz from that. The boals are tight but gaskets may be bad as I never replaced them when I did the carb work. As for #4 not firing properly. I know the plug is good and has awsome spark. I am thinking it may be a carb problem but I have parked the bike today untill I get the forks fixed so untill then I might as well put the carbs off and check that out as well. Jeckler. The bike is geting better and better every time I ride it. This is my favorite toy out of my 3 bikes and 3 cars. Just have a few buggs to work out but I think the bike is more than capable to carry my from Cali to arizona next summer as I am planing. Thanks agan for all the help everyone.