Yellow Haze Below the Carb?

tcrave · 06-05-2011, 02:26 PM

When I bought my gz, the people said that it had just had a complete tune-up, including the carb being rebuilt, but I have my doubts. People don't tell the full truth, simple as that. I have a large feeling that they lied about the entire thing. When I got home, it was having some troubles shifting, so I changed the oil and it was NASTY! I e-mailed the lady and asked if she had ever had trouble with shifting and told her I changed the oil and she emailed me back saying that no, she had never had troubles and then informed me the oil hadn't been changed in a long time and probably needed it. What the hell? I thought an oil change was standard in a tune up? O-well, whatever, I was expecting to be lied to, I just factored that into negotiations.

Turns out the hard shifting is normal for these bikes, either they don't have a first gear synchro, or it is out. Not a big deal though, just have to keep it in mind while riding.

Anyway, I now have a new problem. I was riding my bike down the street to work and all the sudden, it died. It was decently warm, so I tried to start it again and it wouldn't start. So, I pulled the choke level and it started again. I left the choke on the entire ride and then once I got to work, I turned the choke back off and the bike died...well dang! So then after I got off work, I started it up again and it would idle a little high with the choke on, and so I turned it to half way and it was still a little high, so I turned it all the way down and the bike died. So,I had to ride with the idle a little high and the choke half on. But, then after I let it sit for a day, its fine now.

But, here is the part that worries me too...I went to wash my bike yesterday evening and noticed a yellowish has all over the carb and on the metal casing right below the carb. I figured it might have just been a stain, but then I started scrubbing and with a HARD scrub, it started coming off...now I'm a bit worried. Any ideas?

geezer · 06-05-2011, 04:24 PM

might be your float bowl gasket leaking, my bike develps this yellowness on the bottome of the carb too. im not to worried about it yet as it doesnt leak or drip on the engine, i am keeping tabs on it though. as far as the stalling, have you messed with the mixtur screw yet on the bottom of the carb? mine would also stall hot i checked it and the screw was 7 turns out! should be around 3 max! check it out

blaine · 06-05-2011, 04:30 PM

Sounds to me like the carb was flooding and is dirty.If they didn't change the oil,I doubt they done any maintenance.Put some Sea Foam or Berryman's B-12 in the tank and run it for a couple of days.You can put in double what it states on the can.It may take a couple of tanks of fuel to see full effect.
:cool:

tcrave · 06-06-2011, 03:43 PM

Thanks for the replies. I have already put an half a can in the tank already, nothing really has changed. Will probably try some more.

I am almost sure they lied to me now. I went out and checked it again and it is definitely leaking something. There were actually a couple drips hanging down, waiting to fall, so I put my finger in it and it smells and looks like oil to me. I'm not very familiar with carbs...how the hell is oil leaking out of it??? Is oil supposed to be in carb?

Yes, I have messed with the idle screw thing on the carb quite a bit actually. When I first got it, I had it set to idle VERY low, kinda liked it....but I have been adjusting it up now since it won't idle that low anymore without dieing. I'm going to keep trying to lower it more and more to see if I can get it back to where it was before without dieing.

It hasn't died again since that one time, but like I said, I have adjusted the idle up a little.

I'd really like to clean the carb out....I would rather do it myself so I know how to do it and it would be a ton cheaper, but I honestly have no idea how. Does anyone know of a good instruction manual or instruction video for this?

Pretty disappointing that people lie straight to my face, but whatever, guess thats how people operate these days. I think I still got it for a good enough price though so far. $1,200 for a decent running bike that needs a little maintenance still isn't bad.

blaine · 06-06-2011, 04:14 PM

Geezer is talking about the "idle mixture screw".A totally different thing than the "idle screw'.Don't try to idle the bike down too low,as it's not good for the engine.Idle should be around 1200 rpm.Do a search,there are a lot of threads on cleaning the carb.
:cool:

alantf · 06-06-2011, 04:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tcrave

Yes, I have messed with the idle screw thing on the carb quite a bit actually. When I first got it, I had it set to idle VERY low, kinda liked it....but I have been adjusting it up now since it won't idle that low anymore without dieing. I'm going to keep trying to lower it more and more to see if I can get it back to where it was before without dieing.

Are you talking about the big white knob, under the carb? If you are, then it should be set to 1200 to 1400 rpm at tickover, with the choke off, & the engine HOT.

