Gas Cap FAQ notes

[scalveg]

Hi,

I went over the gas cap rebuild process from http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=41061.0 yesterday and had a few notes.

I found the screws on my latch assembly (I have a '94 GS500) were actually sized for a #2 phillips head, although I had a #1 on hand.

On the latch assembly, after separating it from the cap, there is a hollow with three metal pins.  My gas cap (again, '94) had an additional part on these pins not shown in Ben2go's excellent photos.  It is a small plastic yellow valve assembly with orange rubber flaps.  I ensured the rubber was still soft and flexible, but since it was clean I did no other restoration to this part.

Finally, the last email of the series discusses reassembly.  It is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT to make sure the ball bearing and spring are situated correctly BEFORE screwing the latch assembly and the cap back together. 

After tightening the screws, GENTLY try to work the lock cover on top of the cap to make sure its action is smooth and that the cover springs to the open and closed position and resists the middle position, as designed.  If there is any resistance, remove the latch assembly, reposition the ball bearing (use more grease! ) and try again.

I found that the ball bearing is sadly stronger than the cover's metal, and when I used too much force, I left little ball-bearing-shaped dents in the metal.  Fortunately the ball had fallen far from it's original position, so I was able to move it back and it found the correct position on the 3rd or 4th try.

I'm usually not that big a fumble-fingers, but this repair really took some time.

Best regards,

Chris Owens
'94 Suzuki GS500