So my very nicely repainted tank (pictures forthcoming), is all done. I reinstalled the shutoff valve, connected fuel lines, bolted it back on and had a great couple days riding around. This morning, after a big rain, I noticed a smell of gas and rainbow gas patterns around the bike on the wet concrete. I followed the drip back up the fuel lines to the shutoff valve, where i could see gas had managed to sneak out between the base of the valve (where it butts up flat against the bottom of the tank) and the bottom of the tank.
My thought is that either 1) i didn't tighten the the shutoff valve bolts tight enough, causing the o ring to not have enough pressure for an adequate seal or 2) the o-ring just isn't any good any more, likely because its a one time use kind of piece that is supposed to replaced every time the shutoff valve comes off the bike.
My plan is to try hypothesis 1 first by seeing if I can torque those bolts any more, though I'm not gonna torque to hard because I have a feeling its really 2 that's occurring.
Any thoughts?
my bike was dripping gas after i had put her away for winter from the same spot as yours. i replaced a o-ring in the shut off part of the petcock itself and noticed that my tank doesnt have a o-ring where it meets the tank. where yours is leaking. its cheap o-ring. id try replacing it. its bout 3 dollars online then plus shipping i got mine from a local bike shop for $8.67. replace that an see if it happens again.
Quote from: rexpepper651 on April 15, 2014, 07:11:10 AM
my bike was dripping gas after i had put her away for winter from the same spot as yours. i replaced a o-ring in the shut off part of the petcock itself and noticed that my tank doesnt have a o-ring where it meets the tank. where yours is leaking. its cheap o-ring. id try replacing it. its bout 3 dollars online then plus shipping i got mine from a local bike shop for $8.67. replace that an see if it happens again.
Yep. That's what I think it is too. I'm reading the Clymer manual now and it says to replace the o-ring after each use. As usual, I did the work first and read the manual afterwards.
thats what i do too. lol i dont read i just do it the fix the problems i create after reading. at least they are cheap o-rings.
So quick update.
I ordered a new valve o-ring, new valve bolts and new bolt gaskets. I say gaskets instead of washers because that's what those little washer-like things really are, and how they're labeled on the parts fiche; they're rubber coated on either side to help to seal the area between the valve and bolts.
I've had the bike up and running for the last couple days and so far, all's well. No visible leakage or gas smell.