Donate!
Welcome, Guest. Please Login or Register :: View Members
Pages: 1
Send Topic Print
A Temporary OEM Petcock Fix (Read 37 times)
SCS40
Full Member
***
Offline

Riding again after a
19 year hiatus

Posts: 116
Easley, SC
Gender: male
A Temporary OEM Petcock Fix
06/27/21 at 17:06:43
 
The past 2 weeks have been filled with frustration, joy, and more frustration...and finally more joy this weekend. After getting Stellinor home, I had a no-start condition, runs like a beast, performance degrading, no-start again, until I finally hit the jackpot. After replacing the 2 year old battery, a new plug, ordering (and waiting weeks for the Raptor petcock which should arrive tomorrow), and contemplating a carb rebuild, it turned out to be the OEM petcock all along.

After the 2nd no-start, I checked the petcock as recommended here:

http://suzukisavage.com/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1251932429/1

Although I was leaning toward starvation, I wasn't really surprised to find fuel in the vacuum line. Bah. But at least I knew: a) the petcock was bad, and b) was dumping raw fuel in the intake causing an insanely rich mix. This also explained the carbon soot on the rear brake arm. BTW. I never experienced gas in the airbox.

Beyond frustrated and dying to ride, I considered the conversion listed here:

http://suzukisavage.com/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1113631600/1

However, I don't have a Dremel and the process seemed laborious for a "quick fix". So I considered alternatives.

My first idea was to plug the PRI hole with some type of epoxy/fuel resistant putty. I tried 2 brands but neither would "set." Another challenge is finding a putty/adhesive that will actually stick the to valve barrel material...whatever it's made of. Most compounds warn they don't adhere to certain plastics.

Even if I had a Dremel, I don't think I would've tried to fabricate a plug, especially after my next idea/solution. The thickness of the barrel would only allow for maybe 2 threads to engage the material. With my luck, the plug would come loose at the wrong time and cut my fuel at precisely the wrong moment.

It finally occurred to me to simply eliminate the vacuum part of the petcock. True, I would loose the diaphragm spring induced "off," but unless the float stuck, this seemed a good temporary fix.

After removing the diaphragm, diaphragm spring, and inner PRI spring (which overrides the diaphragm/spring), I reassembled with a new O-ring on the lever as recommended. I also removed, cleaned, and reinstalled the now fouled new plug. I used vacuum plugs on both carb ports.

Like magic, full choke and no throttle, she fired instantly and settled into a smooth idle. And took about 10 seconds to leak, exactly where I feared, around the diaphragm housing. Bah.

The housing gasket was intact. Fortunately, although I wanted to, I hadn't trashed the ridiculously thin diaphragm. I thought it was made of paper at first, but I guess it's some sort of ultra thin rubber. I carefully cut out the round center/heart and retained the outer square to fit as an additional gasket as it originally did. I also used fuel resistant Permatex...just in case.

Try #2 had identical running results, but with zero leaks.

As for my woes, I'm guessing the PO struggled with the crappy diaphragm as well as he said it was "hard to start."

My (other) daughter and I logged around 100 miles this weekend with no leaks or problems. The bike fires quickly, hot or cold, idles steady, and pulls strong.

So, if you're in a pinch, and pretty sure the petcock is bad, try defeating Suzuki's engineering as above. I wouldn't recommend it as a permanent fix, as mine isn't. But it can get you going until your Raptor unit arrives.

(It still amazes me Suzuki did nothing in 33 years to address this  Angry)
Back to top
 
« Last Edit: 06/27/21 at 18:47:07 by SCS40 »  

2006 S40 Euclase Silver: K&N drop-in, Duracell AGM, Raptor petcock, and ONLY pure gas (E0) https://www.pure-gas.org/ Otherwise Bone Stock and love it!

My Spotify Artist Page: https://open.spotify.c
WWW   IP Logged
Pages: 1
Send Topic Print


« Home

 
« Home
SuzukiSavage.com
03/28/24 at 22:44:32



General CategoryTechnical Documents/Reference › A Temporary OEM Petcock Fix


SuzukiSavage.com » Powered by YaBB 2.2!
YaBB © 2000-2007. All Rights Reserved.