Fuel pouring into GL1000 exhaust

3326 Views 8 Replies 4 Participants Last post by exavid, Aug 5, 2013

sbcgos

Discussion Starter · Aug 5, 2013

Just finished getting my 78 GL1000 running. Went to take it for a test run and noticed that after about 2 minutes it started loosing power and running poorly, It then shut down and wouldn't restart. Had to sit on the side of the road and wait about 30 minutes for it to restart and barely made it home.

Today, Checked and replaced fuel filter, 1st thought was maybe a blocked filter. Made sure it was full of all fluids, done. Fired it up and it ran about 2 minutes again and lost power and died. I did notice white smoke from left side exhaust and fluid collecting around the lip of the exhaust.

Pulled the exhaust and and bumped it over to see if the valves were operating, they where, but when I bumped it over, a large quantity of fuel came out my #2 exhaust. spun it over and immediately the fuel caught fire and flames shot out the exhaust.

Would this be due to the float on the #2 exhaust? or is there any other way fuel is building up so much it is pouring out the exhaust? I have rebuilt the carbs, adjusted the floats, synched them, and everything my shade tree mechanic self can do.

I am hoping and believing it is just a carb issue. If not I am pretty close to my end with this thing.

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neoracer

· #2 · Aug 5, 2013

carbs

would have to be a stuck float ,might try tapping carb with a small hammer to see if float will reseat,otherwise your only choice is to pull carbs again

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sbcgos

Discussion Starter · #3 · Aug 5, 2013

Took the carbs off and rechecked all the floats. The only one that wasn't sitting at 21 was the #2 carb which was between 22-23. Put them back on and fired it up, ran it without the exhaust on for a pretty good while and didn't notice it happening again. Next step is to button it back up and road test.

Could the float being off just that little bit have been the issue? Seems extreme, but I now how picky these things are.

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sbcgos

Discussion Starter · #4 · Aug 5, 2013

OK, maybe I am all wrong on this fuel issue. After putting the carbs back on and running it for a few minutes without the left exhaust on I couldn't notice any fuel entering the exhaust. Bolted everything back up and ran it. Same issue is still happening. I feel though it may be something else. It is running better with choke on 3/4 to full than with it off. Plus, after about a few minutes of running it just dies, and when it dies it seems like it is starving for fuel. I can't describe it any better, sorry. After it dies it is hard to get recranked and I have to have choke on and just a tad on the throttle. Still getting white smoke from the left exhaust, but wondering if that is residual from it flooding the other day.

If it was getting too much fuel wouldn't it act differently? I am stumped on this one.

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CaptainMidnight85

· #5 · Aug 5, 2013

1st - "white" smoke is not fuel.
2nd - stop running the engine without the header on the cylinder head.

I would do a leak-down test on the radiator. Could be that what you are seeing as fluid is a mixture of coolant and fuel. Could be that the leak is a head gasket and only leaks after being warmed-up a bit.

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sbcgos

Discussion Starter · #6 · Aug 5, 2013

Roger, and Roger.

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sbcgos

Discussion Starter · #7 · Aug 5, 2013

Okay, I've never done anything like that, so how would I go about performing this leak down test. I did notice my coolant level was low, but I can't be 100 % certain I had it completely topped off after I chased down some coolant tube leaks. I'd like to be as certain as I can about a head gasket issue before I tear into that.

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CaptainMidnight85

· #8 · Aug 5, 2013

I would pressure test the cooling system. If it holds pressure, then the white smoke problem isn't associated with that.

Many auto parts stores will lend a cooling system pressurizing kit to do a leak-down test. The kits have adapters for different size radiator cap openings. The GL cap is small, but so are many auto radiator caps.

Get the kit, pump the system up and start looking for leaks. After about 20 minutes the pressure should still be the same.

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exavid

· #9 · Aug 5, 2013

If you're getting a lot of water vapor aka 'white smoke' out of your exhaust it's sure a strong sign of water in a cylinder(s). A quick check is to pull the plugs on that side and see what they look like. Usually on that's been in a cylinder with coolant leaking in will look much cleaner, like it's been steam cleaned, which it has. Another quick check is to remove the radiator cap, start up the engine and watch for bubbles in the radiator neck. If you see a bunch, that's also a good indication of a head gasket leak. One more thing to look at is to see how the coolant level is in the radiator and the expansion tank, if it's going down the only likely place for it to go is into the engine. Check your oil as well for level and odd brown color or 'fudgyness' indicating coolant is getting into the engine. You really can't get white smoke out of the engine unless coolant is getting into the cylinder(s) or exhaust manifold.

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