Fuel Petcock #1 leaking

[pckopp]

New guy here - Phil in Seattle.

The petcock on the tank is leaking. I have replaced the o-ring under the petcock and the o-ring behind the on/off valve. When I look really close it seems the leak is one or both of the mounting bolts. Is this common? My petcock is mounted with two 10mm bolts, each with a split locking washer. Is that correct?

Is there a good exploded diagram for this?

I haven't had this bike very long and it sat for years in the previous owner's garage. I replaced the big o-ring when I discovered the petcock had been installed backwards. RES and ON were switched so when you ran out of gas you were really out.

Thanks!

[ShowBizWolf]

Hi Phil! Welcome to the site

What year GS do you have?

When I first got my '98, the tank petcock was leaking right where you are describing. I didn't even know I could buy a new o-ring and gasket so I purchased a new petcock and that solved my problem. I can't remember what size the bolts are, tbh.

It's gonna sound crazy but in the manuals and parts diagrams online, the petcock is shown backwards.


I'm guessing they did that to show the on/off switch... but mounted on the bike, that switch should be facing the side of the bike with the exhaust.

I'm having trouble finding the corrected diagrams that have been floating around the forum for a long time... stupid photobucket and those broken links!!!

I have a copy of the corrected diagrams but can't get to them right now while I'm at work.

Hope this helps!!!

EDIT: I found the corrected one that applies to the earlier GS's:

[gsJack]

There are three different arrangements of the tank and frame petcocks and connecting hoses used over the years and the parts fiche diagrams were a confusing mess.  So I made this diagram turning petcocks around and putting them together to show them correctly for all years, maybe this will help:

[ShowBizWolf]

I bet that's the one I was trying so hard to find... but the link is broken gsJack, do you still have the original of that picture? Photobucket disabled all the hosting of pics but the pics should still be in your actual account.

I switched over to imgur and it has been very user-friendly for me so far!

[gsJack]

Actually what pckopp is asking is about the seals on the 2 bolts that hold the petcock to the bottom of the tank and the bolts and seals aren't shown on my diagrams but they can be seen on the parts fiche drawings:

http://shop.shspowersports.com/fiche_section_detail.asp?section=92690&category=Motorcycles&make=SUZUKI&year=2001&fveh=2102

[pckopp]

Actually what pckopp is asking is about the seals on the 2 bolts that hold the petcock to the bottom of the tank and the bolts and seals aren't shown on my diagrams but they can be seen on the parts fiche drawings:

http://shop.shspowersports.com/fiche_section_detail.asp?section=92690&category=Motorcycles&make=SUZUKI&year=2001&fveh=2102

Exactly. I found some of the gaskets locally so I'll get those today.

This bike is 1989. Clip-on bars.

Every diagram I see of the tank petcock shows the o-ring with two cross pieces. Three isolated chambers, if that makes sense. That was what showed when I ordered it from the dealer and I couldn't remember what my petcock looked like. The o-ring I got does not have any cross pieces and my petcock is not designed for them. I suppose if it were there would be less leaking from the screws.

And a previous owner had installed the tank petcock in backwards. On-off valve facing left and the ON-RES hoses switched. Both the gal I bought the bike from and I ran out of gas! Fortunately, I was on my block.

It seems to run fine, but it does have the hanging idle problem. Carbs were rebuilt before I got it (it had been sitting for 12 years) so I hope all the pieces got installed.

Thanks for all the info.

[pckopp]

Success!

It is always good to have the correct parts in the correct place. The two gaskets under the mounting bolts for the tank petcock seem to have cured the leak.

Bonus Round! I rode it around for about half an hour and set the idle to 1200. The hanging idle seems to be gone.

Happy in Seattle.

[ShowBizWolf]