Carb Boots - how to fix the cracks?

thanks woot i'll get searching

 

I hope it holds up to the heat...

The liquid electrical tape did to an extent... THen it would suck in a little air

 

I'll keep an eye on it for cracking, peeling, melting, etc. I haven't noticed any problems with it yet, of course I've only run the bike about 30 minutes since I reinstalled the boots. It was a brisk 35 degrees farenheit when I got it all reassembled. Just had to try it out, hands and face got too cold to play anymore than that. The next day we got clobbered by what I hope is the last snow of the season.

Sure did sound and run a lot better. I didn't even care when my wife teased me about my face being frozen into a giant smile. :lol: She just doesn't get it. Once summer rolls around I think I can warm her up to the idea of getting her on her own ride. I guess I better get the GS 550 L fixed up so she can ride along side of me.

 

DC
Let me know how the strategy of getting her on her own ride goes.

Only if it's successful please... I think I've got the unsuccessful strategies down !

At least she's supportive...I guess? Right?

Thanx
Jeff

 

I think maybe my better half is supportive because she used to ride when she was a kid. When we first got married about 7 years ago I was looking for a used bike then. But she was adament that a bike was not in my future, until the kids were out of the house. Then about six months ago she brought up the subject about finding a used bike to save gas comuting back and forth to work. After I purchased my Seca, I was toying with the idea of taking the sissybar off of it, when she said she wanted it on there so she could lean back on it when she rode with me. :idea: Aha says I. So I picked up the GS550L on e-bay, mainly because it was going so cheap, now she keeps asking me when her bike is going to be road worthy. 8) So I believe she talked herself into riding, or did she talk me into this whole thing. Women sure can be tricky. :lol:

 

You are indeed a blessed man, run with it and keep her happy!

 

I'm going to try this trick for my old carb intakes.

Silicone in the cracks, then put it in a vacuum seal bag, and vacuum seal it with a food vacuum machine.

This is a trick a buddy told me about. He's working on a "rescue" of his own, but it's a Kawasaki 650.

I don't think this is the same as cleaning parts in the wife's dishwasher, but I'm going to be careful about it!

I'll post more when I try it!
Sammowry

 

DO NOT use the wife's dishwasher to wash parts (I have lived to talk about it, and it was brand new too)! You will not ever hear the end of it!

 

I would advise cleaning them before using the silicone. Whats the big deal about a vaccum sealer?

I have a vaccum sealer hear. I cant see how it would really suck the plastic to the odd shape of the boot. I mean it will conform to an extent, but I dont think it will that much!

 

I bit the bullet and replaced the boots on my '81 550 Seca last year. The boots are quite thick and it would take quite a crack to get all the way through.

 

On the Yamaha Parts&Service Interactive Guide on the Yamaha website, do they refer to the boots as "Joint, Air Cleaner 1"? Just inquiring. Not sure if I am going to buy new or try out one of these tricks.

Also, do carbs need to be resync-ed after you replace/fix these boots?

Thanks for the help.
~sac

 

That's the air cleaner side.
The intake side is Joint, Carburetor 1 and Joint, Carburetor 2.

In my opinion you may need to resync the carbs after changing them, depends on how bad they were and if the bike was tuned to them being bad.

 

As said before, Air Cleaner ones are behind the carbs, Intake ones are between carbs & head.

If you had cracks or splits right through on either side (especially the intake side) -- then you'll probably need to re-synch and check the mixtures. The crack/split would cause an air leak, throwing the balance and possibly the mixture off a bit.

If they're not leaking yet, then no - fixing the cracks shouldn't require a re-synch or mixture tuning.

 

Milkwagon,

How is that Napa stuff holding out ?

Today I was cleaning, and noticed some bubbles after i put armor all on the boots (very small cracks, and bubbles.. but might explain my slightly jittery slow idle). Thy were only the size of a pin head or so.. but there

wanted to see how the suggestions listed were working out.

PS: i checked prices on new boots.. 135 usd on bikebarn for a set, and looked like 30-33 usd each on bikebandit

 

This forum is priceless, really. I've been thinking of refurbushing my carb boots for some time,and even thought of Plasti-dip, of which I have a can that I used for other things (though it's a ghastly blue). My only worry about it was the high temperature the boots are subjected to. Now, I'm curious of the course of events for Milkwagon.

I got some Permatex Ultra Copper High Temperature Silicone and was planning to use it for my boots. I also like the idea of putting an additional layer of bicicle inner tube over the sealant; very nice indeed.

Everyone, thanks for the great tips!

 

I had a set of cracked boots and thought I'd try to repair them as described by you guys. Thanks for the idea.

First I sanded the boots with the Dremel and sandpaper bit to prepare the surface for a better bond:




Then I pasted Permatex ultra-copper rtv gasket (I decided against Plasti-dip as I was a bit worried it would not withstand the high temperature in time) onto the surface with a spatula and let them dry. It remains to be seen if it makes a difference.

 

You can get a very smooth finish if you wrap the Permatex in plastic wrap after you've applied the RTV. It will peel right off when the RTV has cured, leaving a nice smooth finish. You are of course aware that Permatex sells the same RTV in black aren't you? Nice pictures and it looks like you preped well. I think you have a winner!

 

Robert, guess what. Lack of patience got the better of me. Basically I have found out that plastic wrap indeed gives a nice smooth finish on whatever was left on the spatula, after I had finished the boots.

BTW, I wasn't aware that the black one is also high temperature resistant. I thought that each colour has different temperature properties. Yes, the colour I used is a bit odd but perhaps it'll add character next to my yellow spark plug wires with orange boots


Oh well, the copper one was at hand... and I have another set of cracked boots which I may do the right way.

 

:cry: I don't know Knick, I think it's back to the drawing board on that fix. It held up for awhile, but once the heat of summer, plus the heat of the engine came up...well it looks like the Plasti-dip vanished. Don't know where it went, can't see where it might have melted and dripped off, just gone...Maybe sucked into the rubber? I guess I'll pull my carbs off and investigate a little more.

 

Aww, sorry to hear that dcmilkwagon. Have you used the spray-on type? Something to keep in mind about the spray-on type is that the resulting coats are very thin. Even when you put several of them. I'm not sure that's the problem, but it might. I have the Plasti-dip in a can and used it for other projects, and even that needs several coats to get a more robust surface.

In contrast, the rtv gasket can be applied from in the desired thickness from the beginning. I hope you find get to the bottom of it and get your carb boots fixed for good. Best of luck!