Carb cleaning surprise

[gpz_rider]

My 82 Gpz550 (first bike) started leaking gas from one of the carbs since the first day that I've owned it which now have been over 3 months! Haven't had time to take the MSF class and due to carb leaking I haven't yet ridden it on the street even.

I ordered the carb rebuild kit for all four carbs and today finally got around to taking the carbs off the bike for cleaning (my first again) and replacing some parts. Taking it off was more work then I though (pretty tight with not much room to move struff around) but I did it.

Naturally, I started with the carb that was leaking and when I took off the float bowl I was surprised to find that it was very clean! The float seem to move freely and float value and needle look pretty good too.

So, my questions are:

1) Should I go ahead and replace all of the parts that came with the rebuild kit anyway or just spray some carb cleaner?
2) Should I just work on the carb that was leaking or go ahead and rebuild the other three as well that doesn't have a problem? I don't want to replace parts for something that is working and perhaps do something wrong to make it worse.

Last, having had difficulty taking the carbs off the bike, I'm not looking forward to putting them back on again or even worse taking it off again if something doesn't work right.

[hot_shoe_cv]

Its more than likely that your float valve is the culprit. If it gets stuck open with varnish from the old fuel which sat in the carb it won't close to shut off the fuel, causing it to run out the overflow tube. If the kit includes a float valve & seat you might as well use them. If not, try the cleaner routine and checking to see if the float tang will open & close the valve consistantly.

[2WheelFun]

Since you know how hard it is to get the carbs off...and will be hard to put them back on...perhaps it's the best time to do a rebuild.

If you know the history of the maintenance of the bike...and know if the carbs have been rebuilt already...then it may not be necessary to do so. If your not sure...then perhaps it would be wise to go ahead and rebuild them. Just be aware that you'll need to balance "sync" the carbs when you have them back on. You can do that yourself or take it to a shop and have it done. If you don't have a sync tool you can purchase one to do the job. There are many out there but one that gets high reviews is here: www.carbtune.com

[gpz_rider]

Thanks for the info. I don't know if I want to replace everything that came with the rebuild kit which includes new needles and main jet. Since this is my first time looking inside a carb and trying to work on it, I was thinking I would just clean it with carb cleaner and replace some worn rubber parts and float value & needle w/o messing with the jets.

If I do just what I intend to do w/o replacing the needles and jets, do I still need to have the carbs sync'd? The bike I think was running pretty good except for gas leaking from one carb which is why I started this project so do I really want to mess with the jets?

At this point, all I want is to stop the one carb from leaking and just clean the others to get it roadworthy so I can start riding soon! Thanks.

[hot_shoe_cv]

If you only replace the float valve & seat (be sure to replace both as a unit) I wouldn't think it necessary to re-sync. A test ride should tell you for sure

[gpz_rider]

Replaced all float valve & needle and few o-rings here and there, put the carb back together and put it back on the bike (putting it back in was almost as hard as it was taking it out). Turned the fuel on and carb is still leaking Same carb #2. So, immediately I took the carb out again and more closely examined the areas around the #2 carb.

It appears after all this that the leak might be actually coming from where the fuel hose from the gas tank is attached to the carb. It is located top-middle between the #2 & #3 carbs. I think it only appear to leak from #2 carb 'cause the bike leans left on the side kickstand (don't have center stand to make the bike horizontal) and gravity takes over. Now, I'm going to replace this and if this doesn't work will be forced to send it to a bike shop for repair.

Now, where can I buy this fuel hose? It looks like one of those part that are universal nothing really specific to my bike. Second, there are two other hoses that are attached to the carbs that I have no idea where it goes. From the manuals I have, it might appear to be "vent hoses" but where do I route them?

[nathan600r]

Local autoparts store. Fuel line hose is all the same. Make sure and get a good clamp, don't rely on a squeeze togther type those are ****.

[wiredgeorge]

Vent hoses are only necessary if the bike falls over. The point is that gas not flow out the vents onto your HOT engine. Route the vent hoses over the swing arm.

[eric the red]

I Would Recommend Using All The Parts In The Rebuild Kit And Saving The Old For Spares.that Way You Can Feel Better Knowing Your Carbs Are Rebuilt Correctly.before Installing , Use Carb Cleaner To Flow Through All The Passeges In The Body.some Are For Fuel And Some Are For Air.all Must Be Clear To Work .also Check The " T " Fittings Between The Rack For Leaks..check Synch On Any Carbs You Disturb ( Remove / Replace ) Good Luck And Take Your Time..

[Nate]

Originally Posted by wiredgeorge

Vent hoses are only necessary if the bike falls over. The point is that gas not flow out the vents onto your HOT engine. Route the vent hoses over the swing arm.

They also serve a second, perhaps more important, purpose and that is to keep the fuel in the float bowl at atmospheric pressure which "pushes" the fuel up into the carb throat due to the lower pressure created by the venturi/slide.

[StarGate]

Originally Posted by eric the red

I Would Recommend Using

I would recommend that you check the dates on a thread before you open up an otherwise dead thread.

Nate, I think WG is implying that during a laydown is the only time it might be important to have hoses attached to the vents, not what the function of the vent is. This was a dead thread so I don't even know why I was reading it, much less posting in it.

[Nate]

The information provided was incomplete and since this thread was resuscitated, the information needed to be completed since I have fielded a number of those vent hose questions over the years.