Fuel rail leakage

[Ilovemyvtx]

Okay so my fuel rail (98 600 carbs) was obviously leaking when I put the gas tank on today. I figured the seals had shrunk since they were not immersed in fuel in the last 6 months.

I also figured it would leak because I had to really slam the carbs onto the intake boots to get them on too. Sooo what do I do besides buy new orings and fuel-t seals? I'm worried it will leak again if I have to slam them on again ya know and something gets tweaked...

Also, can the o-rings be bought at home depot or lowes because I can't tell what number they are on bikebandit.com?...


Advice please.

Josh

[hardlydangerous]

find out where they are leaking, could just be sticky float vales that need to be cleaned

[Ilovemyvtx]

No, it's definitely coming from the orings and seals on the fuel rail.

Is any type of rubber oring okay to use?

[kevin2502000]

Most times you can find either a metric or standard that will work, they exception so far is the a/f o-ring.

[downrangefuture]

Nope. Needs to be able to take gasoline. The ones you buy at the store are nitrile usually and won't last but a few weeks at best.

[hardlydangerous]

No, it's definitely coming from the orings and seals on the fuel rail.

Is any type of rubber oring okay to use?

you mean the Carb body?

fuel rails are a pipe that feeds fiel to fuel injectors, these are carbed engines
float bowl gaskets are the only ones that will leak. if the fuel level is higher then that your float valves are dirty and not stopping fuel flow or floats are stuck down

[Ilovemyvtx]

Yes and no. There is (pretty much) a rail that goes from the fuel T to all four carbs. I broke the carbs apart and found that the orings on the aluminum spacers (what I am calling the rail) (they feed fuel to the carbs) had shrunk from not being immersed in fuel and were not sealing.

The carb bowl gaskets are new and are not leaking. The floats aren't leaking by what I can tell either. It strictly looks like these were my problem.

The o-rings that fit onto number 11 if that clears things up. lol.

http://www.bikebandit.com/1999-suzuk...6178#sch241427

I bought some Danco #5 orings that are the correct size but I am unsure whether they will resist gasoline...

[Wild-Bill]

The ones from Suzuki are nitrile, also called Buna-N. You can also pick up o-rings made of tougher stuff but that's what the OEM uses.

You can make your life a lot easier getting the carbs back into the boots by warming them up with a hair dryer and then lubing the insides with some armor all or a little silicone spray. I spray the silicone on my finger and wipe the insides of the boots.

[Ilovemyvtx]

^I did that last time and it was still hard. I have no electricity where I'm rebuilding the bike so hair dryer is a no go... lol

http://www.doitbest.com/main.aspx?pageid=64&sku=496685

Buna-n o-rings are what I have, obviously haha.

http://www.metrogasket.com/o-rings/m...tion_guide.htm

For anyone that wants more info, I just found this.

I'm still worried about the carb bodies getting tweaked and possibly leaking again. I really don't want to have to clean up a lot of fuel again.

[hardlydangerous]

OH ok I got ya
duh, I shoulda caught that one... usually called delivery lines or supply tubes

Go to harbor freight and buy thier big 397pc Metric Nitrile orings (storehouse) all the orings are in there. thats all you need
Its a handy lil kit to have on hand. I have a few kits in my shop, metric and SAE as well as thier HNBR Kit for higher temps. the HNBR nitrile o-rings work perfect for oil lines, water pump gaskets etc.

[kevin2502000]

Nope. Needs to be able to take gasoline. The ones you buy at the store are nitrile usually and won't last but a few weeks at best.

That's funny mine have lasted for YEARS without swelling or bursting.

[hardlydangerous]

Nope. Needs to be able to take gasoline. The ones you buy at the store are nitrile usually and won't last but a few weeks at best.

Your information is incorrect. the most common rubber ised in most fuel systems is Nitrile. And thats why all o rings MUST be removed before you use any type of carb cleaner on the carbs interior or exterior.

Many float needles are Nitrile tipped as well
I have dozens of factory/OE carb kits, rebuild kits, even aftermarket kits and replacement parts from companies like K&L.
They are all Nitrile orings and seals

Thats not to say there are not better o-rings to use... there are but, you will not have a problem with Nitrile same as in any stock carb

[Ilovemyvtx]

Um. help. I replaced the o-rings for the fuel lines... After I had all the carbs back together, I figured I would check the float heights again. Well when I went to put the bowls back on, the bowl gaskets wouldn't fit, they were too big and would not fit in the grooves properly!!! Wtf. I swear when I put them on the first time, they fit perfectly!

I know I have post katana carbs because they perfectly match carbs 102. I ordered year 2000 600 katana bowl gaskets too. These are definitely going cause a leak...

Help...

[Ilovemyvtx]

So I go back to the shop today and all of the gaskets fit... They were easily an 1/8th inch larger all the way around yesterday... That is weird.

[hardlydangerous]

yeah non hyrdated o-rings like nitrile will swell if they come into contact with most solvents, however if you set them in a warm spot like in the sun they will dry and go back to the proper size after 24 hours.