Strong Fuel Odor

Ok, wizards, time to pick the magic brains again.

A couple of weeks ago, I went out for an all-day ride with RangerG and Veedub88. It was a great day, except for the incident that took out a corner of Veedub's windshield when my sunglass case fell out of my coat at 70 MPH, but that's another story ....

When I got home, I parked in the garage and went inside. Over the next few days, the garage smelled of petroleum products. At the time, I just wrote it off as the side effects of the work I'd been doing with oil and brake fluid, etc. I figured the smell would go away. It didn't.

I started taking things out that may have had petroleum in or on it. No change. Finally, I started checking the bike and there was a strong odor of gasoline (petrol to our friends across the pond), especially on the right side by the carbs. Because the bike has never smelled before, I figured it must be a failed petcock or ruptured fuel line or something of the sort.

Tonight, I pulled the tank and checked the petcock and line, no leaking. I changed the oil to check for gas in the crankcase. Nothing. The bike runs fine and started with no problems. Nothing is leaking onto the floor. I'm baffled.

At this point, I'm leaning toward something carb related, but if it were serious, I would think that it should show itself with some type of running problem. Is there a possiblity that there is a gasket or seal that may have broken and is leaking vapor without actually leaking liquid?

If it's something that can wait until the end of the season (which is short enough here as it is), then I'll just live with the stink. I've already lost enough riding time repairing the front brake caliper.

I haven't been disappointed here before, so any advice will be most appreciated.

 

any smell of fuel you should take seriously, keep looking untill you find the source, you could go up in a firey holocaust. :evil:

 

Do you see any yellow-ish stain on or below the bowls, maybe on the heat shield? Could be a bowl gasket or a loose bowl drain screw...

Like Wizard said, do not ignore fuel odor!

 

A yellow stain on the bowls would be a bad gasket? I am trying to determine if the gasket is bad or if that gas was just leaking down onto the bowl from the bad petcock which I just replaced.

 

I'll check that tonight. Thanks!

One other thing.... is it possible that a crack in the boot between the carb and the manifold could cause this? They are all cracked on the surface, but to date there hasn't been any evidence of a crack all the way through (tested for leaks with starter fluid, smoke, etc ). Just wondering if the vapor would come out of said cracks if they are all the way through the rubber.

Cheers!

 

Swampfox, A yellow stain around the carb area or on the carbs themselves simply means that gas has been leaking and drying on that surface... It could be from the bowls, drains, petcock, etc.. Just kinda have to follow the trail
Gasoline stains can be confused with rust, but they clean up easily with carb cleaner, and rust spots - not so much.

Argh,

A crack in the manifold big enough to smell gas would cause a lot of other problems, like a massive vacuum leak! That would be bad news... You can detect the leak by spraying it with either carb cleaner or an unlit propane torch while the bike is running. If you hear a change in RPM, you have a leak.

 

Ding ding ding!!! I think we have a winner!

Closer inspection in the proper light reveals a damp area on the lower rear area of carb #3 and some on the inside rear area of #4. I checked the drain screws and they were both tight. I'm suspecting that there is bowl gasket issue on one of those two carbs. There is no dripping, staining or pooling that I can see on the pan underneath the carbs, so it looks like it's not too serious a leak. Yet. I suppose it's time to use up some of the credit I have with chacal!

One last question ... it takes a couple of weeks for parts to get up to Canada from chacal. Any thoughts on the risk of riding until they arrive? I'm not planning any major trips, but I'm hoping to use it to run around town and back and forth to work a few times.

Thanks to all for their advice and suggestions. As usual, it looks like the collective minds of this site have come to the rescue. Much appreciated!!!