gas cap fix/ sort of...

A long while back, I posted here about a gas cap for my bike... not sure if it was a general question or what but to the point, mine was broken.

I picked one up on ebay a few months ago and since it was so nice today I got the bike out, went for a ride and then decided to put the new cap on.

My last cap locked up and had to be pried loose breaking some small bits off into my tank(which are still there). When I got the new(used) cap, it worked fairly well but seemed a bit sticky and I don't want that problem again. I decided to lubricate mine so I shaved 2 inches of wood from a pencil, salvaged the graphite, broke it into little pieces and ground it up in a pill crusher. (more on this later)

Unscrewing the bottom part of the gas cap, I took off the little piece with the ears that latch the cap. I worked them individually back and forth.. they slid almost fine, slightly rough. I pulled up on one a bit and it popped out, showing the spring and how it worked. Looking at it closely, I could see a small burr in the slot where the spring resided. Not sure how much of a problem that was but I took a small flathead screwdriver and worked it back and forth to wear down the nub.

After I reassembled it, I used a toothpick to lay some powdered graphite along the edges of the protruding ears, one at a time and manually worked them. Seemed to help. After reattaching that part, I put some powdered graphite into the keyhole. UH-OH! The key turned once or twice and locked up. Shoot! I got a pliers and latched onto the 2 tiny round nubs on the bottom that slide the ears(had to take that darn part off again), and slowly applied pressure in the correct direction while turning on the key simutaneously. Reassembled, turned a few times, lock, same problem, fixed it again. Thinking the graphite was not as powdered as I thought.

After the second fix, the key works ok, the ears slide fairly well and it seems a good bit better. Also put a bunch of the graphite in the 2 tiny holes on the bottom of the cap(into the assembly that holds the ears) and worked the key good. Everything seems to be pretty well, still an odd semi click halfway through a key turn but works as I said.

Who knew all those small parts were in there and definitely would have pestled the graphite much finer if I knew it would lock up the key(though it sure looked powdered to me).

Anyways, thought I'd drop a note about this.

Cheers.

 

Chacal knew. There's about 16 springs in that gas cap. Read the whole discussion about gas caps and springs and mysterious balls here:

http://xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=3 ... s+cap.html

 

Your pencil lead is mostly clay. Probably not your best choice of lubricants.

 

Now how in the heck did you know that little fact?

 

Not sure where I heard that so I looked it up.

I was wrong. A #2 pencil is 68% graphite.

Wikipedia

 

they sell lock deicer with graphite lube in a spray can at most car parts stores
but what fun would that be ? :lol:

 

Your lock mechanism can be completely disassembled for a through and through cleaning. I would recommend no lubricant be used to reassemble but if you are insistant, LP1 Dri-Lube is the stuff the local locksmith recommends as a last resort. Good luck.

 

She's been telling me that for years.