inlet stubs

Carburetor inlet stubs rubber has dry rotted and cracked on 1980 xj650 I'm rebuilding. It doesn't appear that rubber is cracked all the way through but hard to tell. Anyone know of a way to repair them or where to get new ones?

 

Fill the Cracks with RTV.
Coat the Manifold with Black Liquid Electrical Tape.
The Liquid Tape Dries very rapidly.
This will do the trick.

Additionally, "Paint" the Manifold with Black Nail Polish after Sanding the Liquid Tape smooth.
Cut the Brush off from the Bottle Cap.
Drip a few drops onto a 3X5 Card.
Use an Artists Brush to apply the Finishing Touch.

 

Click on the XJ4EVER ad in the upper right corner of the home page header. Chacal has great products at great prices. Here are the mainifolds I just got last week:

IMAG0374 by buellosaurusrex, on Flickr

 

Thanks! Had considered filling cracks with black RTV then wrapping with 3M high voltage self fusing rubber splicing tape which has some UV protection. Liquid electrical tape is good idea that I hadn't considered.

 

Yamaha recommends these things be replaced at the 15 year mark (I believe). If yours are older than that, I would just budget it and do it.

 

Really? Where did that come from?

 

My Clymer manual

 

I didn't think mine were all that bad.....until I got the new ones. Under strong light I could see previously unnoticeable cracks on the inside of the manifolds. Not to mention they were hard as a friggin' rock and just about as flexible.
I had been putting off replacing them ("ahh, they're OK...cracks are only on the outside & superficial") due to cost, but after pulling the bank this last time, I made up my mind to "just do it".
I don't regret it.
If you have to ask "Are these OK, and is there a fix" you already know the answer.

 

Replacing Manifolds is a difficult decision for someone with seized Manifold Fasteners.

I'd see if a patch-job works for the season and replace the Manifolds over the Winter avoiding serious complications which might developed.

 

Did I miss the part where they were seized......? 8O
Mine were on the bike since new...1981. I soaked them with AeroKroil for 15 minutes, heated the holy piss out of the boss areas and they came out like sheep being led to slaughter. I was kinda nervous after all the horror stories I'd read, but....much ado about nothing!

 

Here is how my "OK from the outside" boots looked after I removed them and really got to look at them....these were not visible looking down the throats. While cracks were visible on the outside of the boots, they appeared to be superficial. NOT!

IMAG0384 by buellosaurusrex, on Flickr