Actually, this is what Suzuki recommend, but you can take it as the starting point for what suits you. LOW REVS ARE NOT GOOD.

geezer · 06-06-2011, 06:24 PM

yes low revs baaaaad. doing the carb on your bike should be very simple for you. removing the tank takes about 5 minutes then just get a god look at what your doing and go for it :2tup: but if your nervous about the task better not try it without some supervision

tcrave · 06-06-2011, 06:59 PM

Thanks guys! Yea, I was talking about the little white knob. Guess I will have to do a little more research to figure out what you guys are talking about then. Thanks for letting me know about the idle! How do I know how high it is idling without a tachometer? I drive a 5 speed car, so I know the idle on that pretty well, but I am not familiar with how the idle should sound on a motorcycle. My last motorcycle was a 700cc and had a tachometer.

I will look again, but I have searched and searched and have not found a good read up on cleaning the carb. But, I will look again. I would prefer to do it under supervision, but I don't know anyone around here that is good at doing it and willing to spend them time with me. My dad knows how to do it on cars, but no motorcycles and he is 4 hours away anyway.

tcrave · 06-06-2011, 06:59 PM

Oh, and will rebuilding the carb fix the leaking? Is it "normal" (in a general sense) for oil to be leaking out the carb?

oh, and I have already had the tank off, so thats easy for me, it literally took me, like you said, minutes to do. I wanted a thorough cleaning, so I took the tank off to clean the bike, lol...I'm a little ocd on cleaning.....which is another reason this yellow haze is frustrating me. It seems the more I get into motorcycles and the more problems I have, the more I know what to look for when buying my next one! My last motorcycle had a few issues, so I knew to look for those on this one, but this one is giving me more issues too, so now I am learning more...so thats a plus. And, I got the bike cheap enough that minor problems are not the end of the world. Glad I got it for cheap though.

Water Warrior 2 · 06-06-2011, 07:18 PM

There should be no oil in the carb to leak out. Are you sure it is oil ? .....Rebuilding the carb using new gaskets etc should solve any leaks. If the needle and seat for the carb float is overly high then there is a possibility that fuel would leak out. But I will leave it to the guys who know carbs better than I. Some one will be along soon.

06-05-2011, 02:26 PM	#1
tcrave Member Join Date: May 2011 Location: Cape Girardeau, MO Posts: 90	Yellow Haze Below the Carb? When I bought my gz, the people said that it had just had a complete tune-up, including the carb being rebuilt, but I have my doubts. People don't tell the full truth, simple as that. I have a large feeling that they lied about the entire thing. When I got home, it was having some troubles shifting, so I changed the oil and it was NASTY! I e-mailed the lady and asked if she had ever had trouble with shifting and told her I changed the oil and she emailed me back saying that no, she had never had troubles and then informed me the oil hadn't been changed in a long time and probably needed it. What the hell? I thought an oil change was standard in a tune up? O-well, whatever, I was expecting to be lied to, I just factored that into negotiations. Turns out the hard shifting is normal for these bikes, either they don't have a first gear synchro, or it is out. Not a big deal though, just have to keep it in mind while riding. Anyway, I now have a new problem. I was riding my bike down the street to work and all the sudden, it died. It was decently warm, so I tried to start it again and it wouldn't start. So, I pulled the choke level and it started again. I left the choke on the entire ride and then once I got to work, I turned the choke back off and the bike died...well dang! So then after I got off work, I started it up again and it would idle a little high with the choke on, and so I turned it to half way and it was still a little high, so I turned it all the way down and the bike died. So,I had to ride with the idle a little high and the choke half on. But, then after I let it sit for a day, its fine now. But, here is the part that worries me too...I went to wash my bike yesterday evening and noticed a yellowish has all over the carb and on the metal casing right below the carb. I figured it might have just been a stain, but then I started scrubbing and with a HARD scrub, it started coming off...now I'm a bit worried. Any ideas? Login or Register to Remove Ads
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06-05-2011, 04:24 PM	#2
geezer Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: dahlonega GA Posts: 563	Re: Yellow Haze Below the Carb? might be your float bowl gasket leaking, my bike develps this yellowness on the bottome of the carb too. im not to worried about it yet as it doesnt leak or drip on the engine, i am keeping tabs on it though. as far as the stalling, have you messed with the mixtur screw yet on the bottom of the carb? mine would also stall hot i checked it and the screw was 7 turns out! should be around 3 max! check it out __________________ 99 gz 250 and a currently dismantled fzr 1000
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06-05-2011, 04:30 PM	#3
blaine Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: P.E.I. Canada Posts: 3,784	Re: Yellow Haze Below the Carb? Sounds to me like the carb was flooding and is dirty.If they didn't change the oil,I doubt they done any maintenance.Put some Sea Foam or Berryman's B-12 in the tank and run it for a couple of days.You can put in double what it states on the can.It may take a couple of tanks of fuel to see full effect. :cool: __________________ If at first you do succeed, try not to look surprised. Login or Register to Remove Ads
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06-06-2011, 03:43 PM	#4
tcrave Member Join Date: May 2011 Location: Cape Girardeau, MO Posts: 90	Re: Yellow Haze Below the Carb? Thanks for the replies. I have already put an half a can in the tank already, nothing really has changed. Will probably try some more. I am almost sure they lied to me now. I went out and checked it again and it is definitely leaking something. There were actually a couple drips hanging down, waiting to fall, so I put my finger in it and it smells and looks like oil to me. I'm not very familiar with carbs...how the hell is oil leaking out of it??? Is oil supposed to be in carb? Yes, I have messed with the idle screw thing on the carb quite a bit actually. When I first got it, I had it set to idle VERY low, kinda liked it....but I have been adjusting it up now since it won't idle that low anymore without dieing. I'm going to keep trying to lower it more and more to see if I can get it back to where it was before without dieing. It hasn't died again since that one time, but like I said, I have adjusted the idle up a little. I'd really like to clean the carb out....I would rather do it myself so I know how to do it and it would be a ton cheaper, but I honestly have no idea how. Does anyone know of a good instruction manual or instruction video for this? Pretty disappointing that people lie straight to my face, but whatever, guess thats how people operate these days. I think I still got it for a good enough price though so far. $1,200 for a decent running bike that needs a little maintenance still isn't bad.
	0

