91 fj12. Fuel coming out of fuel drain lines after ride.

[Country Joe]

Very good price for the carb cleaning and lesson, IMO.

Joe

[ribbert]

A.) they will probably refuse to do the job 'cause your FJ is too old.
B.) They WILL charge you WAY TOO MUCH $$$.
C.) They WILL do a crappy job.
D.) They won't stand behind their work when it doesn't run as well as you expect.

I was about to come to the defence of the much maligned mechanic, I know one, but it now seems they aren't all bad.

Secondly, i found a local general motorcycle mechanic who came to my home the same night and tore the carbs out, reduced them one by one to bare bones, cleaned a good amount of dirt and skudge out and then rebuilt them...all w me sitting on his shoulder.
Two hours of effort/lots of patience putting the bits back together and showed and explained to me the whole time....for 50$.

IF you're gonna farm this job out, the only person I'd trust is RPM-Randy.

There is no doubt Randy's the Man, but for goodness sake, the guy's in Ireland!

FJ carbies are not some sort of black art. Like all CV carbs, they are dead simple, with few parts and few adjustments and well within the scope of the mechanically challenged to pull apart, clean and tune with a little help from the forum.

Noel

[ribbert]

There is no doubt Randy's the Man, but for goodness sake, the guy's in Ireland!

Noel

OK, I take it back, this guy doesn't live in Ireland, but the message remains the same.

Noel

[simi_ed]

Noel, I didn't intend to slight you, nor the remaining handful of TRUE MECHANICS that are left in the MC industry.  My general experience/impression is that the profession has generally degraded to mere parts changing primates.  I have sees and heard of too many occasions where parts changers missed obvious problems and otherwise refuse to work on viable older machines, and/or doing shoddy work and then refusing to stand behind the work.

I didn't mean to include you in that subset Noel.  Actually I was specifically looking to exclude you from that group by adding the caveat about folks that are here on this list and have successfully done the carb repair task.  I further agree that this job is not black magic.  But as you & I agree, it is truly a repair job and not just parts changing.

I learned by watching my father, who was an excellent paid mechanic for over 40 years, and was a sharp troubleshooter well into his 80s.  I suspect that a great deal of the present parts changers will be retired to their video games and sports fantasy teams as soon as they possibly can, long before approaching either 40 years of service or 80 years of age.  I rather suspect you are much more a TRUE MECHANICS in the mold of folks like my father.  I appreciate folks you and my Dad.

[big r]

I took my 86 in for a tune up and the techs. would not work on it. They did not know how to balance the carbs without being able to hook up to computer. I asked them if they knew what a carb looked like and only one of the three techs had ever had a carb apart. Needless to say, I took my bike home and did it myself. Big R

[movenon]

I took my 86 in for a tune up and the techs. would not work on it. They did not know how to balance the carbs without being able to hook up to computer. I asked them if they knew what a carb looked like and only one of the three techs had ever had a carb apart. Needless to say, I took my bike home and did it myself. Big R

"took my bike home and did it myself. Big R" 


George

[theLeopard]

what are drain hoses?

I just posted a thread on leaking fuel, fuel/oil mix, and maybe you could get me up to speed relatively quickly on basic schematics?

[ribbert]

Noel, I didn't intend to slight you.....

Yes Ed, I realise that and the reply was not personal, more a general response to an ongoing sentiment that is often expressed here. It just happened to be your post that prompted it.

On reflection though, you are right. Mechanics is not a trade guys usually stay with (not as salaried employees anyway) Almost any job offers better money, better conditions and better prospects.
So all that "old school" knowledge has mostly gone and the current generation of young mechanics, or parts replacers as you (and I) call them are a product of the machinery they started their working lives on.
There are still great mechanics out there but they are the exception rather than the rule these days.

