compression numbers

[theLeopard]

#1: 38psi below minimum
#2: 28psi below minimum
#3: 18psi below minimum
#4: 08psi below minimum

no comment.

going to replace rings, valves, and gaskets.
can someone direct me towards the items I need, please. I don't have a parts catalog and don't know what to buy since I've never done this before.

[Steve_in_Florida]

Leopard,
Please describe the method you used to check your compression (cold or hot engine), and what the actual values are.

Did you happen to also perform a leakdown test?

I ask, because I care!

Steve

#1: 38psi below minimum
#2: 28psi below minimum
#3: 18psi below minimum
#4: 08psi below minimum

no comment.

going to replace rings, valves, and gaskets.
can someone direct me towards the items I need, please. I don't have a parts catalog and don't know what to buy since I've never done this before.

[theLeopard]

Engine was warm.
Plugs were still hot to the touch, but not too hot to handle.
haven't done a leakdown yet. don't have the gauge nor a source of compressed air.

#'s came in from 1-4 @ 90,100,110,120.

thanks for choppin it up with me. i'm kinda stressed cause I started leaking fuel on the freeway again (not much, just a very slow drip out of all 5 of my hoses) but I think this would explain most everything that's bothering me. lousy idle, smokes bad when it's cold, runs great when it's at speed but every now and again I get a very slight hiccup in my rpm.
won't ride until I fix this, the idle is down to 600 hot and it was at 1000 last week.

[racerrad8]

Also,

If you are leaking fuel, that could be washing down the cylinders causing the low compression and smoking.

You really need to her the carbs sorted out before you do anything else.

Randy. - RPM

[theLeopard]

I'll tear em apart again, but I swear the carbs are in good order.
I inspected them myself, clean as a whistle. And the needles seat properly cause the leaks disappeared last week after I pulled out that faulty emissions system.
Which probably wasn't faulty but that's not really the point.

also,
it only leaks when I get on the gas pretty good. which is usually, but if i'm just puttering around town it's dry.
as soon as I open it up (like I did on the freeway today) is when I notice overflowing fuel from the carbs and also from that atmosphere hose.

[simi_ed]

Spots, if your carbs are dripping fuel, they're still f'd up.  Now it sounds like float levels are too high.  As we've all been telling you since your 1st post, either they're right or they're WRONG.  I'm pretty sure yours are not right!  

As to your compression woes:  I understand it's not 'RIGHT'.  But this is a bit more complicated than a simple set of carburettors.  You've got to have a semi-sterile environment to work in, like a garage.  Do you have that?  Do you have the tools to disassemble & reassemble an engine?  Are you going to have to run out the store for a wrench?  How about a mallet to get the cylinder head off?  Have you ever put rings onto a piston?  How about a 3 piece oil ring? Do you have 2 ring compressors to install 2 pistons at a time into the bores?  Have you ever tried to install circlips into the wrist pin bores?  Do you have shop rags to STOP the circlips from going in the crankcase?  How about a magnet & flash light to RETRIEVE the circlip that just went INTO the crankcase?  

Are you getting the picture yet?  This is not a job for a rookie!  You may have all the desire, piss & vinegar to do this, but there are about a million ways for this to go wrong, and exactly 1 way for it to go right.  This because your compression numbers are a bit low?  Get the small shit sorted, run it a while, see how it runs, then let's revisit this in a while.

FYI, I just kissed off a car because the block was warped, which I learned AFTER I spent a shit load of $$$ rebuilding the heads and associated gear.  And let me tell you, this wasn't my 1st rodeo, yet I still got burned.  Are you sure YOU want to try this???

Not trying to be insulting, but trying to get your feet on the ground before you resume digging.

Ed

[movenon]

Good post Ed 
George

[Mark Olson]

how clean is your fuel tank?

if there is rust in there it will keep messing up your carbs , no matter how clean you get them.

the fuel filter doesn't catch everything and your model has small float ports that will hang open with junk.

[yamaha fj rider]

Yamaha makes a product called ring free. Get the carbs sorted out then try it first. A small amount of money and time may fix this. You can always go back in and do the rebuild later if this dose not work. Hope this helps.

Kurt

[theLeopard]

Garage: not really
Disassembly tools: need a 22mm to hold the camshaft but i think I've got everything else.
trip to the store: is why i'm here causing such a stink, store runs are the worst mid-project problem
mallet: check
previous experience: none
3 piece oil ring: huh?
two ring compressors to install two pistons: that's not in my manual 
circlips: haven't yet
shop rags: check
magnet & flash light: check and check

Get the small shit sorted, run it a while, see how it runs, then let's revisit this in a while: roger that! 

The tank appears clean, mark. And i'll check out that additive kurt. Might do the trick, as long as I don't break the thing by overrevving in neutral or something equally 

I just cleaned her up yesterday, here's an update:

fuel leak disappeared and it's not smoking as bad. not sure what caused it so i'm just monitoring the situation.
gonna try bleeding the clutch today, putting off rebuilding the carbs until I can buy new intake manifolds (or unless it's immediately necessary).

[Mark Olson]

Just go ride it now , you washed it so now you can see any leaks.

[simi_ed]

Brian, that's a nice looking bike!  I'm glad to see you've read AND responded to some of our posts.  Keep it up, we'll get you on the right page yet.

Ed

[theLeopard]

I'm fairly confident there's a small oil leak from that #1 cylinder @ the valvecover nut but I think i'm bleeding the clutch wrong...

question1: do the clutch and brake systems share the same reservoir?
question2: after pumping the lever a few times then loosening the bleed screw some fluid enters the tube I've connected to the screw and as I slowly release it just ends up sucking air. is this bad? (I would think so but I gotta ask)

I syphoned the reserves in the reservoir because it looked like molasses, here's the reservoir I'm putting DOT3 fluid in

using Prestone DOT3 brake fluid but the guy said DOT3 is DOT3 is DOT3 and it shouldn't matter if it's the clutch or brake cup.
the reservoir is located on the right side of the bike.

[theLeopard]

I found my (edit*)brake reservoir.... 
how do I clean this out? shop rag?

[Harvy]

Mate, best thing you can do with that master cylinder is take it apart and clean it properly, giving it a new seal kit at the same time. You will find that all that gunge is in the bore of the cylinder and also right through the line and into the slave cylinder ( its all down hill from that reservoir).
Do yourself a favour and purchase master and slave kits and also a spray can of brake cleaner.
Remove the banjo bolts at the master and slave now that the master is empty. Put the slave end into a clear plastic bottle (like coca cola or similar) and flush the line thru with the spray can.
If you don't have the necessary tools and knowledge, I suggest the master and slave cylinders be cleaned by someone who knows what they are doing. Now that the WC rally is over I'm sure one of the socal boys will pop up with the offer of assistance.....

But to answer your question......yes a shop rag will clean that stuff out of there but it won't make the system any better just cleaning that.

Cheers
Harvy