06-06-2011, 04:14 PM	#5
blaine Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: P.E.I. Canada Posts: 3,784	Re: Yellow Haze Below the Carb? Geezer is talking about the "idle mixture screw".A totally different thing than the "idle screw'.Don't try to idle the bike down too low,as it's not good for the engine.Idle should be around 1200 rpm.Do a search,there are a lot of threads on cleaning the carb. :cool: __________________ If at first you do succeed, try not to look surprised. Login or Register to Remove Ads
	0

06-06-2011, 06:24 PM	#7
geezer Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: dahlonega GA Posts: 563	Re: Yellow Haze Below the Carb? yes low revs baaaaad. doing the carb on your bike should be very simple for you. removing the tank takes about 5 minutes then just get a god look at what your doing and go for it :2tup: but if your nervous about the task better not try it without some supervision __________________ 99 gz 250 and a currently dismantled fzr 1000
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06-06-2011, 06:59 PM	#8
tcrave Member Join Date: May 2011 Location: Cape Girardeau, MO Posts: 90	Re: Yellow Haze Below the Carb? Thanks guys! Yea, I was talking about the little white knob. Guess I will have to do a little more research to figure out what you guys are talking about then. Thanks for letting me know about the idle! How do I know how high it is idling without a tachometer? I drive a 5 speed car, so I know the idle on that pretty well, but I am not familiar with how the idle should sound on a motorcycle. My last motorcycle was a 700cc and had a tachometer. I will look again, but I have searched and searched and have not found a good read up on cleaning the carb. But, I will look again. I would prefer to do it under supervision, but I don't know anyone around here that is good at doing it and willing to spend them time with me. My dad knows how to do it on cars, but no motorcycles and he is 4 hours away anyway.
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06-06-2011, 06:59 PM	#9
tcrave Member Join Date: May 2011 Location: Cape Girardeau, MO Posts: 90	Re: Yellow Haze Below the Carb? Oh, and will rebuilding the carb fix the leaking? Is it "normal" (in a general sense) for oil to be leaking out the carb? oh, and I have already had the tank off, so thats easy for me, it literally took me, like you said, minutes to do. I wanted a thorough cleaning, so I took the tank off to clean the bike, lol...I'm a little ocd on cleaning.....which is another reason this yellow haze is frustrating me. It seems the more I get into motorcycles and the more problems I have, the more I know what to look for when buying my next one! My last motorcycle had a few issues, so I knew to look for those on this one, but this one is giving me more issues too, so now I am learning more...so thats a plus. And, I got the bike cheap enough that minor problems are not the end of the world. Glad I got it for cheap though.
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06-06-2011, 07:18 PM	#10
Water Warrior 2 Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Squamish B.C Canada Posts: 11,409	Re: Yellow Haze Below the Carb? There should be no oil in the carb to leak out. Are you sure it is oil ? .....Rebuilding the carb using new gaskets etc should solve any leaks. If the needle and seat for the carb float is overly high then there is a possibility that fuel would leak out. But I will leave it to the guys who know carbs better than I. Some one will be along soon.
	0