Hello everyone,
Garaged my bike for the winter. I have been noticing oil spots all winter and today I decided to take a closer look since it was almost 50 degrees F here in SD. Found out not only was my bike leaking oil but gas as well. I accidentally left the petcock on PRIME the last couple months and the carb needles must have stuck, hence the gas on my garage floor :dunno_black:
I have no clue on where the oil leaking; the leaking gas seems like a bigger deal. I checked the oil and I think there was gas on the dipstick (no oil or color on it). I degreased and washed the bike to see if any more leaks appear. What would you recommend? I loath taking it to a bike mechanic, but I have no experience with carbs nor do I want to dig into them.
What i'd do.....make sure your air filter and air filter box is dry and free of anything foreign.
Buy some cheap oil and fill it as recommended,leaving it overnight.Next morning i would NOT run the bike but drain that cheap oil and replace it with descent oil(replacing oil filter at same time)
Try starting.......assess what's wrong(if anything)
Quote from: fetor56 on February 20, 2016, 06:43:56 PM
What i'd do.....make sure your air filter and air filter box is dry and free of anything foreign.
Snip.....
Drain the oil/gas mix, along with the oil filter.
Snip.....
Buy some cheap oil and fill it as recommended,leaving it overnight.Next morning i would NOT run the bike but drain that cheap oil and replace it with descent oil(replacing oil filter at same time)
Try starting.......assess what's wrong(if anything)
With this addition to Fetor's advice, I would do the same.
Sounds like a plan. I'll get two oil changes tomorrow and change it but it doesn't solve why i had gas and oil leaking from my bike. Up until i winterized it last fall it has ran like a champ since i bought it 5 years ago.
Because you left it on prime... which bypasses any vacuum resistance and just slowly lets the fuel in the tank trickle into the carbs to fill the bowls.
Prime is meant to be used for a few minutes... not a few months!
Its not PRImary fuel flow. .. its PRIme the carb bowls with fuel.
:thumb:
Hope to not make that mistake again. After i change the oil, twice, do you think the motor is safe to start? Going to check to see if air filter is dry first. Going to give Rotella 15w40 a try for the first time based on recommendations I've read on this forum. Been using synthetic motorcycle oil but at $10 a quart its getting expensive.
I have a question about this situation: would it be worthwhile to pull the plugs and squirt a little oil into the chambers before starting now?
Trojan, yes the motor should be safe to start. It would actually be safe to start after the first complete oil change, but the second oil change shouldn't have hardly any gas residue in it.
Rally: a spoon full of oil in the cylinders isn't a terrible idea. Just make sure the spark plugs are out while the engine makes a couple rotations. And that residual oil will burn out quickly, so expect a little bit of smoke.
Awesome. Thanks for the help. Hopefully none of the seals are shot for wither gas or oil to leak out. Pretty sure the oil leaking is from it sitting this winter but its never done that before :dunno_white:
Thanks for the info.
Update: changed oil in the bike. It looked like a full tank of gas ended up mixed with my oil. Checked the spark plugs and they looked dark and wet. Forgot to check if air filter was dry or not. I filled up the gas tank and put the battery on the trickle charger. Still kind of scared of attempting to start it.
I wouldn't try to start it without checking the air filter,and more importantly the air filter box. :nono:
Yep i plan on checking it. As i was typing my last post i just had remembered i forgot. How would you proceed if it does have gas in it? After drying out the filter that is.
IF the box does have gas mop it up completely then let it dry.With a soapy damp rag give it a wipe-down inside & let it try.
Check the left hand side(under-tank)location of your on/off fuel screw,just in case u ever wanna lay the bike up again over winter.
What am i checking for?
Quote from: trojanone1 on February 21, 2016, 08:02:14 PM
What am i checking for?
Your only interested in the second part,starting with "Remove the tank. Only 2 screws."
http://www.gstwin.com/carb_work.htm
Thank you for the link. I have a new air filter ordered since it has been a couple years since I changed it, but removing the carbs and dissembling them/ rebuilding them is a little above my head. After I clean the airbox and install new air filter will messing with the carbs be necessary?
