My Petcock Solution ($27.08 All new parts)

OK, so I just got my XJ650 last week, and had major fuel problems.. not enough fuel, leaking out the petcock, whatnot. I tried taking apart the OEM petcock, messing with it, it eventually just kept leaking like crazy. So I did some searching around here and saw someone mention Z1enterprises.com

Basically I replaced the vacuum activated petcock with a manual ON/OFF/RES one.

These are all the parts necessary to do this:

Petcock Adapter Plate 34mm 3/8 NPT
Petcock Custom Chrome Single Outlet 3/8 NPT

I just installed these on my bike today, and it works great. No leaks, no headaches, I just have to get used to switching on and off the fuel before/after riding.

Here's the pictures I promised:


When you order these parts, the only problem is that the gas tank hole for the petcock screen is not wide enough, as you can see.


Here I am using a dremel tool and a soft pad to buff the area down to clean metal, where the gasket will make contact.


Now I am using a dremel tool drill bit (it would be a lot faster with a carbine round bit, but it only took me about 10 minutes anyways) to widen the hole. You don't need much, perhaps 2-4mm on each side.


Test fitting the petcock.


Applying the provided (comes with adapter plate) Hylomar blue sealant on all the gaskets and surfaces.
This stuff is real sticky, and hardens before you put it on. Safe for fuel.


The instructions for the petcock say to use teflon to seal the threads, which I did not have, so I used the Hylomar blue. Hylomar is also a thread sealant so I assumed this would be fine.


Installed petcock on the gastank, hooked everything up. Rode to town and back, no leaks, no problems! Actually it died once, but I realized I forgot to switch it to the ON position. lol

Hope this helps everyone with petcock problems. It sure beats the $20+ rebuild kit thats not even a sure way of fixing your OEM petcock.

-Tim

 

This works for XJ650 and XJ750's so far as I know. The only issue you need to worry about is making sure the adapter plate is correct (34mm for XJ650/750).

 

Oh YEah also very important, you have to block off the vaccuum nipple at the top of one of the carbs, which is connected to the OEM petcock. I cut the vacuum tube and screwed a large screw into it, and secured it with a ziptie. This seems to be airtight.

 

Thanks for the info, pictures and parts link.

 

Excellent!

This post seems like a good candidate for a sticky.

 

Well that's a nice shiny new Petcock. You didn't mention the cost?
Frankly I prefer the Repair Kit on the Vac operated OEM unit.
Done with even average care it works perfectly once again, in my experiences and the Vacuum gizmo is actually quite a clever thing.. one never has to worry about flooding his crankcase with gasoline due to forgetfullness... a realissue with increasing frequency of 'oldtimer's memory.
The OEM bits worked perfectly, usually for 20 long years or more.. give a bit of tlc .. they've earned it..and they will continue for a lot longer .

 

Uh, I did mention the cost.. look at the title of the post. And I posted the links to both items.

The OEM petcock works fine, but the rebuild kit is expensive. Almost as expensive as the parts I bought altogether. Also the kit won't fix the wear from the metal washer that hits the sidewall on the inside of the petcock, which may keep the petcock from working right even with a new gasket kit.

This was just my cost effective, true-fire solution

 

Also if your needle valves are good, you shouldn't be getting flooding anyways. And if they're not, you probably wouldn't just be replacing the petcock alone.

 

Thanks tichuang,

This is just what I've been looking for!
The Pingle solution was too expensive!

If I forget to shut off the fuel valve and the needle valves dont hold for some reason, at least I'll know to look at that oil sight glass to see if my crankcase is full of gasoline.

Lots cheaperb than buying anew engine.

 

Something tells me that this setup is in my not too distant future. I'm marking this thread just to remind myself. And because it's pretty cool.

 

Wow! That's awesome. I'd love to be able to do that with my Virago. Unfortunately my OEM petcock has a fuel supply, fuel return, and vacuum lines. Something tells me that just blocking of the fuel return line along with the vacuum line would just lead to problem.

 

Thanks for the info !

BTW- will this petcock work on an XJ550 tank?

 

I'm not sure, your best bet is to measure the distance between the centers of the two bolts, but my guess is that it should fit

 

It looks like you lost your reserve setting. Is that true?

 

No, there is still a reserve. There's a tube inside the screen that goes to the ON setting, and when fuel drops below the tube, it goes to reserve.

 

tichuang, since you've had this setup installed for a little while now, I was wondering, have you had any issues with having the vaccum hose that was originally hooked up to the OEM petcock plugged? I can't see that it would cause a problem, but I just wanted to be sure. I ordered the parts this weekend and hope to get them before Turkey day so I'll have something to do.

 

All you have to do is go to theauto parts store with one of your vacuum caps and they should be able to match it up rather cheaply. I for one don't do the screw in the hose thing unless it's an emergency.

 

Yeah, I was planning on going to Autozone and picking one up (actually might replace them all since they seem to be a bit mangled). What I was really wondering is if blocking off the vaccum line effects the engine any. Excuse my dumbness on this matter, kinda new to all of this.

 

Shouldn't cause any problem at all provided you didnt have a vacuum leak when you last tuned it

 

Well, considering I'm trying to get the dang thing tuned right now, that shouldn't be a problem. ;-) Would have it done already except my jerryrigged fuel supply didn't work at all (nice to have gas all over the floor of your garage, makes the house smell REAL nice)