My first major problem

[tizod]

Yesterday I started breaking down some of my bike.  The main goal was to get the gas tank off and emptied before my POR-15 arrives in the mail.

I have hit a snag however...

There is a small amount of gas in the tank and when I move the tank back and forth I can hear what sounds like sand sloshing around.  I am assuming it is rust.

My thought was that I would remove the fuel gauge thingy (I am not sure of it's technical name) from the tank and then would be able to get the gas and soot out freely.  The problem is the two screws that hold that thing onto the tank are pretty weak and are easily stripping when I try to loosen them.

I obviously can't drill or cut at it (since there is gas in the tank) so I am not sure what to do.  Is there a product I can get to help get these screws off?

That is my biggest hurdle right now.

I did also remove the airfilter and checked out the carbs without removing them.  I was actually surprised how clean looking they are...but then again, I have never done this before so I don't know what a dirty one would really look like.   :P

Thanks again.

[tizod]

I just re-read this and realized that I did not describe the part clearly.

It is the part where the gas comes out of the tank and into the engine.  Again, I am not sure what the technical name is.

Thanks.

[h2olawyer]

Hi Tizod -

The fuel thingy is called a petcock. ?The solid particles you are hearing mixed in with the remaining gas is most likely rust. ?Mine made the same sounds before I lined my tank. ?I got all the gas out that I could first - it was fairly easy for me, the rust in one lower corner made a fairly large hole. ?It was just a leak at first but when I pressed on it, the area opened up to about a 1/4 inch hole. ?The remaining gas and rust drained out easily then!

As for your screws, are the threads stripping or are the heads deforming? ?First, try spraying them liberally with PB Blaster, (available at many auto parts stores - my NAPA has it locally)wait a while for it to work and then try removing the screws. ?If that fails and it is the threads, you might need to drill them out after emptying the tank and washing it out. ?If it is the heads, I'd try using vice grips on them. ?If the heads twist off, you will have no other choice than to drill them for either use of an EZ out or through drill them with a left hand bit - I've found that often, the left hand bit will get part way through the screw and it will break loose and come out before you get all the way through.

Hope this helps & good luck.

H2o

Just one more thought - with all that rust in your tank, your carbs may look clean but you can be fairly sure that some tiny rust particles have found their way into them.  I'd say it is a sure thing if your bike does not have an inline fuel filter between the petcock and carbs.  If you are fairly handy and have some experience rebuilding carbs, you can disassemble, dip and clean them while you are waiting for the POR - 15 kit to arrive and dry.

[nvdranger]

Has H20 said your carbs may look clean but thats probably not the case.  My carbs looked really clean as well and when I broke them down and rebuilt them there was a layer of varnish in the bowl of the carb.  However my bike sat for a few years and I don't know if you will have the same issue.  
As a side note rebuilding them will make sure you have the correct jets as well as having new o-rings.  The previous owner didn't have any problems, supposedly, but I found a few of the o-rings were shot and could cause a problem in the future.  Just my 2cents.

Good luck
Ken

[tizod]

I thought it was the petcock.... ::)  Thanks for clearing that up.

It looks like it is just the head of the screw that is the problem.  I tried using a couple of different drivers to get it out but none of them even gave it a budge so I tried my cordless drill/driver and that just started stripping the heads.

I think I will try and find some of that PB Blaster and get started on that.

I would love to get started on the Carbs but I don't have the manual as of yet.  Is there on on-line version anywhere?

[scootertramp]

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[tizod]

Thanks again for the advice.

I went out today and got some of that PB Blaster and it sure 'nough did the trick.  I got all the old gas and hopefully all the rust out of the tank.

Thanks.

[Lucky]

I champion PBlaster, it's incredible stuff & no other penatrating fluid comes close to being as good...