trouble in fuel tank land

[kiawrench]

 after all of the wrecks, poor judgement modifications and completely stupid things i have tried to do to a vision ,i now have the new improved ,ready to ride black vision all set up- but it leaks .
wires, bearings, stator update , swingarm bushings ,new skins , and a host of other tinkers and tweaks, but i have hit a wall. i have a leak between petcock and the tank, and as of my third day trying different gasket material, compounds and bolts, it still refuses to stop leaking. it is definately the petcock to tank mating that is the issue, used baby powder method to track it back to source.  any well kept secrets out there that may help?  ( other than taking it down to machine shop and having both surfaces ground to true flat )

so far i have tried :
composite gasket, hand cut ,
4 types of sealant ,including indian head
santoprene sheet ,cut to fit
new  machine screws
old machine screws
yamabond,
black rtv
cork gasket
and my worst nightmare--- the $5.30 factory "o"ring"

i even tried my spare petcock, same result .


each of these items holds for about 4 minutes, then the trickle starts ,becoming a definate steady drip from the tank points by minute 9 .  i can't see any surface distortion, even with straight edge, ,but i cant really get the tool in place to be 100 percent sure



  i think it is time for me to start hitting the sales, e-bay ,craig's list and the salvage yards again - the black ride is a build up ,based on the remains of three bikes that i have had and messed up one way or another. the only other visions i know of locally are in limbo, one is all done, ready to ride and freshly painted, but in storage until owner returns from overseas duty - th esecond is still an in th eair project bike that was listed on craig's list, owner asked for help, i offered to set the bike right for him,( no charge) , but have had no response in over a week

[YellowJacket!]

Try some thread sealer on the bolts that hold the petcock on.  I had a similar problem.
I also used the rubberized paper fiber gasket material to make a gasket to seal mine and it worked.
You may also want to sand the surface area where the petcock meets the tank.

David

[Rick G]

I put flat washers under the bolt heads , then nylon washers, no leaks. Also I'm using socket dead screws.

[inanecathode]

It's probably the washers. They're nylon and meant to seal the head/threads of the screw. You could try gooping the threads and the head of the bolt where it seals into the body.

[kiawrench]

got it fixed :

removed petcock,
sanded tank in area of and around
used short steel rule, found bow in mount surface
flatten seating surface using ding hammer and long anvil from fill port to hole
replace expensive rubber o ring
replace screws
replace nylok washers
replace original screen assembly with nos
install unit into place, torque to spec


still
leaked


cut section of santoprene bushing to size , heat petcock in toaster oven to 150 ,install santo prene to petcock to tank, tighten screws to spec--- leak fixed, wallet empty, bike running, am off to ride this repair out of my head .

[kwells]

Ride Sally Ride

[inanecathode]

Kia you sound like Rorschach

"The tank is an extended carb bowl. And the carb bowls are full of crud"