Aftermarket petcocks

[suicide silence]

i have a leaking petcock and decided i didnt want to rebuild i would rather just get new ones. I have a few questions first though. Has anybody switched to aftermarket petcocks and used a single out put on each side instead of dual? I ask this because i do not have the octopus thing for the vaccum lines so all the lines are hooked up to the carbs.. i think this is making a lean condition. So my thinking is if i switch to single output on each side then i can just eliminate the vacuum all together. I am aware that every time i park i will have to turn off my petcock if i do this and that is fine with me.

Also, since my petcock has been leaking it has put gas in the oil, is there some kind of treatment i can use when i change the oil to get it out of the engine?

thanks for any and all help

[egsols]

Also, since my petcock has been leaking it has put gas in the oil,

Generally gas gets in the oil when the float valves in the carbs do not seal, allowing the carbs to overflow. It the petcocks are left on, or do not shut off, (and the valves are not sealing) then the carbs will keep spilling. Generally they leak into the airbox first but depending on where and how the bike is parked the fuel can go into both the airbox and the motor. I'm not sure how a leak from the petcock itself could cause fuel in the oil.

I didn't use any treatment to get the fuel out other then performing two oil and filter changes and noting whether any fuel was left in the oil (by smell)

I'm also confused by you saying all lines are hooked to the carbs? You have four lines to contend with on the special but since its an 81 you only have two tees on the carbs where you can connect the fuel lines.

Fuel lines cannot cause a lean condition only a starvation issue if they are kined/blocked/etc.

[suicide silence]

i used 2 tee fittings and 6 lengths of fuel tube so all 4 outputs are connected

[egsols]

I think I get it......lines running from front and rear to a tee with a line running from tee to tee.....must be pretty tight?

I used two lines from both rear ports going to each carb tee and plugged the front two ports with vaccuum nipples. (actually four lines if you get technical and count the line on each side of an inline filter)

[egleaves]

I have been through several episodes of both petcocks and needles leaking. I have lost plenty of fuel through my pods, but never had any of it wind up in the engine. I guess it's because the fuel is able to drip from the pods before enough can accumulate and flow into the cylinders?

[suicide silence]

so has anybody used aftermarket petcocks? specifically single outlet

[DiverRay]

I think one or two have gone to "Pingle" petcocks. Do a search on petcock, and see what comes up. I know you need to get an "adapter plate" to put it call together.

[oldyam80sg]

Pingel makes single petcocks as well as dual petcocks.I have them on my 80 SG.They offer a rebuild service as well.

[TopCatGr58]

Hey Suicide,

Partsnmore.com also offers aftermarket petcocks, and the adapter plates.

However, IF you're getting fuel in your oil, then it's ALSO the carbs float needle's fault as well as the petcocks. The 81 uses the viton/rubber tipped float needles, and you can get those as well. But also there's a rubber O-ring around the base of the float needle SEAT, which can go bad and also cause leaking/flooding of the carbs!

SO..you need to fix your carbs first, and then work on the petcocks. Folks have found that you get plenty of fuel flow from just 1 petcock to feed all the carbs. Problem can come when/if you need to access the reserve, you'll have less fuel available from only 1 side, the rest trapped in the other low section of the tank where it's split for the frame mount.

ALL of the lines from the Octy to the petcocks ARE FUEL LINES, they are not vacuum lines going to the petcocks, the cocks are GRAVITY FEED. The only vacuum line is from the #2 carb Intake Boot nipple to the OCTY, and should have been capped off. The other vacuum line is on the #2 carb BODY port that goes to the advance pot on the left timing crank cover!
T.C.

[TADracer]

Well I have been having aftermarket petcocks for a few years now and I like the result. I got rid of the octy many many years ago and suffered through the cleaning and rebuilding the stock cocks but they always started to leak again in about a year.

Pingles were very expensive so I decided that some cheap Alfa petcocks were not much more than the rebuild kits and I could upgrade to Pingles later if needed. The Alfa's were about $25.00 each a few years ago, plus the adapters which are a one-time thing and Pingles use the same part. They have the 3/8" NPT thread so the adapter required a small bit of dremmel work on the tank to make room for the 3/8" threaded part but the whole thing only took about an hour to install. The parts came with two sets of outlets, straight and 90 degree, and you can install them so the outlet is facing front, back or toward the middle of the bike. They have on, off and reserve function as well at tall screen towers.

Its been at least 3 years now and they work like day one, have never leaked and just one flows more fuel than the motor could ever consume. So im my opinion something like this is a viable alternative to the stock petcocks.

[mdnzz]

I have just fitted 2 aftermarket singles on my 81, (suzuki) units and no adapter of modifications needed, they seem to run fine and the vaccum's have all been capped off, $19nz each as opposed to $180nz for new octis'. I also had fuel mixing with oil, run pods not an airbox, new taps problem gone, o plus carb cleaned etc

[Bunk]

Suzuki petcocks

Which model of Suzuki petcocks did you use?

[suicide silence]

i just placed an order with z1 enterprises based on a thread i found on this site. Here is what i got... hopefully this works because this is pretty much my last attempt at this thing

These products will be shipped to the above address:
1.

Product Name: Petcock Adapter Plate 34mm 3/8 NPT
Quantity: 2 Product ID: KL18-7206 Price: $20.28

2.

Product Name: Petcock - Custom Chrome - Single Outlet 3/8 NPT
Quantity: 2 Product ID: TU49-2600 Price: $12.99

[Da-Bubble]

Pardon me T.C.

Not to correct the big dogs, but I am on my second set of brand new float valves/seats etc and just this week the number 4 carb overflowed gas out of the pod filter. Mine was due to a severely leaking petcock. I fixed it tonight and when I changed the oil I could definitely smell gas. I always shut my petcocks off when I park it. Is there a different type of float valve to buy for the 79's?

[TopCatGr58]

Hey DaBubble,

As I eluded to in my previous reply, there are the Viton Rubber tipped float needles/valves that can be put on the 78-79 carbs, doing a search for Jessie/81XSproject's Viton Tip float needles should reveal the thread with the specifics.

Jessie's a MOD, and his mod was good, so I would hope that HE would realize that it would make a great TECH TIP, and would create one from his post!

The viton onces work well, but are not impervious to failure either, I've just had to replace mine after 8 years...I did my rebuild 8 years ago, but they started leaking again this year!

Also, are you sure that the float in #4 wasn't hanging/sticking, or that there wasn't some crud getting caught between the float needle and seat, and that your float is truly FLOATING, not sinking!?
T.C.