SuzukiSavage.com - Gas Leak

srdugan

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ego sum torva

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Omaha, NE
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Gas Leak
07/19/09 at 19:58:50

I am experiencing an occasional gas leak on my '86 Savage from a tube protruding from above my carb, just above the choke as seen in the pic. I had assumed this was a breather tube for the fuel delivery system, but I am unable to locate it specifically mentioned in the Clymers manual.

When I have trouble, the bike begins to sputter at idle and spit -pour- fuel out that tube. I can throttle through it, usually, and if I'm riding it doesn't appear to be leaking.

Anyone else ever have this issue? I thought the first time maybe I over filled the tank and filled the breather tube, but I ran through a tank of gas (toward the end of which, it didn't behave this way) and when I refilled I was careful not to fill it as full as the prior tank, but still experienced the same. Undecided

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Savage_Amusement Serious Thumper Offline On this steel horse I ride. Posts: 1004 Omaha, NE Gender:	Re: Gas Leak Reply #1 - 07/19/09 at 21:03:19 That should be pointing up and inside the frame opening just above the top of the carb. There are one of those tubes on each side.
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serenity3743 Serious Thumper Offline Striving to better, oft we mar what's well Posts: 778 Black Mountain, NC Gender:	Re: Gas Leak Reply #2 - 07/20/09 at 10:15:13 They are called vent tubes and should run horizontal along the frame underneath the seat.
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Serowbot

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OK.... so what's the
speed of dark?

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Tucson Az
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Re: Gas Leak
Reply #3 - 07/20/09 at 10:26:59

What they said,... It's a vent tube. The end of it should be higher than the float level in the carb, pointed up,... it attaches to nothing...
If your bike is running crappy at the time you see it leaking, you may have a stuck float, or clogged float needle seat in your carb...
Or,... it could be a leaky petcock vacuum diaphragm... very common problem with this bike. To test,... clamp off or block the vacuum line running from the backside of the petcock to the right side of the carb, it usually has a chrome spring cover,... then switch the petcock lever to prime. If you ride like that with no problems, it's your petcock that's bad... If there's any gas in that line, you know right away that it is the problem. Should have no gas in it at all..
Also,... when running on prime,.. you will have no reserve, so don't run out of gas...

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PhilM

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Re: Gas Leak
Reply #4 - 07/20/09 at 10:58:59

Does it happen when you first start the bike after its been sitting for a while?

It sounds like the same problem I've had a couple of times. Mine was caused by the floats in the carb bowl that were sticking and not rising up and closing the valve properly, and so the gas kept flowing.

You can easily remove the bowl off the bottom of the carb and take a look at the floats. Just doing this fixed it the first time for me Huh

, but it came back soon after and I ended up taking the carb off, removing the top cover and giving it all a good cleanup. No problems since then.

I've put an inline filter in the gas supply from the petcock now to hopefully catch any more crap heading for my nice clean carb.

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srdugan

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ego sum torva

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Omaha, NE
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Re: Gas Leak
Reply #5 - 07/25/09 at 11:42:17

Thanks for the help. I relocated the tubes along the frame under the edge of my seat, seemed to help initially, but it came back. I'm guessing it's the stuck float you mentioned, PhilM, because it's so random - but only at idle.

I have never torn apart a carburetor before... Undecided

is it newbie doable? Or is it worth it to take it to someone who knows what they're doing? What should it reasonably cost to have someone do it?

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bill67 Serious Thumper Offline old tired Posts: 8517 genoa city wisconsin Gender:	Re: Gas Leak Reply #6 - 07/25/09 at 12:26:42 Did you try Sea Foam in it,I would try that first before taking it a part.
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srdugan YaBB Newbies Offline ego sum torva Posts: 12 Omaha, NE Gender:	Re: Gas Leak Reply #7 - 07/25/09 at 12:50:42 Haven't yet, but I can. S'pose I can try the simpler solutions (no pun intended) first.
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srdugan

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ego sum torva

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Re: Gas Leak
Reply #8 - 07/25/09 at 18:43:30

I tried the Sea Foam...after reading a plethora of posts for and against it...I added about 3 capfulls to the gas tank which was about 1/4 full - a little more concentrated than the 1oz per gallon that it suggests. I gotta say, I noticed almost an instant effect on the engine idle.

I then took it out for a 5-10 minute ride, got up to highway speeds, turned around and came home. Seemed to be running smoother. I got back in my garage and let it idle all by itself - which I could not do before cuz it would kill. Didn't even have to blip the throttle. Not only that, I was able to roll back the idle screw and reduce the rpm considerably without it killing. And all the while, no gas out the vent tubes!

I did all this before I added new gas, so it was only a result of the Sea Foam. Granted, the vent tube issue has been a bit erratic, so perhaps it was just coincidence...but the idle issue is no coincidence, which leads me to believe - contrary to many opinions on the forum - the foam does SOMETHING.

I'll keep y'all posted

Thanks Bill67 for the suggestion!!

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justin_o_guy2 Serious Thumper Offline What happened? Posts: 55279 East Texas, 1/2 dallas/la.	Re: Gas Leak Reply #9 - 07/26/09 at 03:41:01 Not only that, I was able to roll back the idle screw and reduce the rpm considerably without it killing. Remember, the idle speed isnt just to keep it running. Its to keep the cam oiled. Too low an idle speed will kill the heads cam journals. They are just aluminum.
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bill67 Serious Thumper Offline old tired Posts: 8517 genoa city wisconsin Gender:	Re: Gas Leak Reply #10 - 07/26/09 at 07:27:29 Sea Foam must sell good here,Last year wal mart had it for $6.50 this year $8.70
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srdugan YaBB Newbies Offline ego sum torva Posts: 12 Omaha, NE Gender:	Re: Gas Leak Reply #11 - 07/26/09 at 19:45:17 Yeah, it was about $9 here in Omaha too. But BOY has it made a difference! Rode a bit today: great idle, smoother throttle, less backfire and NO GAS OUT THE VENT TUBES!! I couldn't be happier!
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FreeSpirit Serious Thumper Offline Joy is my Compass ! Posts: 3823 North Georgia Gender:	Re: Gas Leak Reply #12 - 07/26/09 at 21:21:18 I believe seafoam works,from what I read here on the forum,and from magazines,etc. But why does it work? What exactly dose it do? Does it just clean things up?
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savagedml Full Member Offline Paid Alliance Membership (07/09) Posts: 246 Portsmouth, VA Gender:	Re: Gas Leak Reply #13 - 07/26/09 at 21:33:26 I hear it's MAGIC!
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FreeSpirit Serious Thumper Offline Joy is my Compass ! Posts: 3823 North Georgia Gender:	Re: Gas Leak Reply #14 - 07/26/09 at 22:19:22 savagedml wrote on 07/26/09 at 21:33:26: I hear it's MAGIC! There's a whole lot of people that believe in it for sure! Seems like I read it's been around since the 40's,or maybe before then. I'm definitely going to get some.
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