Carb troubles

I'm pretty sure I know the answer to this already but I'm hoping you guys know some tricks that don't. I was riding my '80 650 last week and it was running great as it has all winter. I put the bike away and somehow the fuel line separated from the carb draining the little gas I had left in the tank. I started it several days later without noticing the fuel line was off. The carb bowls ran dry and the bike shut off. I found the problem and replaced the fuel lines and filter with new clear line. I primed it and now it will not start. I am getting fuel to the carb in the clear fuel line. I pulled the drain plugs for all 4 carbs and gas flows freely out of carb 1, 3 and 4 and dribbles out of carb 2. The engine will try to start as long as I am engaging the starter but dies immediately and will not try to restart until I open the drain plug on the float bowls.

I am trying to get this started without pulling the carbs off since they were already synced nicely and the intake boots are VERY fragile. Anyone have any ideas on where the problem is and how I can fix it without damaging the intake boots?

Thanks,
Lee

 

No short cuts that I can think of. Sounds like you know what MUST be done. There is always the 'inner tube trick' for the air boots on the engine side (unless you are referencing the air box side . . . .).

If the gas dried up over winter there is a high probability that the inside of your carbs are varnished and you need to go to Church.
http://xjbikes.com/forums/threads/in-the-church-of-clean.14692/

 

It was running great last week. I rode is several days and put about 5-600 miles on it. I ran the tank low on gas because I have a 750 tank that I was planning on swapping this weekend. The part that has me stumped is the fuel line came off so the fuel drained out so that should not have caused and debris to be in the carbs. After replacing the fuel line and priming I should be able to just start it right up and it is not. Fuel is pouring out of 3 carbs with the bowl drains out so there is fuel getting into the carbs. The 4th carb has fuel dribbling out so there may be some problem there but the bike should start on 3 cylinders even if there is a problem on one carb.

 

Unless you had a fuel filter on the fuel line you very likely did pull crap into the float bowls. It may have taken a few miles for the crud to get pulled up into the fuel passages.
When I need to swap a fuel tank I either siphon the tank, or I pull the fuel line off of the carb to drain it. I do this even though I run with a fuel filter.

 

The bike is running again! Something was blocking the right hand side of the tee so the only carb getting fuel was the far left one. I got the obstruction out and now it is running great again!

 

By getting the obstruction out, do you mean that you pulled the float bowls and made sure all the crud was removed?

 

No. I didn't pull the bowls . There was a chunk of rubbery piece of rtv looking stuff clogging part of the line. I have no idea where it came from. I was getting ready to pull the carbs when I saw this piece and thought I would see if that was the problem and it was!

 

put a clamp on your fuel line

 

It had the little spring clamps on it. I changed 3 of the clamps to standard clamps but I had to reuse a spring clamp at the carb inlet due to space restrictions. I'm going home from work at lunch to pick the bike up and go for a ride!

 

Might be the tank may have been "lined" (due to pinhole leaks or more) and the lining may be coming loose. Or someone RTV'd the petcock to the tank rather than using an o-ring.............