• Required reading for all forum users!!!

    Welcome!
    Register to access the full functionality of the GSResources forum. Until you register and activate your account you will not have full forum access, nor will you be able to post or reply to messages.

    A note to new registrants...
    All new forum registrations must be activated via email before you have full access to the forum.

    A Special Note about Email accounts!
    DO NOT SIGN UP USING hotmail, outlook, gmx, sbcglobal, att, bellsouth or email.com. They delete our forum signup emails.

    A note to old forum members...
    I receive numerous requests from people who can no longer log in because their accounts were deleted. As mentioned in the forum FAQ, user accounts are deleted if you haven't logged in for the past 6 months. If you can't log in, then create a new forum account. If you don't get an error message, then check your email account for an activation message. If you get a message stating that the email address is already in use, then your account still exists so follow the instructions in the forum FAQ for resetting your password.

    Have you forgotten your password or have a new email address? Then read the forum FAQ for details on how to reset it.

    Any email requests for "can't log in anymore" problems or "lost my password" problems will be deleted. Read the forum FAQ and follow the instructions there - that's what we have one for...

  • Returning Visitors

    If you are a returning visitor who never received your confirmation email, then odds are your email provider is blockinig emails from our server. The only thing that can be done to get around this is you will have to try creating another forum account using an email address from another domain.

    If you are a returning visitor to the forum and can't log in using your old forum name and password but used to be able to then chances are your account is deleted. Purges of the databases are done regularly. You will have to create a new forum account and you should be all set.

1982 GS450 Gas is leaking through screws?

  • Thread starter Thread starter System9
  • Start date Start date
S

System9

Guest
1982 GS450tx
I bought this bike recently and had to refinish the inside of the gas tank, it was rusted. I did Aqua clean, rust blast, re-coated it over the period of a week. Yesterday I put the fuel petcock back on, put gas in it and gas appeared to be leaking right from the screw heads that attach the petcock? Now, i know maybe the gas was leaking from somewhere else, and just dripped from the screws, But after messing with the screws (re-tightening/swapping with one another) it seemed like more or less gas was coming from the screws directly. Has anyone had issues relating to gas leaking out of the screw holes? Can gas somehow slip past the threads of the screws, and if so, is there a remedy for this? I have already ordered replacement screws/bolts, washers and the rubber gasket, but was wondering if there is anything else relating to the screws or the screw holes that needs to be addressed, like a coating you put on the threads?
 
You'll probably want to buy the special washers that sit under the screws- they have a rubber gasket and this will stop gas from running down screw threads . Might as well get a new oval o-ring while you're at it.
 
Leaky screws

Leaky screws

Hey-

I swapped my petcock with another vacuum petcock from my Yammie, as I thought it was the petcock malfunctioning (it was not). Anyways, I had the same problem as you, and it turns out, it's not actually leaking from the screws, but the holes where you have the screws into. There is a possibility that the holes may have become bigger than the screws due to whatever. My problem was that the Yammie's petcock screw placement was maybe a 1/16 of an inch wider than the GS's placement, which offset the petcock by that much, thus the leakage.
I used a product called "Seal All" from Auto Zone. It comes in a yellow tube for a couple of bucks, and works as a gas sealant, etc. I literally caked it on the screw area and everything that made contact with the tank, and it works great! That is, if you do not mind the messy look, but. . . . who's looking under your tank anyways! It works great as a fix (temporary/permanent). Whatever floats your boat.

My suggestion would be to buy a new petcock, and see if that fixes the leak, if not, you buggered your screw holes, and wasted $40 on a new petcock that you will have to make ugly with Seal All.

EDIT: Tom below me got his in while I was typing. I did not have those special washers that I remember. Lol, I guess that will be the proper way of doing it!
 
tom203 said:
You'll probably want to buy the special washers that sit under the screws- they have a rubber gasket and this will stop gas from running down screw threads . Might as well get a new oval o-ring while you're at it.
Click to expand...
Ok good, I did order a set of those, so I guess I'll just have to see if that was it. Thanks.
 
IanDMacDonald said:
Hey-
My suggestion would be to buy a new petcock, and see if that fixes the leak, if not, you buggered your screw holes, and wasted $40 on a new petcock that you will have to make ugly with Seal All.
Click to expand...

I have a weird feeling I may have messed up the holes. The screws I put in don't look like the bolts I ordered as replacements. I think the previous owner may have used different screws, and while it wasnt leaking before I did the tank restoration, I'm thinking it may not have been leaking because there was a good amount of rust stopping up the holes.
 
System9 said:
I have a weird feeling I may have messed up the holes. The screws I put in don't look like the bolts I ordered as replacements. I think the previous owner may have used different screws, and while it wasnt leaking before I did the tank restoration, I'm thinking it may not have been leaking because there was a good amount of rust stopping up the holes.
Click to expand...

The PO may have screwed the threads up if he used different bolts to standard, so you may need to re-use those ones or find new ones the same thread.

You definitely want those washers in there though...
 
I have the new parts on order, but i took it apart and did some investigating. The tank was "custom" painted, and the paint around the petcock area was making some bumps, so I chiseled and sanded down the mating surface, which i'm sure helped. Then after looking at the screws, I realized the holes on the petcock where the screws go through are purposely larger, otherwise the screws would never pass through. Its dependent on those special washers for sure. I did my own test using a rubber o-ring under a normal washer, and the leak completely stopped.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top