Hydro Lock

[wedoo2]

Strange thing happened to me on Monday. Took off for a ride and about two blocks down I noticed that the bike was running poorly. I remembered the petcock and switched it up to ON. The bike died and it dragged and I could not get it started as it seemed the battery was dead.

Then it just locked up. Sounded like the starter would not engage. Click click.

I got the Gold Witch back to the homestead and yesterday evening it crossed my mind that I had a vapor / hydro lock. Took out the plugs and turned her over and the gas she did fly. (Don't ever do this in your garage, or living room Harley guys) Now, I have already replaced one motor on this bike because of the same problem, so I keep the petcock turned off. It was on the side stand since I had trigger finger release surgery last week and can't pull the bike on the center stand yet.

So the question is how to avoid this happening again? BTW the carbs have been rebuilt and synchronized. The bike has been running great, easy to start without choke, steady idle and no hiccups at throttle.

 

[joedrum]

well it seems stock carbs and there age now rebuilt or not can not be depended on to not leak ...there a engineered nightmare at this point ....petcock off and center stand is it for these carbs ...float springs and all just to light weight to deal to deal with the lean on the side stand ...among other issues the carbs can be leaking .....like worn needles that dont seal good anymore and so on....

these are boxer motors and tend to have this problem ....even with the SCC setup i have ..i dont use the side stand unless its running already .....

 

[D-50Dave]

joedrum » 53 minutes ago[/url]":208d5trm]
well it seems stock carbs and there age now rebuilt or not can not be depended on to not leak ...there a engineered nightmare at this point ....petcock off and center stand is it for these carbs ...float springs and all just to light weight to deal to deal with the lean on the side stand ...among other issues the carbs can be leaking .....like worn needles that dont seal good anymore and so on....

these are boxer motors and tend to have this problem ....even with the SCC setup i have ..i dont use the side stand unless its running already .....

I'm too old and skinny to get mine on it's center stand, only for winter storage and repairs. (I need a second person) I guess I've been lucky as I've never had a problem. I wish I'd never read this post as I'm afraid this knowledge might jinx my good fortune. :yes:

 

[joedrum]

many old carb racks are fine ....and bikes are great ....and if they are good ...id be running ATF mix in the fuel ...and they would probably stay that way ..4 to 6 oz per tank full of gas ...great your bike is doing well :BigGrin:

 

[dan filipi]

The level of gas in the bowls is lower so shouldn't get any spill over if there's no supply of gas. Maybe the petcock isn't stopping the flow of gas when off?

 

[mcgovern61]

Carbs leaking is still most likely the floats are either out of adjustment or the seats are dirty and not sealing.

 

[fivestring]

Wedoo2, I'm surprised the bike ran at all if it was a hydrolock condition. My guess is it ran with the petcock off long enough to empty the carbs, then the battery died before the engine got primed with gas again. The hydrolock then happened by the time it got back to the shop? Did you let the petcock on for a while between the no-start and getting her back home?

I also use the petcock in unison with the ignition key, both on or both off. It's not just an Old Wing malady. My '81 Suzuki 1100 will pee all over the floor if I let the gas on. And a kz1000 I had was the same.

 

[wedoo2]

I agree with you guys that turning off the petcock every time has to be automatic. Let me ask you this, maybe the poor running was not because it was too rich instead of starving for fuel? The cylinders were already full of gas and when I remembered to turn the petcock back on and the bike died, the battery went south,then it hydro locked? It happened almost immediately.

But it definitely was locked up. Soon as I pulled the plugs the bike turned over easily and gas shot out like out of a hose. Thank goodness it is running good and I don't have crooked rods. And Dave, I'm sorry you had to see this.

 

[fivestring]

If a cylinder is truly hydrolocked it is hard to believe it would have turned over period. Liquid just doesn't compress for the piston to make a full stroke.

If it did hydrolock that would mean a seriously large amount of raw fuel pouring into one cylinder in a short time. My hydrolocking experiences have been over several hours, usually overnight.

On your question, if it died from being too rich, how far/long did it run with petcock off? More than a minute or two and the carbs should have been sucked dry and a starved engine shuts off.

 

[dan filipi]

There could be gas in the oil now so it should be changed.

 

[zman]

Well whatever the case I think you need to pull the carbs and I would order new float valves 2 times I struggled to get the carbs right with seemingly good float valves, I just wouldn't trust anything but new and look at the brass seats too.
Set them right and fill them on the bench to check for leaks then pul the bench fuel fill line and drain each carb one at a time and check the CC`s of fuel in each bowl to confirm 52CC just to be sure it is right.
BTW think it is Mcgovern62 that has an easy lift stand he was selling for the 80-81 model bikes, makes lifting easier.

 

[wedoo2]

dan filipi » Today, 9:19 am[/url]":rxgzw15f]
There could be gas in the oil now so it should be changed.

I had figured on changing the oil this week anyway. I have several hundred miles on this new motor, and heads. The motor had sat for a while and it just seemed smart to change it after some miles.

I am going to run the bike for a while before I tear into the carbs again. See how it goes. Then when it gets cold I will do a whole rebuild again. I want to polish them anyway. Until then keep it up on the center stand and close the petcock. Speaking of the petcock, are there good kits to rebuild and has the success rate been good?

 

[slabghost]

Most of the petcocks rebuild pretty well if you can get the parts. Inline fuel shut off is also an option. Keeping ATF in the fuel will help to keep everything clean so it may have the issue remedied by the time you decide to polish.

 

[dan filipi]

I'd pull the fuel line off and see if it does turn off or not, if so leave it be.

 

[joedrum]

on my bike with single carb up high on it the gas leaks back into tank so im assuming it goes the other way also ..on this subject i just put like a plumbing trap in the line to the carb and it seems to have stop the leak back to the tank deal i was having that required ...longer cranking to start ....amazing how long i went before thinking of this ...

 

[jnp17331]

Sounds to me like you simply flooded it. Tha Ole Wings accelerator pump will dump er full quick if shes already warm and you get excited :rant: and flog it cause it spluttered and stalled. Im been guilty of this myself on rare occasions :BigGrin:

 

[Ansimp]

I ended up with a new petcock for the Rats Nest. Cost a few dollars but I figured it deserved one after 34 years. :good:

 

[D-50Dave]

joedrum » Yesterday, 7:22 am[/url]":2hah4jgd]
...id be running ATF mix in the fuel ...

I run 5 oz. SeaFoam in my first fresh tank of the season and Stabil in the full tank over winter.

 

[wedoo2]

The petcock does stop the flow of gas as I have had things disconnected quite a bit with no leaks. I don't think I will try to rebuild it right now. I have heard of putting ATF, and even MMO in the gas, but not sure how much. I do have a few ounces of MMO in the engine oil, maybe 10.

 

[slabghost]

4-6oz of atf per fill up. If it smokes a little add a bit less next fill up.