Quote from: trojanone1 on February 22, 2016, 02:09:07 PM
Thank you for the link. I have a new air filter ordered since it has been a couple years since I changed it, but removing the carbs and dissembling them/ rebuilding them is a little above my head. After I clean the airbox and install new air filter will messing with the carbs be necessary?
Only do what's necessary.With luck effing with the carbs shouldn't be necessary.
When your ready let everyone know how u went........GOOD LUCK. :)
Carbs seem intimidating, but with the resources on these forums they are really quite easy to work on once you're in there. If I were you, I'd get new float needles and seats along with a couple float bowl gaskets and spark plugs. Nothing to be scared of starting it after changing the oil, even if you don't mess with the carbs. I recently left my bike on prime overnight. Next morning, no leaks or problems, but that's because my float needles and seats are less than a year old. Floats should stop the fuel flow before anything overfills.
Quote from: SuzukiOnly on February 25, 2016, 01:23:51 AM
Carbs seem intimidating, but with the resources on these forums they are really quite easy to work on once you're in there. If I were you, I'd get new float needles and seats along with a couple float bowl gaskets and spark plugs. Nothing to be scared of starting it after changing the oil, even if you don't mess with the carbs. I recently left my bike on prime overnight. Next morning, no leaks or problems, but that's because my float needles and seats are less than a year old. Floats should stop the fuel flow before anything overfills.
I think I just need to take the plunge. I've read how to remove the carbs, but I'm still unsure. I bought new spark plugs, but havent put them in the bike. I plan on doing that this weekend and seeing if it will start. Hopefully there are no leaks.
Just a thought, but i'm a noob so feel free to tell me to go away, my carbs flooded fuel out the filter a while back, which got into the sprocket cover, dripping out a black oily substance. If you've never taken it off, the sprocket cover will probably have about a pound of old chain lube in there which could be the culprit.
Quote from: baronduff on February 25, 2016, 02:40:12 PM
Just a thought, but i'm a noob so feel free to tell me to go away, my carbs flooded fuel out the filter a while back, which got into the sprocket cover, dripping out a black oily substance. If you've never taken it off, the sprocket cover will probably have about a pound of old chain lube in there which could be the culprit.
I'm probably a bigger noob when it comes to working bikes so no worries :D I have taken the sprocket cover off before and cleaned it but that was a couple years ago so I will have to check that out. Other than reading a half dozen oil leak posts on this forum I have no idea where mine could be leaking from, if it still is. I degreased and washed the bike so I will soon find out.
A different question, but my left carb keeps leaking out of I believe is the drain for it. I have tightened the screw before but cannot tighten it more or it could break.
Worst case scenario, get a new plug screw for the carb. The shipping will probably cost more than the screw. Glad to hear you're taking the plunge. You'll feel real good riding the bike around later knowing that you fixed it yourself! Plus you'll see how simple it really is. Are you certain the drip is from the plug? Because if the float bowls were overfilled and your float bowl gaskets are toast, it could seep out from them and drip down that drain spot, thus appearing to be leaking from the bowl drains.
Anyhow, whatever issues you run into, we're here for ya :D I'd have never dared wrenching on a gs500 10 years ago if I hadn't been a member of this forum :D
Im pretty sure its coming from the plug. I can see a drop forming underneath until i wipe it up.
You could try removing the float bowl and inspecting for any damage to the gasket, any corrosion on the plug, or any foreign objects to clean out.
That requires pulling the carbs. If you search around here you will find prime describing how to do it and some pictures, too. After you do it a couple times you'll see, it is dead simple.
Update: Not much.... I sprained my ankle last week so I haven't done anything to the bike >:(. Still have to check the air filter box (I have new filter waiting to be dropped in). I did replace the spark plugs though while grilling steaks the other day (50 degrees FTW). Hoping to take a look at the airbox this weekend and fire it up to see if there are any additional problems.
My left carb keeps letting out a drop or two of gas out of the drain. I have a rag to catch it and it isn't much, but would it be worth it to replace the screw? I did some searching on the forum and found Bikebandit has them for $4.03 each plus shipping. Figured I would get two and replace both.