I'm working on getting my sister's GS500 on the road. It's an 86, if that matters. I've cleaned the carbs several times. Today I cleaned them again just to be sure they are good. I ran guitar wire throught the holes and sprayed a can of carb clean through them. Now the bike starts and runs pretty good but there is gas running out of the front of the carbs. The intake part. I don't have the airbox on it right now.
I checked the float height before I put them back together and they look like they are within specs.  Not really sure where to measure from on the floats.
Could it still be float related? The tank is clean inside with no rust that I can see. Every time I've had them apart there hasn't been any crap in the float bowls.
Also, gas does not seem to be running out of the carbs while the bike isn't running.

Thanks, Stu.

the float o-rings maybe, but more likely the float jets are damaged.

btw, the gs500 didn't start until 89, so you have... a gs550 ?

welcome to the forum



oops i didn't answer your float height question, so here it is:

http://cgi.stanford.edu/~sanjayd/gs500/Maintenance/FloatHeight

thar she blows !

Quote from: ohgood on June 11, 2008, 04:44:02 PM
the float o-rings maybe, but more likely the float jets are damaged.

btw, the gs500 didn't start until 89, so you have... a gs550 ?

welcome to the forum



oops i didn't answer your float height question, so here it is:

http://cgi.stanford.edu/~sanjayd/gs500/Maintenance/FloatHeight

thar she blows !

If it's a twin it's a 450E.

550E were 4 cylinder bikes.

Maybe the floats are damaged and leaking?

Sorry, i meant 96.  The floats are not leaking.  At least, they are still empty when i pull them out.

You got no gas in the bowls but its leaking out the back ... that's a new one.
I dunno what to say ... except I can rejet them for $45 parts and labor and mucho trouble shooting is free ... and I'll point you in the right direction of other problems.
Cool.
Buddha.

Quote from: The Buddha on June 11, 2008, 09:07:36 PM
You got no gas in the bowls but its leaking out the back ... that's a new one.
I dunno what to say ... except I can rejet them for $45 parts and labor and mucho trouble shooting is free ... and I'll point you in the right direction of other problems.
Cool.
Buddha.

Buddha:
I think he is saying the floats are empty; there are no leaks in the float bodies which would otherwise cause the floats to fill with gas and sink. The float bowls themselves have gasoline in them and are flooding.

7zark7:
Here is another (easy) way to test if the float heights are ok:
http://www.bbburma.net/FloatHeight.htm

OK ... thanks.
Cool.
Buddha.

Quote from: beRto on June 11, 2008, 09:12:44 PM

Quote from: The Buddha on June 11, 2008, 09:07:36 PM
You got no gas in the bowls but its leaking out the back ... that's a new one.
I dunno what to say ... except I can rejet them for $45 parts and labor and mucho trouble shooting is free ... and I'll point you in the right direction of other problems.
Cool.
Buddha.

Buddha:
I think he is saying the floats are empty; there are no leaks in the float bodies which would otherwise cause the floats to fill with gas and sink. The float bowls themselves have gasoline in them and are flooding.

7zark7:
Here is another (easy) way to test if the float heights are ok:
http://www.bbburma.net/FloatHeight.htm

Brilliant!  I'll give that a try tonight.

I did remember something else though.  When I took the carbs apart the last time, it was the first time I removed the diaphram and needle.  When I pulled the needle out of the diaphram, I noticed that the little plastic spacer was under the needle shim on one carb and over the shim on the other.  I put both of them above the shim thinking it would be better to have the needle sit lower.  Chould this be part of the issue and should the little plastic spacers be below the shims?

There should be a plastic spacer under the needle clips and a plastic spring seat on top of the needles.Sometimes the spring seats stick to the springs.

Ok, I pulled the carbs apart again.  This time as per the instructions that were posted.  The one o-ring for the plastic part that holds the needle valve is dried and worn out.  Would that cause the carb to leak?  I'm going to take a picture of where it's leaking from and post it up.  It's coming from one of the little holes at the bottom of the mouth of the carb.
I did have the needles in the wrong position and it was keeping the bike from starting.  I fixed that and it starts fine now but it still has a leak.
I also checke the float height using the method with the hose off of the float bowl drain and one carb was spot on  while the other was actually low ( the fuel level was below the gasket surface) so that should rule out the float height as the culprit.

Quote from: 7zark7 on June 14, 2008, 08:18:17 AM
Ok, I pulled the carbs apart again.  This time as per the instructions that were posted.  The one o-ring for the plastic part that holds the needle valve is dried and worn out.  Would that cause the carb to leak?  I'm going to take a picture of where it's leaking from and post it up.  It's coming from one of the little holes at the bottom of the mouth of the carb.
I did have the needles in the wrong position and it was keeping the bike from starting.  I fixed that and it starts fine now but it still has a leak.
I also checke the float height using the method with the hose off of the float bowl drain and one carb was spot on  while the other was actually low ( the fuel level was below the gasket surface) so that should rule out the float height as the culprit.

Are you talking about #22 on the parts fiche? http://cgi.stanford.edu/~sanjayd/gs500/Main/1989-2000

Under the circumstances, I would say it is likely the dried o-ring is causing your leak.

Since one of your floats was low and you already have the carbs off the bike, use this method for adjustment:
http://cgi.stanford.edu/~sanjayd/gs500/Maintenance/FloatHeight

Float spigot O rings yes vital to it not leaking.
The other O rings that are very important are, the top O ring under vacuum spigot, the white guide O rings. The other one that is less important is the O ring that holds in the floats to the body. That going bad will let the floats not stay in place if you took off the float bowls with carbs still on the bike. Otherwise its not important.
I sell w pairs of these 4 for $10 and shipping.
Cool.
Buddha.

Quote from: The Buddha on June 14, 2008, 08:49:03 AM
Float spigot O rings yes vital to it not leaking.
The other O rings that are very important are, the top O ring under vacuum spigot, the white guide O rings. The other one that is less important is the O ring that holds in the floats to the body. That going bad will let the floats not stay in place if you took off the float bowls with carbs still on the bike. Otherwise its not important.
I sell w pairs of these 4 for $10 and shipping.
Cool.
Buddha.

I'll take them.

Where do I send the $?

BTW it is the "white guide" o-rings that are bad.


Thanks guys for all of your help.  My sister will be very happy when her bike is finally on the road.

Yea that white guide O rings set has screwed up many an unwary GStwinner ...
I'll PM you my paypal. I am making a PO run in the next 2-3 hours. It will get sent then.
Cool.
Buddha.