1992 VN1500-A6-Flooding bad please help asap

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sikatrix500cc
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1992 VN1500-A6-Flooding bad please help asap

Postby sikatrix500cc » Fri Feb 24, 2012 4:53 am

Hey i got an issue here with my 1992 Kawsaki vulcan 88 1500cc. A few days ago the bike ran fine, no hesitation, backfiring, etc it just started and once warmed up ran perfect and strong... Today my father went and took it to get some gas but when he was waiting at a light it started to spit and sputter like running on one cylinder then shut off and he notices gas running down the side of the engine i think he said. it was either running fown the side or the hose that runs from the carb to just in front of the back tire... But anyways, it stalled on him and he had to push it back home... when he got here he let it sit 4 hours or so then started it again, it started and ran really rough and was backfiring every few seconds or so, like just short quiet pops (not normal pops) and ran super rough and then the gas started coming out of that hose again, i believe he put that hose on there attatched to the original hose to lengthen it to the back so he could test it with a can there to catchthe gas and so it wouldnt leak all over the side of the bike.... but anyways he said its the hose from the carbes that just kinda hangs there and isnt attached to anything. After it leaked a little bit, it stalled out... it has a half tank of gas now and he put about 1/4 of a bottle of sea foam in it to see it it would clear up but it was leaking so much gas out the tube we couldnt let it run very long.... any idea what that hose is? and why the bike all of a sudden is running like crap out of nowhere and flooding gas all over? Maybe the Float needle is stuck? should i pour seafoam directly into the carb to see if that will loosen it? What can i do so i dont have to take the carbs out, any ideas? The bike has 24,000 miles... its got k&n pod filters, Jardine pipes, and a stage 3 jet kit that was put on by the PO. it ran fine when we first got it but it started acting up for a while so we replaced the grounds, put all new fluids, put a new ignition box, new NGK plugs, new NGK wires, coils are fine, when it was running bad even after all that we took it to a guy and he installed a fuel pressure regulator set at 2 and synced the carbs. My dad was a tank mechanic in vietnam and was also ASE certified here for like 30 yrs so he has every tool and and alot of knowledge about engines but isnt too good with motorcycle engine.... and ideas? plz healp... i just paid for a year of insurance from progressive for $98 and i hope it wasnt a waste :-P
Thanks,
Will aka "sik"

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Triangles
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Re: 1992 VN1500-A6-Flooding bad please help asap

Postby Triangles » Sat Feb 25, 2012 12:21 am

I'm not familiar with that model, but from my general knowledge of motorcycles, it sounds like the hose you speak of is a vent hose for the carbs? I'm guessing the needle float valve in the float bowl has failed. This valve stops the flow of gas from the gas tank when the float bowl is full of gas. Typically when these fail you get gas running down into the intake and/or coming out of carb intake. It would make sense if this hose you speak of is the float bowl vent and gas could come out there as well. It's just a few inexpensive parts usually to put in a new needle float valve your local shop should be able to hook u up with what you need. If it is the needle float valve you should also change the oil once it is fixed as the engine oil usually gets contaminated with gas. You wouldn't want to run the engine with oil that's been diluted with gas. Hope this helps.

EDIT: edited to correct my misuse of the work "needle" instead of "float"
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sikatrix500cc
Posts: 37
Joined: Mon Jan 02, 2012 9:32 pm
I ride: 2000 Kawasaki Vulcan 500
Location: West palm beach florida
Contact:

Re: 1992 VN1500-A6-Flooding bad please help asap

Postby sikatrix500cc » Sat Feb 25, 2012 2:35 am

Thanks brother! Yeah it pours out of that hose like crazy. Runs like crap too. Doesnt smoke or anything, it just constantly backfires but really lightly if that makes sense lol and idles really rough, i guess i should refrain from starting it till the oil is changed? Should I just change the oil or flush it somehow? (like with seafoam for a few min then drain the oil and refill it with new oil or is that onky meant to,flush car engines).... Is it hard to do what you spoke of? Like im intermediately mechanically inclined. ocars i have changed oil, spark plugs, wires, cap/rotor, brakes, and ive helped my father put a edelbrock performer intake manifold and help change the jets in a holley 4 barrel 650cfm carburetor in his 1971 Ford F-100 with a 351w. And ive also put a B&M Shift Kit in my 1979 firebird formula with 400 rocket roller rocker engine, then i rebuilt the rochester 750cfm monster 4 barrel carb on that to. So do u think I could handle doing this? should I do both carbs I take it? Should i just get the needle or is there a kit or something? IDK exactly what to look for can you help me and link me everything that i need to buy to fix this? It's a 1992 Kawasaki Vulcan 88 1500 (Kawasaki VN1500-A6). If you can Thanks brother! . If you can just link the parts I'd need and anything else i may need to do it (for example the gasket maker stuff that looks like grease) or real gaskets lol. Thank you so much for helpin me. I'm pretty sure i can do this (maybe lol) but idk what to order. :-) your the man Mr. triangles! I'll post pics of the bike tomorrow, and the '71 Ford F-100.
Thanks,
Will aka "sik"

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Triangles
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Re: 1992 VN1500-A6-Flooding bad please help asap

Postby Triangles » Sat Feb 25, 2012 2:19 pm

First off sorry for any confusion, I was exhausted when I replied and misspoke. I said "needle valve" but I meant "float valve." Two very different things.

