Dumb question - airbox connection to carbs?

[exzachtly1]

Not to assume anything, are the plenum to carb boots rotated appropriately, if they aren't turned properly, they probably can't reasonably be attached.
Also, on my 650G, the plenum to air box connection has a lot of play, so loosen that clamp and push the plenum as far forward as you can when the boot clamps are loose.

OK - so they DO have to be rotated a certain way?

I thought that might be the case but couldn't figure out if there was some sort of marker on there to tell me how to rotate them. It is quite possible that these are not rotated correctly.

[exzachtly1]

So I bucked up and took the airbox off again (I'm getting good at this now!) and the problem became painfully obvious. However - I can't tell if it's the boots or if the airbox itself is warped. It's probably both. Here are some pics:







And the clamps - definitely worn but still workable i think:



Any suggestions on where to go from here? I've heard you can boil the rubber components for a while in water to get them to soften up. But I don't know what to do about the airbox body. Do you guys think it looks warped? Should I attempt to heat it up and bend it? Kinda nervous to do that...

[exzachtly1]

I decided to try this:



Warmed up the plastic as much as I could with a hair dryer. Gonna let this set overnight and hope that it holds - it seemed to be holding decently when bending by hand. Now to figure out what to soak the boots in to make them nice and soft...

[cowboyup3371]

I didn't read the entire thread but know I had a similar issue earlier this year until I bought brand new clamps. No problems since.

[exzachtly1]

Yeah I will probably buy new clamps and boots, just trying to un warp the airbox and get it rideable in the meantime. I wish there was a faster way to get oem parts! Seems to be about a week no matter where I order from.

[Eli69]

check this out

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?t=194152

[exzachtly1]

Managed to bend the airbox back into shape (almost!) so that the 4 boots are nearly lined up. There is still some sage on boot #2 so it is not ALL the way on the carb body, but I don't think it looks to be leaking. I'd post a pic but it's raining cats and dogs right now

[exzachtly1]

I had a similar problem when I replaced my airbox boots. I had them turned (rotated) wrong. There is a mark on the boot that has to go up (or down) - don't remember which. Maybe someone can tell you the exact orientation you need.

Your airbox may be warped a bit. Are the inner boots ending up on the same plane as the outers, or is the plastic of the airbox sort of sagging in the middle?

On a certain GS1100E (hey, koolaid...!), we struggled with the airbox quite a while until I had the idea to use a piece of wood to push on the inside of the airbox in the middle in order to seat the inner clamps. The owner ended up ordering a new airbox from Suzuki to fix the problem more or less permanently.

However, I think it is possible that you could heat up a plastic airbox carefully with a heat gun and very very carefully and gently push it back into shape.

Also, new airbox boots will astonish you with the difference -- even if the old ones still seem flexible, they shrink by a surprising amount over the years. When you get the new ones, you may even be upset thinking that you got the wrong parts, because they're 1/3 larger than the old ones.

One last trick: if you find that one of your airbox boots folded over at the lip and warped, you can reshape it with a heat gun. I used an old bearing that happened to be the same diameter as the carb, but a piece of pipe or socket would work. I slowly heated the boot and worked it back into shape until I could clamp it onto the bearing. After it cooled, it was good as new.

Both of these things were a factor. As you can see by the pics, I did what I could to get the box back into shape. I also made sure the markings lined up during reassembly. It is MUCH closer now but not perfect. I think in the next couple of weeks I will probably get new boots and a heat gun so I can properly re-shape the box and ensure quality boots.