Water in Engine

Well at least you got that squared away. Bikes lookin good. I like those gauges.

 

Work continues, decided to pull the tank back off and get its accoutrements sorted out.




All this came out of the petcock upon disassembly...

 

No wonder it wouldn't start; the plugs didn't have anything to ignite.

Gary H.

 

What does the inside of the tank look like?

 

Not sure, but there's stuff moving around in there...

 

1. Do you have the vacuum line hooked up to the petcock? Have you verified the tube is not clogged or cracked?

2. my sister totaled a car back when we were in College.... Bounced off of an oak tree and flipped the car. That was in the 80's. I drove past that tree a few weeks ago---- still growing strong, but still has a big bare ( no bark ) spot on it. I bet she still looks at it every time she drives by it too-

Dave f

 

Did not have the vacuum line hooked to the petcock, as I was using an auxiliary tank to test-run the bike this wouldn't have been an issue. Knowing there is some loose debris inside the tank, I didn't want to pour fuel in it only to have it contaminate my inline filter and of course, I would just have to drain it back out again to clean it.
Correct me if i am wrong, but for the fuel level sensor, the copper wire needs to be soldered to the terminal at the base, yes?
On the petcock, should there be a tower filter which stabs into the tank? If not, then there is no filter on this and that is not what I am used to seeing on bikes.

 

Yes to the wire. Also, yes to the tower filter which I think also has something to do with the reserve fuel level. Most of us add a small inline filter between the petcock and the carbs for better filtration. $4 or $5 well spent.

 

My bad Shank. Should have read back through the post about aux tank. Didn't sound right when i posted. You're too "therow" to not have gone over the tank prior to the start up with it. Sorry.

Gary H.

 

Hakuna Matata man, I gotta make some blank-off plates for the petcock and fuel level sensor openings then let a gallon of Evap-o-Rust sit in the tank for a day or two before I decide on putting a liner in it. I don't like tank liners unless it is really in bad shape.

 

Cool thanks,thats what I figured.
I am firm believer in inline filters, as many old bikes as I have owned they are just an automatic addition in my mind.

 

I learned about Evaporust here. Good stuff.

Gary H.

 

Get the tank really clean with evapo-rust, or with electrolysis, and when it's clean, swish the inside good with Phosphoric Acid. It will put a phosphate coating on the metal. Flush and dry. Then, fill with fuel. Or, coat with oil, and then fill. As long as there is no water in the tank, the metal won't rust, and you don't need to coat it. (unless it's rusted through..........)

dave

 

Thats what I normally do. I have done liners in the past with pinholed tanks, but if the metal is solid I don't like to take my chances with a potentially sloppy liner installation (and that's doing it myself!).

 

Nice that it fires up!!

 

Ordered my petcock rebuild kit, along with a new air and oil filter. While I am waiting for that to arrive, I cleaned up and polished all of the hard parts al'a the FAQ guide. Seat and mating surfaces are nice and shiney now.

 

Well I rebuilt the petcock, so that is behind me, and I went ahead and installed a new OEM air filter.
What is frustrating me is the engine still will not fire up and idle. I can "force" it to run with a spritz of ether, and even just on gas it will sputter, but nothing will allow it to just f***ing run. I pulled the lid off of one carb and the slide resisted me when I tried to remove it. Back when i rebuilt the carbs I polished the slides and their bores on all four of them and ensured they "clunked" when dropped into place, although this afternoon there is a little mung on the one I pulled, residual I suppose from wet setting the floats several weeks ago. I suppose if the slides are stuck, then the engine-created vacuum is not pulling them up and siphoning gas through the main jet/emulsion tube, thus no workee except an occasional sputter when enough vapor seeps through to hit a spark plug. Hopefully it is a simple matter of popping the caps off and giving each of the slides a final touch up with some 2000 grit to smooth them out again.

 

Maybe just a shot of kroil to get them away from a "dry-stick", then you wouldn't have to open them up again......spray a shot in and work each slide by hand/finger for a bit til smooth again

 

i'am not sure the slides should move at idle but at any rate they shouldn't stick.
use prime and see if gas is flowing from the valve. open the bowl drains to check for gas. 2 and 3/4 out on the pilot screws and the caps are on the vacuum ports

 

Well Polock that presents an interesting alternate possibility. Since I am still working on the tank, I have an alternate fuel source feeding to the carbs (two inline filters, just in case). However the vacuum line on the manifold on #2 is open to the elements, all the others are capped per OEM. I wonder could there be such a loss of vacuum from the one port being open that it is preventing a smooth start? Easy to check, I'll just pinch the open hose and see if it helps.