My new Vmax fountain!

[RagnarD]

Had a good and not so good night in the garage. After about 6 weeks of relatively minor work on my newly acquired garage queen max, I started it for the first time tonight. I had the choke full on and it started for a second, died, then started and was running okay for about 10 seconds with me playing the choke to keep it going when fuel sprayed out of both vent tubes on either side of the airbox. It was dieing again and stopped before I could even switch it off, then I wasn't willing to restart it with the gas coming out like that. :ummm:

Keep in mind it's sat for 6 weeks since it was last run, and about 2 years before I bought it. Could that much fuel come out from just too much choke? Is this a fuel pump problem? It was clicking a LOT during the multiple start attempts.

I've also read an older post saying the float needles might be the culprit, simply dried out.

Suggestions on how to proceed? :confused2: I don't mind fountains, but spraying gas around the garage doesn't go over well with my buddy who owns the joint.

TIA!!

 

[Buster Hymen]

1 or more of your floats are stuck. Try tapping on the bowls with something and it might free up the float.

 

[COP RUNNER]

GET SOME SEA FOAM ALSO ,,,http://www.vmaxforum.net/showthread.php?t=4746&highlight=FOAM:punk:

 

[RagnarD]

So after both some heavy tapping and some Sea Foam action, I still have one float that's obviously stuck (left rear carb) and just pumps fuel right out the vent. I started it several times and it took a lot of throttle just to keep it running. When I did let it die, the last time, it backfired so loud I almost needed some fresh shorts.

Sooooo.... I guess I'm rebuilding the carbs. I had toyed with the idea anyway, just to get the thing in good condition. I'm not particularly surprised it's having problems considering the way it's been treated. I'll order parts tomorrow after I review our oh-so-helpful how-to guides. :worthy:

I had an hour or so left to work on the bike and decided to go ahead and get the carbs off, but ran into a problem. After meticulously following the Haynes manual steps for removal, I attempted to pull them up off the intakes and... they won't budge. I double and triple checked my work and can't see a thing that is holding them there, but they do NOT want to come off or even wiggle, and I'm afraid to really get tough with them until I'm 100% positive there isn't something else holding them up.

Ideas? :ummm:

 

[Buster Hymen]

The carbs are a tight fit into the manifold boots. If you are sure you have loosened all the clamps on the manifold, pry gently under the carb rack and it will pop off..

 

[gamorg02]

there are 3 ways the carbs can come off..

1. leave the lower clamp, clamped. that will hold the boots to the vboost assembly/intake manifold. maybe its looser there.
2. loosen both clamps. this could cause some of the boots to come off, or none or all. might give u the path of least resistance.
3. loosen bottom clamp, keep top one, so it will pull off all the boots.


first time i took mine off i unclamped everything and the carbs popped off w/out the boots. second time i did the same thing and all but 1 boot came off. put 'em back together and kept the bottom one clamped.

 

[naughtyG]

check my carbs rebuilding thread.

I found the easiest way to get them off the first time is to lever them off. Make sure all 4 boot clamps are loose, then use something like the handle of a hammer to exert leverage between each carb body and the top of a cylinder head. One by one, they will easily pop off.

 

[one2dmax]

I have never needed to lever a set of stock carbs. You only need to pull on one carb and I am almost always pulling on the right front while standing on the left side. The colder the boots are the harder it is to get the carbs to pull out. You can try a hair dryer to soften the boots by warming them up. I don't mean you need to get them hot enough to smoke/melt - just enough to get warm. Will make all the difference when you need it.

Sean

 

[RagnarD]

Thanks again guys, by loosening both the bottom AND the top clamps I was able to lever them off. The boots are all brittle and cracked, so I'm adding that to my carb parts order going in here shortly.

 

[RagnarD]

Alright, over two months of life delays and I'm finally tearing into the carbs. I have them separated into halves, and have been using the Haynes manual as a breakdown guide. Three questions for anyone out there...