Modern cars and bikes, and the ancillary systems that run them, are largely sealed for life units. Major component failure is a rare thing and unlikely to occur over the entire life of the vehicle. And if one does fail, no worries, just bung in a whole new whatever. A few years back, a family member had a Camry that developed a slight rattle in the motor at about 60,000kms. No worries, new long motor under warranty, $11,500 worth. I followed up, curious to know what they found. The answer, "no idea, it's sitting out the back on a crate"

The diagnostic skills are simply not required and therefore never learnt or developed, let alone honed. They simply don't have the opportunity.

As I write, my wife's D4D turbo diesel Prado is spending it's third night at the Toyota dealer with an engine power problem. They can't find it. I had a meeting today with the head mechanic, head technician and the service manager. The ideas (or clutching at straws) they were throwing around left me shaking my head in disbelief. The service manager was older but not a mechanic and the two others in their early thirties, only having ever worked at a Toyota dealership and rarely seeing cars any older than the warranty period.
Their eyes glazed over when the conversation strayed beyond what the computerised diagnostics were telling them. They virtually said, if the computer can't lead us to a fault, we can't fix it

So Ed, I think sadly, your last post was on the money and to those critical of mechanics these days, for the most part, you are right and I will no longer come to their defence.

Ed, I appreciate the courtesy or your PM, the act of a true gentleman.

Noel

[simi_ed]

Thanks.  I guess I just ruined all the good will with that last PM though ...

[Easterntide]

So as to not to start a new thread; how does a person know if their carbs are out of synch without doing an analysis of them? backfires/performance/fuel consumption?
I'm ASSUMING mine are set properly but have no way to know without removal/testing.

- also- original fuel petcock seems to have been removed and then a new one (without any kind of shutoff) installed very poorly. original owner had put a longer non standard one on, had to extend the hole in the tank since the new one was longer center to center for its screws. then had epoxied a grommet into it to set the screw into. that grommet was not flush so it obviously would leak....so he goes ahead and puts some kind of slicone or goop all around the new bastardized petcock. regardless it still gently weeps fuel.
i ordered new kit from RPM and it took a full day to remove the existing now epoxied screws.
i have a local shop that seems capable and willing (multi radiator) to help a poor sap out. they will clean up the existing mess/shape and weld a new piece of aluminum to the existing tank (of course getting fuel vapor out first) and set new threads for me to allow a proper flush mounted petcock with shutoff to be mounted high and dry.
sigh.
many things you don't know until you need to know. its just nice that people are willing to help others out :-)

[Arnie]

Easterntide said, "So as to not to start a new thread; how does a person know if their carbs are out of synch without doing an analysis of them? backfires/performance/fuel consumption?
I'm ASSUMING mine are set properly but have no way to know without removal/testing."

No problem with starting a new thread, doesn't cost any extra. :-)

How do you know if your carbs are out of synch?
Well, the only way to KNOW, is to connect them to a mannometer.  The slight degredation of performance and increase in vibration is so gradual that you probably won't feel it as it deteriorates.
I just re-balance my carbs whenever I have the tank off for any reason. 
It is so quick and easy to do, that it doesn't make sense not to.

[Easterntide]

Using something like this?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Carburetor-Synchronizer-4-Cylinder-Carb-Sync-Tool-Gauge-Gauges-3804-0005-/271251462796

[red]

Using something like this?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Carburetor-Synchronizer-4-Cylinder-Carb-Sync-Tool-Gauge-Gauges-3804-0005-/271251462796

Easterntide,

Or this:
http://www.amazon.com/Motion-Pro-08-0411-Syncpro-Carburetor/dp/B000K7JHWA

Cheers,
Red

[movenon]

Or this.



Lots of options.  From almost free to $$$. 
George

[Easterntide]

since i've no idea how to actually balance carbs, i'm just guessing here...
for this device, the pressure from 2 of the carbs, if equal, balances the coloured fluid (water) in the tube?

if so that's silly simple.

but do you balance 2, then the next two then the final two by sliding over one carb at a time?

cool stuff.

Don