I need help with my lame ass petcock

I recently rebuilt my petcock, put it back on the tank, started my bike for a couple of minutes, turned it off, and after sitting for about an hour I had fuel all over my garage floor. I saw the petcock rebuild instructions that were recently posted only right after my floor was covered in gas. I am new to motorcycles and I was wondering if fuel bypassing the petcock would have any negative affects on my bike? Do I need to change my oil again, or do I need to do anything to my carbs because of this? Does anybody have info on how to replace the petcock with a simple ON/OFF switch? It seems that it would be much easier for me to just cancel out the vacuum shut off feature. Any help as to find the right parts and instructions on how to install the ON/OFF fuel valve would be very helpful.

 

Hi - You can buy on/off taps suitable for lawnmowers to fit in line if you want.
You can get normal on/off/res taps from Chacal (Click XJ4Ever).

With regard to the oil - check the level. If it is normal, then the fuel has not got past the carbs. if the level is high or the oil smells of fuel - you need to change it!

 

there's a spring that you probably left out in the switch. that spring pushes the diaphragm assembly back in. the only time the switch should be open is when vacuum is applied. from the motor running. or left in prime.

when everything is working right. you can leave the switch into prime and still not flood out. which means your floats aren't shutting off in the carbs. it's the floats job to shut fuel off when there is enough fuel in the bowl.

back in teh old days. switches weren't vacuum operated. some switches only had on and reserve. but bvack in them days floats were brass. and brass floats were notorious for leaking. causing flooding. the vacuum switch was created as a safety backup to keep fuel from flowing into the carbs when the bike wasn't running. but now floats are foam. and they don't go bad. least, i haven't seen one. don't know about others.

my bike has been sitting for 2 weeks now, in prime position.

 

If its together correctly and still leaking there's 5wo things you can do:

- pull the sping 'apart' to give more pushing pressure on the ORing (but not too much)
- replace the ORing

When you dissasemble the leaky one you'll know if the diaphram is leaking by looking at both sides of its sealing surface, should be dry

 

Thanks for the info guys. I definitely have fuel in my oil. I had just changed the oil and replaced the oil filter before the fuel started to leak. I just looked through the oil level window, and I have way more fluid in it than when I had just changed it. The oil smells like gas as well. I know that I have to change the oil, but do I need to replace the new oil filter as well? Is there anything else that I might need to do other than changing the oil?

 

petcock is bad and float levels are to high pull the plugs and bump the motor over you need to get the gas from flowing

 

The cheapest Insurance you can buy is a Briggs & Stratton Fuel Shut-off Valve.
Twelve bucks.

Install it right next to the Petcock.
When you park the Bike; shut the Fuel off.

Or, ... Buy a NEW Petcock.
It will pick-up where the old one left-off.
You won't need the Auxiliary Shut-off for 25-Years.

Fuel Shut-off Valve <><> Shut-Off Valve Installed

 

I'm pretty new to this, and I feel pretty lame not knowing what your talking about, but could you explain what you mean by float levels and plugs. Do you mean pull the spark plugs and turn it over until the gas comes out of the carbs? Would I do this before or after I change the oil?

 

What is meant by float levels is fuel levels in the carb bowls, measured with the bike on the center stand. You need to get your hands on a maintenance manual, the process is nicely outlined in the Haynes and factory manual.
Plugs does indeed refer to the spark plugs in this instance (although I'm not sure what it buys you to pull them). To get the fuel flowing you simply need to put the petcock into the PRI position for a minute or so and the carbs will fill up on their own. The motor does not need to be spun to accomplish this.
I would pull your carbs, clean them out thoroughly two or three times, set the float height dry, reinstall them, prime them and do a fuel level check. Adjust the fuel floats as needed to get the fuel level into the acceptable range.

 

Here's my contribution,I've had the same problem with my fuel tap (petcock hehe).The Pattern plunger-spigot or whatever is slightly too short compared to original equipment,which means the O-ring doesnt seat in the valve correctly, thereby allowing fuel past.Solution is crude but simple, dissassemble valve place diapraghm in a 14mm socket,place another socket on top and tap LIGHTLY.... it only needs 2mm lenghthening by dishing the Diapraghm, lenghthening the spring also helps things along.This is described in detail on the Maxim website.This does work, I've done it on mine and it works perfectly.

 

Thanks once again for the help. I got a on-off switch and it seems to be working a lot better... That is if I remember to turn the damn thing off.

 

It's still only half your problem. Even with a bad petcock you should not have gas in your oil.

You should be able to leave the petcock on PRI and not have any gas leak into the motor, if the floats do their part correctly.

You still have a float valve issue and it will affect the way the bike runs and its reliability. You need to get it fixed.