I'm goin' in....

[Rick]

Ok, I've been watching this forum and the discussion on valve adjustments. My 2007 has just over 7000 miles (about 4000 from me in the past several months), and although the previous owner said he'd done all the scheduled maintenance, I don't know for sure if he had the valves adjusted or not. So, given that, I've decided to take this on myself, and hopefully take care of a couple other things while the bike is apart.

The other issues are: tube has come loose from petcock so bike is essentially always on reserve setting, AND, I have a very slow oil leak that I'm reasonably certain is coming from the valve cover area.

SO - given this info, I have a couple of questions for anyone who cares to answer. I understand that some of this might be in the manual (which I refer to on a regular basis, as I have done a fair amount of work on this bike already), so if that is the case, just say so and I'll try (again) to find it

1. do you have to drain the gas tank before removing it, and if so, how?
2. do you have the have the special valve adjustment wrench in order to adjust the valves? The reason I ask is that the guy at Cycle Gear (who says he used to be a mechanic), told me that the wrench was probably not necessary, that I could probably do it with a box end wrench and a flathead screwdriver
3. Are the valve cover bolts obvious, or is it cylinder head bolts I'm looking for? I've read on multiple locations on this forum that sometimes a minor oil leak might just require torquing down the bolts, but I am not exactly sure what bolts that I am looking for.

Any other input is welcome. I am not a mechanic but I am very comfortable working on cars/bikes, etc if I have good instructions

Thanks

[Easy Rider]

Originally Posted by Rick

The other issues are: tube has come loose from petcock so bike is essentially always on reserve setting, AND, I have a very slow oil leak that I'm reasonably certain is coming from the valve cover area.

1. do you have to drain the gas tank before removing it, and if so, how?

2. do you have the have the special valve adjustment wrench in order to adjust the valves? The reason I ask is that the guy at Cycle Gear (who says he used to be a mechanic), told me that the wrench was probably not necessary, that I could probably do it with a box end wrench and a flathead screwdriver

I'll take a shot at some of your items:

Why haven't you replaced and/or reconnected the vacume hose at the petcock?
If you leave it loose, that introduces a vacume leak into the manifold and may make it run poorly.

Next, before you start tearing things apart looking for an oil leak, make REAL sure there really IS a leak. Mine had what looked like a leak up near the top of the engine but really did NOT. It was left over "assembly lube" that finally discolored enough that it was noticeable. No leak at all.
Many others have had a similar experience.

Not necessary to drain the gas but would make the tank easier to handle. Put the hose into an empty gas can and move the petcock lever to PRIme. Wait for flow to stop.

Special tools are not REQUIRED to do the valve adjustment but it would make it easier.......especially for a "rookie".

[Rick]

Thanks for the response. It isn't the vacuum hose that's come loose, it's one of the feeder tubes that go into the tank - causing it to feed into the "reserve" tube all of the time. Not a huge deal, but if it's an easy fix I'd just as soon have it done. As for the oil leak, I've read and reread the threads on the subject, and am quite sure it's an actual leak. I took a tip from another site and sprayed some powder on there and took a short ride, and you can see where the leak is coming from. I'm hoping it's just a something I can fix by torquing down a couple of bolts, but if not, I'll have a shop look at it eventually. And I definitely will go ahead and get the special tool, it's probably 8 bucks well spent.

[Easy Rider]

Originally Posted by Rick

Thanks for the response. It isn't the vacuum hose that's come loose, it's one of the feeder tubes that go into the tank - causing it to feed into the "reserve" tube all of the time.

OK, I wasn't hearing what you were saying. :roll:

The gas will still feed into the normal, ON tube.....just that it is now down at the same level as the reserve tube and you effectively have no reserve. Now I got it.

I believe that the fix is easy.......but getting it apart and back together without a leak might not be.

So, here's my guess: between oil leak, gas tube fell out in tank and valve adjustments, ONE of those things is going to cause it to go to the shop. Might as well let them take care of all three.
Downside: About $300.

[mr. softie]

I'll put my 2 cents worth in here Rick...

1.Since you are going to have to remove the petcock in order to put the tube back into it .. yes, you will have to drain the tank. The tube is a bit fragile and is a push fit. The petcock has an o-ring seal to the tank. It might be a good idea to get a new o-ring seal from your Suzuki dealer before you start, as they do flatten out over time and a new one will help prevent a gas leak here. As an aside, if the vacuum hose is not connected to the petcock you will not get gas flow except on prime, as the vacuum controls an on/off valve in the petcock assembly, being off in the absence of vacuum.

2. I just use a bicycle spoke nipple wrench to turn and hold the end of the threaded valve adjuster. It is a small square drive, no slot, and there is really not a lot of space in there. I have heard of people using a home made wrench made from a square drive screw but I had the nipple wrench handy so I use that. A small open end or box end wrench works to loosen/tighten the holding nut. It helps if your feeler gauges have an offset.

3. The valve cover bolts are obvious ...once you take the tank off all becomes clear. The valve covers themselves have a paper type gasket. It might be a good idea to get the gaskets from your Suzuki dealer and have them on hand in case you tear the old ones.

All these items are pretty straightforward and not too difficult if you take them step by step and follow the manual. Good luck and let us know how you make out with these repairs.

[Rick]

That's all great info. Thanks a lot for that! I don't have a spoke wrench so I guess I'll just get the Suzuki wrench while I'm there getting the o-ring. As for the paper gasket....I read on here somewhere that the valve cover gasket is a liquid gasket. Also, do I actually need to remove the valve cover to adjust the valves? I was thinking there was just a cap of some kind that comes off to expose the valve adjustors.

[mr. softie]

The valve covers are like caps, flat and squarish, one for the intakes and one for the exhausts. Mine have paper gaskets. number 20 in diagram, 21 is the gasket... they call it an o-ring in the parts fiche



here also is a diagram of the petcock

[music man]

I tried to get the gasket that goes between the tank and the petcock and was told by more than one source that they don't sell just that gasket, you have to buy the petcock, so let me know how that goes for ya gettin' one and where you got it, because I just recently found out (the hard way) that my tube inside the tank has fallen off also.

[mr. softie]

My gasket is flattened out, but still seals ok. I was wondering if letting it sit for a while in a "seal restorer" type power steering fluid etc might make it swell a bit in the case that it starts to leak. I also wondered why there is no number for the gasket on the parts list, now I know.

[adrianinflorida]

Stupid noob question here, but why even bother with a "Reserve" setting on the petcock?

I guess that since the reserve inlet looks to be right at the bottom of the tank, it might pick more crap up from the bottom of the tank than the "Normal" setting, which looks to sit higher. But is there any real reason to have a standard and reserve position? Maybe just to let you know when you're down to the last +/- gallon?

Pardon my ignorance, back to researching the 350cc conversion ( KIDDING!!! )