1. Since the primary driver for all this was a stuck needle valve/float and a general overhaul for a bike that has sat uncared for a couple years, do I need to pull the pilot/mixture screw? The bike still has the plugs preventing you from reaching them.

2. Same thing for the coasting enrichener... does it need to come out? The book makes it sound optional for sure.

3. Solvent bath... recommended solvents? And if I haven't pulled the pilot/mixture screw and the enrichener (which has a plastic cover and a diaphragm inside), is it still safe to soak the whole assembly? Or should I just scrub with a spray and brush?


TIA!!

 

[RagingMain]

Alright, over two months of life delays and I'm finally tearing into the carbs. I have them separated into halves, and have been using the Haynes manual as a breakdown guide. Three questions for anyone out there...

1. Since the primary driver for all this was a stuck needle valve/float and a general overhaul for a bike that has sat uncared for a couple years, do I need to pull the pilot/mixture screw? The bike still has the plugs preventing you from reaching them. Those plugs are easy to remove and yes. I would go through the carbs entirely and clean every little bit of them.

2. Same thing for the coasting enrichener... does it need to come out? The book makes it sound optional for sure. Take them out and hold them up to the sun or use a flash light and look for pin holes in the diaphragm. If they have holes you will get popping on decel.

3. Solvent bath... recommended solvents? And if I haven't pulled the pilot/mixture screw and the enrichener (which has a plastic cover and a diaphragm inside), is it still safe to soak the whole assembly? Or should I just scrub with a spray and brush? I personally would NOT soak the entire assembly with out disassembling it all first. Not sure how the rubber would hold up to the solvent. Probably not very good.

Also if you get the chance replace all your phillips head screws with button head cap screws. Will make things easier in the future.


TIA!!

Hope this helps
Cheers

 

[naughtyG]

1. Since the primary driver for all this was a stuck needle valve/float and a general overhaul for a bike that has sat uncared for a couple years, do I need to pull the pilot/mixture screw? The bike still has the plugs preventing you from reaching them.

I would take them out to clean everything properly, but MAKE SURE to record where each is set to first by screwing them all the way in (until they sit LIGHTLY) while counting the exact amount of turns to get there. I would also be really interested to know how each were set from the factory - I've never seen a set of carbs with the plugs still on.

2. Same thing for the coasting enrichener... does it need to come out? The book makes it sound optional for sure.

Same again, take them out for examination - rubber diaphragms must be in good condition - not holes or tears. I think it's also good to clean the metal parts, especially if they got gummed up from sitting.

3. Solvent bath... recommended solvents? And if I haven't pulled the pilot/mixture screw and the enrichener (which has a plastic cover and a diaphragm inside), is it still safe to soak the whole assembly? Or should I just scrub with a spray and brush?

I would NOT go near any bath unless you're 100% sure you have removed ALL rubber parts. I feel it's safer to use carb cleaner spray and compressed air - that's how I did mine.

Also replacing all philips screws with stainless steel allen heads is a must for future ease.

Remember to use blue loctite on the bracket screws and the choke arms clamp screws - that way you don't have to go too tight on them and they'll stay in place. Without it they will come loose from vibrations.

 

[RagnarD]

The plot thickens... got the plugs out without too much trouble, but now the damn pilot screws themselves don't want to budge. After a lot of WD40 and hammer taps, I got one out. The next one won't budge at all.:bang head:

Is this stuff always this aggravating? I feel like my next step is to get a screw extractor and get it out followed by another two week wait for a replacement. Any other ideas?

 

[naughtyG]

Be real careful with those pilot screws. If you mangle the carb body you are truly in trouble..

Try using PB Blaster rather than WD40, and let it soak aplenty. If your carbs are off the bike, place them so that the pilot screw hole is facing up, squirt PB in the hole, then let gravity do its job for a while. With a little luck you'll get 'em out one by one.