New member, new bike

Like learning to swim, dipping a toe just gets you a wet toe.
Dive right in and we will help you learn to swim and it won't be so scary!

Either way you still need a towel before you put your sox on

 

Since I have it taken apart right now, I should order a head cover gasket.
The boots are so dry and sad looking I want to replace them too. I'm nervous now that I read so much about the risk of breaking things in the process though. I keep getting the advice to just patch them. I got some silicone sealant and silicone tape that I'm sure would close the leaks, but with my possible vacuum leak, I'm wondering if I should just dive in and do it right. I don't even know if the cracked boots will survive the manhandling of putting the carbs back on. I'm going to try it today.

 

I would at least tug on the boots to see if they stay together. You don't want to find out they were too fragile on the road.
Maybe I got lucky, but I applied pb-blaster on the bolts holding my intake boots and they came out easily. I sprayed them a couple of times in the day or so prior to removing them so they'd have a little soak time.
I got some used boots which were in much better shape than mine, but they'll need the silicone treatment at some point as well.
You can get a "new" set on ebay for around $100, but they aren't OEM and I've heard a lot of bad things about those sets. I've been toying with buying the NOS boots I see pop up on ebay.

 

Has anyone tried using a spray-on sealant, such as Plasti-Dip, to create a complete, sealed, exterior coating?

 

What I would be more concerned about is getting it into the cracks. That's one thing that pushing the RTV into the boots will do for you.

 

RTV is the way to go as described above.

I have used "flowable" silicon windshield sealant with success. It is clear and glossy and a thinner version of RTV. It can be painted on with a brush and flows into the cracks. It probably is not quite as durable as the RTV, but it can be reapplied with a paint brush without removing the carbs. Mine has lasted 5 years, with only minor touchups periodically - probably because I did not adequately clean the rubber boot before the first application.

I tried the black Plasticdip over the windshield sealant on the outer boots to give it a mat rubber look. Looked good for about a season until the Plasticdip began to degrade and peel. I ended up "rubbing" the remnant of the Plastic Dip off. I don't think that product is durable enough for this application.

 

If I were going to spray any thing like that I would use automotive grade spray rubber sold at wally mart and auto parts stores not that stuff you see on tv to seal screens on the bottom of boats.

 

The cracks look like they could be sealed and there's still strength left in the boot structure. I'm going to patch it. I cleaned up the rubber really well and I'm going to put this silicone on it and use the tape over it once it dries just for good measure.

 

you may want a fuel resistant rtv
https://www.grainger.com/product/12...16328&ef_id=Vso8vwAAAN3jZQqJ:20170405181229:s

or
https://www.ecstuning.com/b-permate...m_term=1100910268440&utm_content=All Products

 

I saw that at the store and didn't know if there was a difference between the stuff I got and "gasket maker". The workers at O'Reilys didn't know. So it's oil resistant?

 

Shocking...

Good luck with the repair, my Kaw has been running on intakes refreshed with black RTV after a good cleaning for quite some time.

 

Good to hear! I'm going to make the exchange now and get on it!

 

yes oil resistant black rtv

 

Yes. You want the oil resistant. Your intake boots are in more than good enough condition to patch. At one point there were no new intake boots to be bought at any price (unless you got lucky), so patching is what we all had to do. If I hadn't had to pull my engine for other reasons I would still be running the boots that I patched.

 

Carbs are back on the bike and every possible leak has been sealed. I'm just waiting for the mail to arrive today and I can put on the new air filter and spark plugs. I hope all this will fix the problem, and I can start riding again. I'll find out later today.

Do I need to do anything special after putting the gas tank back on? Do I need to prime the carbs or lines?

 

Every possible leak? I don't see photos of the rack being broken, and the outer throttle shaft seal washer on #1 looks old. Did you replace the throttle shaft seals before?
Now don't go worrying if you didn't . I forgot to mention them, kind of on purpose because of your finances and time constraints; plus the bike was running well before the intake boot cracks showed up.
If you still get signs of a vacuum leak, you can go straight to the throttle shaft seals as the prime suspect.

You will need to put the petcock on prime to fill the float bowls, and maybe crack the bowl drains to make sure the fuel is getting to them. Sometimes there will be an air bubble that can't move, so cracking the drains gets rid of the bubble.

 

put petcock on prime and rap the bowls with a screw driver handle to make sure the floats do not bind causing the carbs to overflow

 

I didn't break them on purpose. I was going off videos and write ups about cleaning carbs and it seemed like most people kept them together. I know this means they're not as clean as they could be but I was worried about the sync getting messed up. Maybe I messed it up anyway in the process. I think it's pretty obvious that this is over my head.
I didn't know about replacing the throttle shaft seals or that it's a possible leak point. I'm reading about it now in a past post. Thanks for bringing it to my attention!

 

To be clear, I'm not scolding. You've got a tight budget, so taking the process in baby a steps is not a bad thing. The throttle shaft seals will need to be replaced eventually though.

