JaSSon Posted June 5, 2012 Report Share Posted June 5, 2012 My GF rides an 82 KZ1000. It's an old air cooled I4 Japanese standard bike. And I found this strange: The petcock does not have an "off" position. It has on, prime, and reserve. This morning when we woke up the garage stank of gas and both our bikes were sitting in a puddle of it. There was gas leaking in a steady stream from the left side crank case. Damn. The oil window was a cloudy brown color. Double damn. And when I pulled the oil drain plug about 2 gallons of oily gasoline came spilling out. Triple damnit!So, now what? I know bare minimum the engine will need all the gaskets replaced, but what about the engine bearings? Shot, I assume. We were busy this weekend and did not ride, so who knows how long it's been like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrapeApeGuy Posted June 5, 2012 Report Share Posted June 5, 2012 dont necessarily need all gaskets replaced.....this happens, petcoc got stuck open, I would leave case open to breathe for a bit, put new oil in run it to temp a few times, drop oil change oil/filter again put fresh in and go.repair/replace petcoc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magley64 Posted June 5, 2012 Report Share Posted June 5, 2012 drain everything, and give it some time to air out, refill the case with fresh oil, and give it a bunch of rotations, work the oil back into the main bearings... then do a fresh oil change again, change the filter, clean the carb, and buy a new petcock with an off setting (they are pretty cheap) it should fire right up and be fine...these old I-4s are pretty bulletproofI had the same thing happen to a 80's KZ550LTD, and at the time it cost me 3 weeks of allowance to fix ($15) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wht_scorpion Posted June 5, 2012 Report Share Posted June 5, 2012 The float in the carb got stuck open tap the bottom of the bowls on the carb or the petcock is stuck open take apart the petcock and clean it. Do a oil change start it run it for a half hour then check to see if the oil cloudy. My girlfriend 250 ninja with 3000 mile on it did the same shit some thing in the gas mess with it. this is what I did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magley64 Posted June 5, 2012 Report Share Posted June 5, 2012 you also might want to take the clutch apart and re-oil the clutch plates, iirc my clutch was quite sticky for a while after that happened. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wht_scorpion Posted June 5, 2012 Report Share Posted June 5, 2012 I hear people use half quart transmission fluid in with the oil then let the bike warm up will flush every thing out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRMN8TR Posted June 5, 2012 Report Share Posted June 5, 2012 Technically your petcock in the "on" position is its off...unless there is vacuum from the carb. Prime is wide open, and reserve is reserve. Put an on/off petcock on it so that doesn't happen again. You'll also need to cap the vacuum line that went to the old petcock at the carb. As others said, the float stuck. There should be an overflow so it doesn't flood the engine, maybe its clogged? Perhaps its time for a carb cleaning and replace the seals on the floats too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoolWhip Posted June 5, 2012 Report Share Posted June 5, 2012 I agree with Scorpion, my guess is the floats got stuck open. Take care of the fluids like they suggested and have your carbs cleaned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JaSSon Posted June 5, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 5, 2012 (edited) The petcock was leaking earlier this spring, so I rebuilt it. It has a new diaphram and new O-rings already. I"ll either replace it or install an inline shut-off valve.The bike is sitting with the oil filter and drain plug off, and I'll let it sit that way all day. But I'll replace the crankcase gaskets, look in to refreshing the carbs (serious, ugh), and fill it with oil and hope for the best! Edited June 5, 2012 by JaSSon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gixxus Christ! Posted June 5, 2012 Report Share Posted June 5, 2012 Pan gasket should be fine. You must have left it in prime. Carbs shouldn't be that bad to go over on that bike, just a pain to get in and out if I remember right. I'm so glad I have an efi bike tho..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JaSSon Posted June 5, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 5, 2012 Pan gasket should be fine. You must have left it in prime. Carbs shouldn't be that bad to go over on that bike, just a pain to get in and out if I remember right. I'm so glad I have an efi bike tho.....The petcock was indeed set in the "on" position. That was the first thing I checked. And I'm going to replace the side cover gaskets, because fluids were literally streaming out of the left side cover. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gixxus Christ! Posted June 5, 2012 Report Share Posted June 5, 2012 Sounds like you messed up your petcock rebuild. If its in the on position, gas shouldn't come out unless there is vacuum being applied to the diaphragm inside. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Posted June 5, 2012 Report Share Posted June 5, 2012 The float in the carb got stuck open tap the bottom of the bowls on the carb or the petcock is stuck open take apart the petcock and clean it.BOTH imo. even if the petcock fails, the float should still keep the valve shut. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JaSSon Posted June 6, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 6, 2012 Well, everything is drained. I'll take a look at it this weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magley64 Posted June 6, 2012 Report Share Posted June 6, 2012 if you're replacing side cover gaskets anyway, definitely take the clutch apart and re-oil all the plates/inspect for damage to the friction plates...you don't want to tear it all apart again just to mess with a clutch you could have easily checked while it was apart already. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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