Petcock/"pipe" to the Tee

[Curt A]

(first time posting, hope this goes)

I recently bought an 85' fj11 and the prev owner was pretty forthcoming.  I spent a Saturday working on the fuel tank in hope that this "kit" he tossed in would work as advertised to clean the tank and remove rust.  Anyway, I got the tank reinstalled etc, but now I have been fighting a fuel leak and the root cause seems to be the fitting that presses into the petcock.  This 90 degree elbow simply presses in and it of course was fine before I started messing with things but now it leaks.  I added a small in-line filter as additional protection in case the rust treatment did not work and had been working with the original hose (the hose is referred to the "fuel delivery pipe") but I have a new Xn of hose nearest the petcock-it attaches to the elbow.  I now am confident that my leak is just the elbow itself.  It seats in somewhat loosely and there is no O-ring on the OD of this elbow.  Shouldn't there be?  I could have bought this pipe assembly a few weeks ago for something like $50 at the yamaha dealer but chose not to.  I had no reason to at the time.  This is not an item that is just hanging off the walls at the dealers, in fact they are in limited supplies..and now that I think of it, it was most likely only the hose, not this elbow.  Does anyone have any input?  I was thinking if I get desperate I'd try to JB weld this elbow into place but that is not a very good option since the way this works makes removing the fuel line and subsequently the tank, easy.  Thanks.

[Firehawk068]

I remember reading a post recently about someone with this very same issue..........And I remember him being warned specifically DO NOT ride it like this!......as there have been a couple FJ's burned to the ground due to this very issue I think...

I think I recall someone mentioned repairing it with JB-weld, and then zip-tie it in place.......but I could be wrong.......Others mentioned replacing it with a Pingel fuel petcock......or if you are lucky enough to find a genuine Yamaha one.....
Whatever you do, don't ride it until you resolve the fuel leak!

[Curt A]

Alan,

Thanks.  Yeah, I did not search many posts, but had not seen the subject.  I won't ride it this year anyway, but fuel leaks bug me not only because well, it is a fuel leak, but it smells up the garage.  I had not thought of aftermarket parts, but thanks for the thoughts, much appreciated.  JB welding it may or may not work and is a pretty drastic measure and I have a tie wrap on it already as I was amazed that the thing just pops in and out.  My thought was..."yeah my luck I will be riding it next summer, the fitting will POP out and so much for me and my life"....so.

I have not owned a bike since 1997 and just decided to get back into it and the 1984 fj11 was a favorite of mine as I settled for my 750 seca at the time.  Now as a much older guy who no longer wants to pass everyone else, I am ready for a chunk of bike history-once I get the little things fixed.  thanks again, have a good day.

[racerrad8]

If you search "petcock" from the home page you will see 3 pages of petcock information.

If you want to change over to the Pingle aftermarket petcock assy, I have one in stock.

Randy - RPM
rpm@swaybar.com

[Dan Filetti]

That was me that did the warning.  I watched my pristine '85 (i can say that now, there's no evidence to the contrary) burn to the ground due to that little elbow.  It got hot enough to melt aluminum, and there was nothing left of the bike that was recognizable after the fire. Fix it before you ride it.  Do a search, I think some folks have used a glue and a twist-tie.  Belt and suspenders is probably wise here...

Dan

[RichBaker]

That tube is press-fit into the petcock... it should NOT come out!!  If it does, the petcock should be replaced..... other wise it'll eventually fall out while riding and burn your FJ to the ground.  A good gas-resistant epoxy may be a temporary fix, but if it was my bike, I'd get a new petcock... probably the Pingel.

[Curt A]

I wanted to provide an update on this issue:  Randy did in fact ultimately send me a new Pingel valve and I installed it that evening.  I need to order the fastener (brass screws etc) replacement kit and take care of the O-rings that leak, but I am happy to have gotten by this, it was a pain in the kazoo.  thanks, guys.  (the pic is from what will most likely be the only real ride (about 5 miles just to circulate the stabil etc) of the year as the weather will soon turn.  More to come!

C.