 

I'd also remind you to wet set the carbs. There are details out there (in the FSM and on youtube, and probably here). Basically what that does is ensure the fuel level in the bowls is correct for all 4 carbs. Not too high, not too low. That's something you'd generally do outside the bike on a level surface. I used 4 long deck screws into a sturdy board to make a stand and checked level before starting. The process involves allowing fuel to flow into the carbs (float bowls) and then checking that level, tweaking the float tangs, rechecking, etc.. it'll kill a couple hours of time start-to-finish.

 

Time is more of an issue than budget for me at the moment. Yes I'm a student, but I have some money set aside to sink into this bike. I wanted to pay a professional to do the carbs, but Tucson only has a couple good shops left and they were booked.

I appreciate yall giving me advice and I certainly need some straight-talk that sends me in the right direction.

 

Summer break is just around the corner.

 

Oh, believe me, I'm on countdown mode already!

 

I don't know if this could be related to the bike running poorly, but I was thinking about any leaks I missed.

Sometimes gas leaks out of the core lock on the gas tank cap after I fill up and drive. Other than this being annoying and stinky from getting gas on my knee, I was wondering if this is actually a real problem. Pretty consistently, I have gas residue that forms around the keyhole. Is it supposed to be sealed or is this normal and I'm maybe filling it too high? Any thoughts?

 

first off if you can dissemble the carbs and reassemble you are not in over your head.

the cap should not leak
the gas cap has has 2 orings in it as well as the rubber seal and a ball bearing vent that has to be cleaned chacal sells the parts
here is how to rebuild the cap
Your Gas Cap and You
peeling the chrome cover off the cap is the hardest part you have to have the lock cylinder out you could skip this oring i guess

you should fill to the bottom of the filler tube inside the tank not up inside it.

ebay sells the replacment gas cap cap from china but I can not say if it is any good its under 20$ and is not keyed the same

 

Me too. I teach full-time, and attend grad school half-time. May 23rd is in sight.

 

Another question as I haven't found the answer in my search-

I tried putting the new air filter in just like the other one came out and realized that it doesn't have anything holding it in place besides the lid. It just falls back and leaves a gap. The old one is so rotted that I can't tell if it had an adhesive around the mouth. How is it supposed to stay flush to the wall? Am I missing anything?

 

The lid has a tab that pushes on the metal tab at the top of the filter. That's what holds the filter in place. It all works when you slide the lid forward while you put it on. Just make sure that the lower tab on the filer is in the slo at the bottom of the airbox.

 

Cool! Thought so, but the old one had a bunch of gummy stuff on it so I didn't want to assume.

 

Ah ok... I put it all back together and changed the spark plugs. It's having the same exact problem that I was having before. I noticed that a couple little puffs of dust came out of the front of the engine area when I was sitting on it and revving it. It brought my attention to the area of the exhaust system. Maybe the seal there or the cylinder head gasket is bad. I took this picture and realized how much black gunk is around this pipe. Those rusty bolts look like an oncoming headache.

 

You could certainly have a leaky valve cover gasket, but also check that tach cable. I rebuilt my tach pickup, which mostly a mounts to cleaning and reassembling with new o-rings.
Not saying you don't also have an exhaust leak, but easier for you to tell that than I.

 

That looks more like a leaky tachometer drive oil seal to me.

YOu can test for a leaky head gasket by cleaning off all the gunk, letting it dry, and dusting the area with talc. Start the bike and watch the area around the head gasket. If there is a leak you should see the talc puff out, or oil starting to stain the talc.

 

Would leaks in the tach drive oil seal or exhaust cause the bike to sputter in low gears and have reduced power?
I have the Haynes manual and I'm trying to diagnose the problem. I'm starting to think I need the professionals to take a look.

 

No, those kinds of leaks shouldn't do that. More likely fueling and/or ignition. Now that you've run it, check the plug colors. I don't recall if you did, but setting mixture and syncing the carbs is important to it running well. Once I did those things last summer, I spent 100s of hours riding without issues.

 

Vagabond, One of the first things I would do before starting to work on an older bike is a compression check. It can tell you a lot of things like if your head gasket is blown, your rings are good and if your valves are way out of adjustment. A compression gauge is not that expensive and they may even have one you can use at your local auto parts store. There are a lot of youtube videos showing how to do this. I would recommend watching Max Storey's videos. I have learned a lot from him. This link will take you to his video on doing a compression check.

 

Hey y'all. Thanks for all the help throughout my motorcycle journey. I hate to say it, but I'm going to sell my XJ. Hopefully one day I'll have a garage and be able to put in the work that a cool bike like this deserves.
Just wanted to tell you guys that I appreciate you and this forum was super helpful!

 

Yeah, sorry to hear it. These projects test your resolve. My project is also suffering a hiatus, but it is a logistical one since my workshop got shut down. Hope to pick it up again in the summer as my new workshop gets running.