Also gas leaking...

[the juice]

Update on the previous issue I posted about the coolant leaking: Definitely no coolant leaking, but I have noticed a very small hole on the underside of my lower exhaust pipe, from which there is gasoline leaking. Is it normal to have liquid gasoline hanging out in the exhaust pipe, or is that evidence of another problem? Also, any tips on plugging the hole?

[WintrSol]

Are you sure it is gas, and not just water of combustion (which is what the hole is for)?

[the juice]

It smells like gas...it could be a water and gas mixture I suppose, but gasoline is definitely a part of it.
I wasn't aware that that hole was supposed to be there, good to know...however, it's never leaked anything before, so I felt there might be some cause for concern.

[WintrSol]

If it smells strongly of gas, you may need a tune, but some odor of gas is fairly normal.

[the juice]

Yeah it's definitely due for a tune up, which is high on my list of the next maintenance related tasks I plan to do for it...but there's a lot I have to do to get it running smooth again - I recently found out the place I was taking it to wasn't doing everything they were supposed to when I brought it in for PMs and in some cases were doing stuff wrong, so I became determined to figure out how to do it all myself but going's been slow so far and a lot of stuff is overdue...

Thanks for the input though, I just wanted to be sure that I don't have a fuel leak to worry about, sounds like it's relatively normal...I appreciate the advice, I'll probably be posting a lot more questions in the future as I continue to dig further into this thing.

[the juice]

Ok, so update...I left it over night and when I checked it this morning there was a fairly large puddle of gasoline - this is definitely not normal, any ideas on what would cause it to leak a lot of gas out of the exhaust pipe?

[Dodsfall]

Is this carbed or fuel injected?

Is the fuel petcock on or off?

Is the fuel coming from inside the exhaust or running down the exterior of the pipe? Look closely.

Check your oil! Do not try to start the motorcycle before doing this. If there is gasoline in the oil, you can ruin the engine if you run it.

If this is a carbed motorcycle and leaking gas into the engine, the float valves in the carb are not sealing correctly. If that's the case, they need to be adjusted or replaced.

[the juice]

It is carbed

I don't know what a petcock is

Coming from inside the pipe

I haven't run it yet and don't plan to until I get this figured out

How complicated a procedure it adjusting/replacing the float valves? I've never worked on a carb before.

[Dodsfall]

Until you get it fixed, turn off the petcock to keep the fuel from leaking any more. If it's a vacuum-operated model, just make sure it's not set to "Prime".

The best bet is to get a service manual for a float adjustment, because every make and model will have different specs and procedure for removing the carbs.

[the juice]

Ok, so I'm guessing the image you provided is the petcock...mine has 3 settings: On, Reserve, and Prime...so Prime is definitely the one I don't want, I'm guessing On is not that desirable either...should I set it to Reserve?

I have a Clymer's guide for my model...will this provide enough information for me to do this, or do they publish something more specific for doing carb work?

[Dodsfall]

You have a vacuum operated petcock. As long as it's working correctly, it's ok to leave it in the "ON" position since it should shut off the gas when the engine isn't running automatically. If fuel still comes out of it when it is in the "ON" position and the motor is off, it is defective and needs to be fixed.

The Clymer service manual should have the procedure for inspecting and setting the float height.

Before tearing into the carb, make sure that's where the problem is. It's a lot of work to do if it's simply a leaking fuel line.

[the juice]

Ok...it's been in the ON position all night and still leaked like a m@therfu#ker, so...bad petcock, then?
Is is possible that's the only problem, or am likely still going to have to dig into the carb?

[the juice]

Ok, update: I took off the oil cap and stuck my nose in there - kind of smells like gasoline...I was going to do an oil change soon anyway, is there anything else I need to do to flush the gas out, or will just getting rid of that batch of oil be sufficient?

[Dodsfall]

I think an oil change will do the trick.

It sounds like the petcock is bad. It should shut off the fuel completely when the engine isn't running and providing vacuum to open the valve.

[the juice]

Awesome, thanks for the info, I'll try replacing that and see if it works.

[WintrSol]

Even with the defective petcock, the floats in the carbs should shut the gas off when they are full, so you have more than one problem. If this engine has two or more cylinders, does the gas only come from one? If so, that's the carb to check; often, you can remove the bottom of the carb, which is the float bowl, and check to see that the float works. You'll want to be able to turn the gas off with the petcock first, though.

[the juice]

Originally Posted by WintrSol

Even with the defective petcock, the floats in the carbs should shut the gas off when they are full, so you have more than one problem. If this engine has two or more cylinders, does the gas only come from one? If so, that's the carb to check; often, you can remove the bottom of the carb, which is the float bowl, and check to see that the float works. You'll want to be able to turn the gas off with the petcock first, though.

Right, so...I just got done going over all this with my mechanic, and his recommendation is to A) check the petcock by putting gas in the tank, turning it to ON, and removing it - if gas leaks out that means it's bad and I will replace it

Followed by B) removing the carb. I've never done carb work before and I'm not that comfortable with it, so I'm just going to take the whole thing out and bring it in to him - he said he would take a look at it and tell me what I need to do without any extra charge, so I'll probably just do that to save some trouble in diagnosing it

And finally C) change the oil once I get the fuel leak problem addressed. Any thoughts on whether or not this is a good plan?

[WintrSol]

Sounds good to me; you may also want new spark plugs.