Bad news from the dealer

I took my bike in to get the carbs synced to hopefully correct the fast idle situation. The dealer tells me I am running on two and a half carbs. This is news to me the bike has seemed to be running fine, again despite the fast idle.

He said the two outside carbs are running just fine. Two will fire up when the bike gets hot and three isn't working at all.

I was getting the high idle when I changed and cleaned the carbs out last year.

Where do I start on this one? Clean the carbs or take the boots off and new RTV sealant on?

I am just starting a new job and career and have a family so I don't have the 400 the dealer wants to charge me to clean and adjust the carbs.

Thanks for everyone's help you guys are always so helpful.

 

The Problem sounds suspiciously like AIR leaking through the Intake Manifold -to- Cylinder Head Mating Surfaces.

The DEALER gave you a song and a dance BECAUSE, ... Pulling the Manifolds to replace Gaskets or O-Ring Seals IS NOT a job that he is going to assign to ANY Tech or have the DEALERSHIP get involved in.

The Repairs needed requires that you Play Russian Roulette taking-out the INTAKE Manifold FASTENERS.

Everybody KNOWS the FASTENERS are SOFT Steel and more likely to BREAK-OFF than just come loose and come-out.

So he said yo you:

"You only have two and a half Carbs and the underlying malfunction, although easily diagnosed, is not a repair you are going to get anybody around here to get involved in. But, we'll do work you don't need and gouge your eyes out after cleaning your carbs, because you told us you did them last year, ... and they'll look great after we spray-off the outside and wipe them down with WD-40 or Spray-on Silicone Spray."

Run!

 

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What he said.

 

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what they said,

but try a few things first. get the bike running, leave it for a while idling, then test the exhaust manifolds. If the exhaust are all hot, then all carbs are working. if any are cool then you have a prob in that cylinder. ( there would be nothing to explode in the barrel therefore nothing to create heat)

You say it's running fine except from a fast idle, easy way to check this.
Get some nice fresh spark plugs and go find a nice empty road.

fit the new plugs. start the bike ride the bike up to say 50 - 60 mph, haul the clutch in and cut the engine. (don't just pull over and then cut the engine, this will give a false reading)

pull up to the side and whip the plugs out the colour of the plugs will determine how each cylinder is running.

compare your plugs with this guide
plug colour guide

if you have an air leak on any cylinder you are gonna be running lean, so you will look like piture 22 on.

In this insatnce you have to track down the air leak, heed Rickomaticks warning carefully here and check out this

carb guide

Now, if a carb isn't working at all like the shop said, then it clearly has a blockage, and if the other carb is only working some of the time then this also points to a blockage in the pilot jet.

If this is the case your bike will feel lumpy and rough low down, and pick up a bit as that third carb comes in as the revs rise.

only solution is to strip and clean very thoroughly.
You may also want to set the carbs up very carefully. Check each float level and set up via your workshop manual.

check all diaphrams for any cracking or deterioration. check that they are seated correctly (I use a little grease in the rim they sit in to hold them till I get the cap on...and I mean a little grease!!!) check the needle settings, make sure the clips are in the right position.

Basically your in for a days work here. Carbs are a pain, if you adjust one thing it effects another, so carefull preperation is the key here.

good luck buddy and if you get stuck, just ask!!

 

The dealer was yanking your chain.

Do the basics; bench sync and check the float levels.

 

also, make sure you cleand them right, did you get the emulsion tubes? i'd go through it one more time and check EVERYTHING.

 

This place is so much better than any dealer. I feel like I could literally tear down the entire bike, bolt-for-bolt, and put it back together with enough time, questions, and parts from Chacal.

Moral of the story is: don't let dealers rip you off; do the repairs yourself!

 

For those intake bolts, get some KROIL spray em down and let sit for a few days. Spray them again and let sit for a few more days. I had a couple that were seized and used this method to get them out. Came out super easy.

 

". . .three isn't working at all.

I was getting the high idle when I changed and cleaned the carbs out last year.

Where do I start on this one? Clean the carbs or take the boots off. . ?"

You start with a valve check/adjustment and maybe add a compression check, then, check the float levels on the bike, then a running sync ( no need to bench sync) maybe new plugs too.

Then read "church of clean". Good luck !

 

I am at risk for sounding like a real idiot when I post this. I don't know if I will be able to post with any credibility after this.

I finally got a chance to take off the carbs today. When I took off the fuel bowls I noticed a main jet in the fuel bowl. All the rest of the jets were super tight put this one, apparently I forgot to tighten it, boy do I feel smart. This was in cylinder 4 fuel bowl. On the top of this carb there was a lot of what looked like a black debri.

I didn't notice any reason why cylinder 3 wouldn't be running. I also noticed a red dust (assuming rust) in the bottom off all the fuel bowls.

 

We all have a "Doh!" moment now and then. The good news is that it's fixable. Go to this link. http://www.xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic ... art=0.html
And go through it and you will be out on two wheels, maybe even one, in no time.

 

Think you feel smart now? Imagine how "smart" you'd feel if you had given the dealer 400 bones to "fix" your bike! Yeah, they'll take your money, but they would get a lot more of it if they could sell you a new bike. You're much better off with the guys here.

 

I saw this when I first rebuilt the carbs. I ragged on the PO on this forum for not getting it to run right :twisted: ...but you are the CO (current owner) I will instead congratulate you on finding the problem yourself (and avoiding paying the dealer to fix it :wink: ).

The reason (I think) this happens is because the main jet screws into the emulsion tube. When tightening down the jets, stick a finger into the venturi and hold down the emulsion tube while tightening down the main jet. This will ensure that you screw it in tight. On my carbs, some of the emulsion tubes "press fit" and at least one is "loose" as in if there is no jet in it, and you the carb over it will just fall out.

Are you running a fuel filter? It sounds like your carbs need to be cleaned again :roll: and make sure to flush out the pilot air circuit from all ends (under the hat, through the pilot fuel jet, and through the pilot mixture screw). Get or make your own sync gauge (don't bother with the baby bottle tool) and get a color tune plug to set your idle mixtures perfectly.

 

Just had a similar prob on my 72 gt250, wouldnt run under load at all. Pulled the carbs and found the main unscrewd itself and was sitting in the bowl. It has run 3,000 prob free miles and I know it was tight when I cleaned the carbs last go around. I know now after checking with other 2stroke owners that this is not all that uncommon. For what it is worth.

 

How does the main jet being off effect how the rest of the carbs run?

Is the red dust rust from the tank?

 

Congradulations, you have passed the test! All home- shop wrenchers
screw up here and there. You posted that mistake and that takes guts.
Humility,honesty are big "cred" here. Now fix the prob and move on
to the next fix :wink:

 

Yes, in this light, allow me...

After taking off and cleaning the carbs, I squeezed them back into the bike and had it all ready to fire up. That's when I realized I'd not only forgot to re-attach the throttle, but the leading cable from the carbs was trapped underneath the carb bottom plate. This meant I had to take the carbs out completely, remove the bottom plate to get to the leading throttle cable, hook it up and re-attach the carbs.

There's a mistake I won't make again.

 

I had the "jet in the bowl" syndrome myself once after a cleaning.....
Try that on a twin and see how it runs lol