HELP!!!!!! now im leaking

Firecop119 · May 23, 2010, 11:06:28 AM

HELLO AGAIN ALL, i need more help. i think this is a continuation of my last topic posted ( engine problems while riding ). the other day when i was riding i started loosing power so i pulled over and checked the gas and then it started running right. now it still runs good and the tank is full but now im woke up to a puddle under the left side of the bike. it was gas but it seemed like it was mixed with oil. it was a dirty liquid. please if anyone has any ideas please let me know. i can even give u my number if it would help to explain over the phone. thanks everyone

Firecop119 · May 23, 2010, 11:25:32 AM

ok i have an update. i can see where its dripping from and its kind of a steady drip. where i see it is under the front sprocket cover dripping onto the manifold and onto the ground. hope that helps everyone. thanks

Marsh White · May 23, 2010, 11:36:06 AM

It sounds like you have a stuck float in one of the carbs. Some people have had luck (including me) by riding off of a curb to "jolt" it free. You can also put a screwdriver on the float bowl and rap the end of it with a hammer. The best solution is to take the carbs off and clean them. You can trace the leaking overflow hose back to the offending carb to see which one is leaking.

fj1289 · May 23, 2010, 12:11:02 PM

Seems like everytime I do a thorough cleaning on the carbs, I get 1 or 2 stuck floats. The "jolt" has worked about half the time - the rest of the time requires opening up the float bowls again. I don't know if something gets slightly out of alignment or what. But, after I get it squared away, it's good to go!

Chris

andyb · May 23, 2010, 01:05:31 PM

I actually now lubricate the floats a touch when I'm assembling them. Just a little WD40, MMO, 10w40, whatever's handy. Seems like they stick a LOT less often for me now.

markmartin · May 23, 2010, 03:39:41 PM

This may not be the problem, however...I almost always use the center stand when I'm parked for any length of time. One day last summer I left the bike on the side stand overnight and came out in the morning to a puddle under the left side which continued to leak until I went for a ride adn then it stopped. (the tank was not overfull ---which I have done before--that'll make it overflow

) I park my bike on the center stand always now and it hasn't happened since.

SlowOldGuy · May 23, 2010, 04:26:22 PM

Quote from: Marsh White on May 23, 2010, 11:36:06 AM
It sounds like you have a stuck float in one of the carbs. Some people have had luck (including me) by riding off of a curb to "jolt" it free.

I've seen this mentioned a few times. If you do this on an FJ, be prepared to buy a new lower fairing if it's a high curb.

I haven't done it (no, really!), but I've read it happening a few times over the years.

DavidR.

Marsh White · May 23, 2010, 04:34:14 PM

I've never hit my chin fairing while doing it - but I did pick a medium curb and go off it moderately fast for that very reason - I'd do it a few times just to make sure. It has worked for me a couple of times while on big trips - where pulling the carbs was not much of an option. Good warning though...you gotta have some guts and just kinda "gun it"!

But that was 5 years ago the last time I had to do it. Now I just pull the carbs off once a year and clean the crap out of them and I have never had a stuck float since...

Arnie · May 23, 2010, 07:28:40 PM

Quote from: Marsh White on May 23, 2010, 04:34:14 PM

Now I just pull the carbs off once a year and clean the crap out of them and I have never had a stuck float since...

Once you actually have the carbs clean, you can just run some fuel injection cleaner in your fuel tank to keep them clean. I use about 1/3 the amount recommended for a car, in a full tank just before an oil change. This keeps everything clean, and avoids having to "clean the crap out of them" each year.

Cheers,
Arnie

RichBaker · May 23, 2010, 07:30:21 PM

Quote from: SlowOldGuy on May 23, 2010, 04:26:22 PM
Quote from: Marsh White on May 23, 2010, 11:36:06 AM
It sounds like you have a stuck float in one of the carbs. Some people have had luck (including me) by riding off of a curb to "jolt" it free.

I've seen this mentioned a few times. If you do this on an FJ, be prepared to buy a new lower fairing if it's a high curb.

I haven't done it (no, really!), but I've read it happening a few times over the years.

DavidR.

When I ride my FJ off a curb, I gas her HARD and try to keep the front wheel up..... only had to do it twice and my chin fairing is still intact.

Firecop119 · May 24, 2010, 12:05:30 PM

well i took the bike for a ride yesterday and this morning i had no leak. im beginning to wander if i had the tank to full like mark martin mentioned. the tank was really full.

thanks for all the help. there is some good people on here

andyb · May 24, 2010, 12:14:16 PM

A too-full tank should leak from a different place than a stuck float will.

Firecop119 · May 26, 2010, 07:49:49 PM

ok folks, i feel like an idiot. i found the source of the leak. the clamp on the fuel line that connects to the filter came off and the fuel line was barely hanging on. as soon as i moved the tank it started gushing fuel everywhere. thanks for all the help everyone

markmartin · May 26, 2010, 08:00:58 PM

Quote from: Firecop119 on May 26, 2010, 07:49:49 PM
ok folks, i feel like an idiot. i found the source of the leak. the clamp on the fuel line that connects to the filter came off and the fuel line was barely hanging on. as soon as i moved the tank it started gushing fuel everywhere. thanks for all the help everyone

Don't feel bad--You're man enough to admit it was something easy to fix all along.

--and, the good news is, it was something easy to fix

It all goes into the collective fj forum 'how do I fix this problem' pool.

News:

HELP!!!!!! now im leaking

SlowOldGuy