Hey y'all, I'm a new member to the forum here, and the owner of an '86 Savage for about two and a half years now.  I'm in the process of trying to get her up and running again after being deployed and I'm running into a problem I don't know how to deal with.  When I first got it to start then turned it off, a gasoline drip began from the air box drain tubes.  It turned out to be a significant amount of fuel, and not knowing what to do about it, I left it until a had more time to deal with it.  Today, I researched the hose connections to the air cleaner and decided to try checking the breather hose that runs from the top of the head to the top of the air box.  There is a LOT of fuel (and oil as well, as it appears dirty) coming out of this thing!  It is not an issue I had the last time I had the bike out, and I'm confounded for the time being.  I gather that it may indicate a larger problem in the engine, but figured I'd ask y'all before I crack the thing open.  Thanks in advance for any help you can give.

Johnny

Reelthing,

Thanks for the quick reply!  I believe that I've seen a post on this site involving the alteration of the petcock to a non-vacuum operation.  I'm guessing this may fix the problem in lieu of replacing the whole assembly.  Also I gather that the amount of oil that came out with the fuel (seems like a lot) should make sense given that it's coming right out of the crankcase.  Should I be thinking about opening the case to drain the gas, or is safe to assume the remainder will come out the breather?

Thanks again!

Johnny

it's normal for some oil to blow into the air box via the breather tube.
but do check the crankcase for gas.
also a stuck float valve can flood the carb.  it has a choice of either running into the air box or the cylinder then down into the case.
a bad petcock will do the same thing but thru the vac line.  check the vac line for gas.  gas in line bad.

it says its an 86 and hes owned it for 2.5 years

Kustomjim wrote on 05/24/08 at 06:57:24:


I'd be interested in a little elaboration on that idea, K.J.  A picture would be worth a thousand words, but words are good too.  I have some minor leaks ("seepages" would be more accurate) that I'm not about to tear the engine apart to fix.  If I walk into NAPA, what should I be asking for?  A particular make/model?  They always want to know everything about the vehicle before they can find the part.  Already knowing the part would be handy.

The subject of the crankcase breather hose and it's need for vacuum was discussed on this site a long time ago.  It was in reference to those who had removed the airbox and replaced it with a cone filter.  The question was what to do with the crankcase breather hose since it was connected to the airbox, and, was it necessary for it to EVACUATE the oil fumes from the crankcase?

People experienced with the Savage pointed out that the airbox is a leaky design and therefore the breather hose sees no useful vacuum.  I verified this by replacing the breather hose with a longer hose and then putting my tonque over the crankcase end of it while reving the engine.  I felt no vacuum.  It was suggested that the breather hose on this engine was just a "puffer" which blew its fumes into the airbox, to satisfy Federal emission regulations.

Those who had removed the airbox put an oil breather filter on the end of the hose and called it good.  One person recommended having the breather higher than the engine.  After reading all of this, I made the conversion and have had no seepage or leaks from the engine.