i dropped a fuse into the air intake...

haha i dropped a ATC fuse into the air intake under the seat. a few weeks ago my friend dropped a very small piece of wire down there too and he just goes "meh it doesnt really matter" but now theres a fuse down there. is this gonna be a problem? im completely unfamiliar with whats going down there in the airbox or if it will damage my bike. thanks.

 

As long as your air filters in place and is seating correctly should be okay, but what's wrong with taking the cover off and pulling out the unwanted junk. You could also check the condition of the air filter while your at it.
Better to check than be sorry you didn't!

 

like Nick says just open that filter box up and check that air filter you will need to get in there sooner or later anyway.

it's really a pretty basic thing to opeh the air filter box up

 

There's nothing down in there that can bite. Just undo the screws and carefully lift off the Cover.

Take out the airfilter and Vacuum-out the Airbox.
Examine the Air Filter; too.
You can either try cleaning it with a strong Shop-Vac and vacuum the filter ... or, use compressed air and blow it out from the inside.

You'll be doing an important job that might make the bike run a little better if the Air Filter has a lot of dust or grime inn the folds.

You can also wipe-out the forward section of the airbox ... ahead of the filter ... with some clean rags or paper towels.

Finish the job by cleaning the whole inside with a cleann rag moistened with Armoral.

Easy as pie.

 

yeah you guys are right. i should just check it anyways. well that gives me a my next project then. so im gonna assume....



to get into the box to the air filter i just remove these screws? (circled red ones)

 

And a third one you can't see siting below the Tank!

 

The whole top of the airbox is secured by three screws (bolts in your application it would seem). You have found the back two, there is a third up front that is on an angle. You should be able to see it if you peer under the tank from the back. Remove them and the airbox will be accessable. I would recommend reinstalling the screws rather than the bolts as a screwdriver is easier to get under the tank without removing it than a socket.

 

thanks all for the advice and help. opened up the airbox (first time) got out the piece of wire and the fuse i dropped down there. but now i have two new questions...


1)should i get a new air filter? im not sure how dirty is dirty.




2)when i took out the air filter i noticed this hole and hose (red circles) i know this is a totally dumb question but i refused to feel embarrassed when it comes to me learning about bikes :lol: , but what is this hose and hole to the airbox for?

 

That is the crankcase vent tube. It lets fumes from the case be reburied through the intake.

 

ya that nasty little bugger has been spraying oil into my airbox since i got my XJ. but i've got other problems to worry about before that... anyone have any idea what it might be off hand? i've heard its probably gummed up carbs letting gasoline into the crankcase so i've got the carbs torn apart and am cleaning those out but anybody have any conflicting opinion?

 

Sometimes overfilling with oil or a leaking petcock filling the crankcase with gas raising the oil level.

 

well i know it can't be overfilling since it shoots it out faster than i can pour it in but the petcock does look pretty nasty upon further inspection... is there anyway to test it? thanks.

 

What I have done is set the petcock to on, remove the fuel line at the valve. Watch for fuel at the fitting. If it is a slow leak put a folded up piece of newspaper under the fitting. A small drop will show up as a large dark spot on the newsprint. You may have an open float needle in the carb.

 

hmmmm i'll have to try that once i get the whole gas tank assembly back together. thanks for the info, i'm thinking its probably more likely that it was the carbuerator needle because they were in pretty bad shape when i opened it up and cleaned it out.

 

Do an investigation.

Do a Compression Check to make sure you aren't a victim of "Blow-by"
Unburned gases and Oil getting by the rings and into the Crankcase.
That would make for a pretty greasy situation in the Airbox.

You might want to do an inspection of the Baffle inside that cover where the Vent Tube exits. If the Baffle is loose (not likely ... but, if) then the Crankcase oil is going to be looking for a convenient exit!

Don't overfill the Crankcase with Engine Oil. Put the Level on the Top Mark and live there. You can "Eyeball" what the situation is better that way.

 

ahhhh i was worried that might have something to do with it... can piston rings go bad at only 14000 miles though? i know they can do anything given poor enough care but assuming the bike was reasonably well cared for by the PO shouldn't they still be good for a while?

on any note i will go rent a compression tester (or steal one from the highschool for a night ) and see if that is the problem.

like i said i'm doubting its overfilling since it shoots it in a straight stream with a vengeance faster than i can fill it up but who knows i might as well check.

 

that's it, check the petcock, there should be no flow in the ON or RES positions. In PRI it should run freely.
If that's not the problem, and your oil isn't over full, then I'd do the compression check.
There are a couple of different ways to do the compression check, 1st check it dry, write down the results.
Then do the next check wet (small amt of oil in cyl before check) record the results
If there is a change from the dry check when you do the wet check, there is a good chance you have blowby due to ring wear, if it's stays the same and is abnormal, then it could be valve troubles.

Either way, abnormal results are not a good thing.

 

sweet thanks for the help... sorry to divert away from the posters original topic

 

np man! glad you got helped too hahah. i just went off and wiki'd PVC Valves. learn something new everyday.

so anyone about my first question? does my current air filter look like it needs to be replaced?

 

No. From the looks of the inside ... it WAS replaced not to long ago.

Take a toothbrush and brush the slotted vanes ... or blow it out from the INSIDE ~ OUT.

You'll be good to start dropping things back into the intake, again!

 

Hey Ike;
Thanks for taking me for a ride in Wisconsin.
Nice road, great scenery, plenty of twistys