Dead battery and gas leak!

[mcgovern61]

Well, the battery did what most batteries do, reach their 24 month mark and suddenly die. (How do the manufacturers do it?) Looks like an AGM this spring.

Well the real problem is, we were smelling gasoline in the house, and lo and behold, the carbs leaked down into the engine! :head bang:

I had the carbs rebuilt last spring and they have been great. Now, I wonder how (after sitting for three weeks) did the carbs suddenly decide to drain themselves? The fuel petcock is closed and the tank only has 1.5 gallons in it so it wasn't from the fuel tank.

I am not a carb guy, I work on diesels so any help is greatly appreciated! I did pull the plugs and spin out the gasoline. I know there is gas in the oil too! I did start the bike and figured a gasoline and oil wash will help clean out the lower end! :smilie_happy:

That doesn't matter that much because I am swapping engines this winter so the carbs will be coming off anyway. (The same engine swap I have been trying to accomplish since last spring!)

 

[Joep]

sounds like the floats may have a minor issue or there is dirt on the needle seat.. sorry to hear that this happened to you.. could be your cutoff did not fully cut off also.. and combined with float/needle seating issues.. you may have to rebuild the petcock also..

 

[Omega Man]

Weird, yesterday when I turned the petcock on I instantly smelled gas and the engine flooded! That fast...had to crank her about 45 seconds to clear it and start her. :smilie_happy: From now on, I'm starting with the valve closed and open after she starts. Querky girls to be sure.

~O~

 

[joedrum]

Its amazing how much trouble these stock almost unrebuildable carbs can be and the damage they can cause. if i dont mix 2cycle oil in mine periodicly they will clog up. between the carbs and unrebuildable fuel pump honda gets an F. im just about ready to go single carb and wall hang the stock ones to remind me how much ive messed with them. there is some good info on saunders about this. LD has a great looking manifold availibale and there are heated plates that go between carb and manifold to eliminate icing as soon as i come up with the funds im going for it. these bikes are about as good as it gets for the long haul and i think single carb will make this even more so joedrum

 

[RBG]

I don't agree with that the carbs are "unrebuildable". Yes you have to take your time and do it right..but once done correctly with OEM float valves, and Randakk rubber they will last another 20 years, with a little synching ever few years. Note the single carbs will work but you will lose some performance. Pistol Pete will rebuild for $400 about the same price a single carb set up..and once done you should be good for 20 years again.

The fuel pump is rebuildable it just takes a drill press, tap and new diaphragm material.

 

[BigAndrew]

Welcome to the site RBG... $400 to rebuild carbs?? Ouch.. For that price i hope you dont have to mail them off

 

[dan filipi]

I really dont know what would cause gas to suddenly leave the carbs and get into the cylinders.
That's a strange one, especially with a low level of fuel in the tank. I had hydro lock a few weeks ago but the tank was full. That'll teach me to leave the petcock open.

 

[joedrum]

I didnt say unrebuildable isaid almost unrebuildable i rebuilt mine its just with the gas today they will clog up and the fuel pump is unrebildable they just werent engineered user friendly at all . just a bad deccision on honda part to cut corners on the engineering. dont get me wrong my bike carbs are top notch and screams down the road its diffinutely faster than when it was new it had carb issuses from the get go i assume it sat arround with gas in it without running .im just ready to change to something less sinsative and easyer to deal with.

 

[mcgovern61]

I don't agree with that the carbs are "unrebuildable". Yes you have to take your time and do it right..but once done correctly with OEM float valves, and Randakk rubber they will last another 20 years, with a little synching ever few years. Note the single carbs will work but you will lose some performance. Pistol Pete will rebuild for $400 about the same price a single carb set up..and once done you should be good for 20 years again.

The fuel pump is rebuildable it just takes a drill press, tap and new diaphragm material.

RBG welcome to the site! :salute:

Pistol Pete did rebuild these carbs last spring. I have sent him an email requesting help.

BigAndrew, the $400 includes the complete Randakk kit (which is $200 itself). $200 in labor for about 6 hours of labor is about $34 per hour. Most shops charge an average of $65 and hour around here. I would have considered doing them myself, but I am not a carb guy and 4 of them makes me a little nervous. I do not like rebuilding something if I am not able to diagnose why it is not working correctly. When I got the carbs back, they could be idled down to 650 rpm without stalling, that was cool!