put 2-3 oz. of seafoam in gas tank; now won't start/dies

[Fawlty]

Originally Posted by gstam4

yeah, i don't know if WW remembers this, but in an earlier post from january i mentioned that i thought the bike had a gas leak. dealer checked it under 30 day warranty and didn't find anything. shortly after that, i took it back to them as regards the problem with idle speed and dying at lights.

i'm tempted to try to press them by saying this problem was obviously there within the 30 day warranty period (indeed, when they sold me the bike), but i doubt they'll be willing to help me out. i'm guessing a repair bill would be upwards of $200-300.

It's worth a try, but it doesn't sound like they are much good. If you can smell gas in the oil, it is a good indicator of a leaking carb. possibly caused by a stuck or punctured float. Any mechanic worth his salt would be able to diagnose and fix this, it is not an uncommon problem. What is the oil level like, and what color is it? If you cannot get at the air filter have a look under the bike and you should see a capped tube hanging down, remove the cap and see what drains out. If you suspect the oil is contaminated with gas, you may cause damage by running the engine. There is no point changing the engine oil until you have the problem sorted.

[alantf]

Originally Posted by gstam4

i apparently don't to have the tool needed to get to the air filter,

All you need is a philips screwdriver. Firstly to remove the screw holding the side panel, then to remove the three screws holding the filter.

[jonathan180iq]

I don't recall what's necessary in accessing the air filter but I think it's just a phillip's head screw driver.

Pull the side cover and then pull the air filter and inspect it and take a good whiff of the hole in the air box.

Also, there is a drain tube at the bottom of the air box. It hangs all the way down and has a capped end under the bike. You can remove that cap and see what comes out. It should be some residual oil blow-by. If it's a lot of liquid, then you can pretty much bet that there is a lot of gas going where it's not supposed to go. If you can't do too much else, you can at least check those two things and all you'll need is a pair of pliers (for the drain tube plug) and a screw driver (for the air filter and side cover).

[Water Warrior 2]

Originally Posted by gstam4

yeah, i don't know if WW remembers this, but in an earlier post from january i mentioned that i thought the bike had a gas leak. dealer checked it under 30 day warranty and didn't find anything. shortly after that, i took it back to them as regards the problem with idle speed and dying at lights.

i'm tempted to try to press them by saying this problem was obviously there within the 30 day warranty period (indeed, when they sold me the bike), but i doubt they'll be willing to help me out. i'm guessing a repair bill would be upwards of $200-300.

Now it is coming back to me. Hate to be a party pooper but the shop is hoping for your repeat business as long as you pay. I doubt they would be willing to do anything that doesn't cost you.
You can't even get the bike to them safely anyway so I think you will have to fix this yourself with our help. The best part is you are going to increase your knowledge and spend a fewer bucks on tools or supplies than the shop would want.
Luckily there are some well versed carb guys right here. I am not one of them though. They can walk you through the process for a happy bike and put a smile on your face. Do not despair, the GZ is a simple bike and you can do this.

[gstam4]

if it's something i can do myself, i'm happy to try and learn the bike. makes it feel more like mine!

turns out my plastic side cover needed a hex key to open, and then the screws for the air filter cover were phillips. the air filter reeks of gasoline. (dumb question: how would gas get into the air filter?)

at a minimum, i know i'll be buying a new air filter, new spark plug, and several liters of cheap oil. i already have some royal purple 10w-40 for the end.

is the problem almost surely in the carb? if so, would i remove the carb, disassemble and clean it, figure out what the problem is, put it back in, and then do a couple of oil changes to flush the gas-contaminated oil out of my engine? or is there a lot more to it than that, possibly?

i was looking around for a how-to on the carb removal and cleaning, but came up empty. i do have the service manual posted on this site, but it's a little hard to read...def better than nothing, though.

[raul10141964]

Originally Posted by gstam4

... the air filter reeks of gasoline. (dumb question: how would gas get into the air filter?)

The carb oberfill and some of the exes gas go to filter box an some go to the engine pas true the rings an mix with the oil.


1- test the fuel valve, disconnect the fuel hose and test fore flow
on, res : no flow
prim: flow
2- check the flout and needle inside the carb may bi stack or dory


change oil

[Water Warrior 2]

Don't know if you are aware of the oil requirements. Do not use an oil with any mollifiers in it. These oils have an Energy conserving designation on the back of the container. Your best and cheapest oil is a diesel oil such as Shell Rotella. Any diesel oil or a motorcycle specific oil will do. I personally recommend Rotella because of the results we had with our bikes and it is available at a lot of locations.

[gstam4]

yeah, i got royal purple's max-cycle motorcycle oil.

i just pulled the air filter again out of curiosity, and noticed there's in fact a big pool of gas at the bottom of my airbox. awesome!

i'm having it towed to the dealer today ... we'll see if they help out at all. i'm gonna be kind of ticked if they don't at least cut me a break on labor/repair costs - as i realize now, this is the problem i had it in to them for while it was still under the 30-day warranty, but they apparently only looked for an external leak.

[JohnC]

Originally Posted by Water Warrior 2

Any diesel oil ... will do.

I would not accept this statement at face value. (It may prove to be true, but more likely it would prove not to be true.) First of all, Diesel engines use compression ignition and diesel oils are rated with specs starting with "C", like "CH-4" for a 4 stroke compression ignition engine; standard "H" is the 7th iteration.

Gas engines use spark ignition and oils rated (like) "SG". Any diesel oil you intend to use in a gas engine should carry a "Sx" rating as well as the "Cx" rating.

Rotella happens to have been tested to the JASO-MA spec, which is a motorcycle spec specifically designed to address wet clutch and transmission compatibility. Other Diesel oils may or may not meet the spec, but if it hasn't been tested there is no way of knowing. If it has been tested it will carry the JASO-MA rating as well as a SG or better spark ignition rating.

Rotella T6 meets the following specs:
API CJ-4, CI-4 PLUS, CI-4, CH-4, SM, SL, SH; ACEA E9; Caterpillar
ECF-3, ECF-2; Cummins CES 20081; DDC 93K218; Ford WSS
M2C171-E; JASO DH-2, MA; Mack EO-O Premium Plus; MB Approval
228.31; Volvo VDS-4

[JohnC]

Originally Posted by gstam4

i just pulled the air filter again out of curiosity, and noticed there's in fact a big pool of gas at the bottom of my airbox. awesome!

If you've been trying unsuccessfully to start it, this may be "normal".