Sometimes there's a kit sometimes you just order the few parts you need. Your local shop should be able to tell you if there's a kit available or what parts you need. I'm not familiar with that bike and as such wouldn't be able to help with what you need. Even for the 500 I'd have to dig out my shop manual to see what is needed. Many online shops have parts fiches where you can look at exploded diagrams and such. If you can't find one, go to the How-To section and look it up on Kawasaki's parts fiche.

The part of the carb where it seems you have a problem works as follows: The various jets in a carb pull fuel from a "reservoir" called the float bowl. The float bowl has a piece called a float that floats on the gas as the chamber fills. Attached to this float is a valve that shuts off the in flow of gas when the gasoline reaches the appropriate fill level. The valve is usually a piece of brass with a cone shaped end that is pushed into the opening that the gas flows in. I just thought of something else that could also be the problem. If the float has sprung a leak and is filled with gasoline instead of air, it obviously won't float and therefore not close the float valve. This is easy to tell when you take the float bowl off and remove the float. Check if it has liquid inside, if so that may be the problem and not the valve. If there is ANY liquid inside the float it needs to be replaced.

Anyone even slightly mechanically inclined should be able to do fix this. The fix usually consists of unscrewing the float bowl and replacing the brass piece and the little piece of rubber or plastic it seals against. Some bikes you can do this with out having to remove the carb. The brass piece usually has a cone shaped end that is pushed up to some sort of sealing surface. Visual inspection indicating any deformity of this cone shape should give you a good idea of whether or not it would be able to seal. I wouldn't want to do it without a shop manual to make sure I get all the little bits and pieces back in right. Besides I'd also want to check and adjust if necessary the float level after fixing it since having the float level too high or too low will make your idle too rich or too lean. Most shop manuals say you need a special tool for this but I've always used some clear tubing and a ruler. You might be able to get by without a manual by studying parts diagrams, but the piece of mind a manual offers is worth it to me.

If it's a bad float and the valve still seals, then It would probably be a good idea to check the float in the other carb. If you end up replacing the valve, I'd do it in both carbs, because the parts are cheap and the piece of mind that you won't have the possibility of the other carb having the same problem in the near future. If the float in the other carb looks ok I probably wouldn't bother replacing it since i don't really see it as a wear item where I would view the valve as a wear item.

I think you'd be ok starting it before changing the oil. I just wouldn't run it very long or put a load on it by riding it. The exception would be if you had what has happened to others where the gas has leaked over night and they have one or more quarts of fuel mixed in with the oil. In that case I wouldn't start it. Check your oil level and for that matter check to see how much the oil smells like gas. You may have gotten lucky and gotten little to no gas in your oil. Sounds like its mostly draining out the vent tube instead of going down the intake. Unless you have a large quantity of gas in your oil (ie the exception noted above), you shouldn't need to do anything other than just change your oil. If it makes you feel better to do something more. Buy some cheap generic automotive 10W40 (or whatever weight is specified for this engine) when you change the oil. Run the engine a few times and then change back to your regular oil. Using any sort of flush would be overkill and depending on what you use could harm your clutch. As a side note; gasoline is a very strong solvent with very poor lubrication properties, so in essence the gasoline in the oil would have the same effect of an engine flush except with less lubrication protection.

There are a couple other Kawasaki related forums out there, try Googling the bike model with float valve or something. You might find someone who has a procedure with picts to follow. Good luck!
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sikatrix500cc
Posts: 37
Joined: Mon Jan 02, 2012 9:32 pm
I ride: 2000 Kawasaki Vulcan 500
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Re: 1992 VN1500-A6-Flooding bad please help asap

Postby sikatrix500cc » Sun Mar 11, 2012 5:42 pm

Thanx for your help man!! I got my courage up and took tbe carbs out and cleaned them with carb cleaner and a short sea foam soak. Bike runs likw a beast. Its a 92 vulcan 88 1500cc with stage 3 jet kit, k&n pod filters and jardine pipes. I even out on a fue oressure regulator.and that helped alot. Bike hauls ass now lol.. I wish I had,$2900. Theres @ 2009 vulcan 500 a few moles from my house...
Thanks,
Will aka "sik"

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Triangles
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Re: 1992 VN1500-A6-Flooding bad please help asap

Postby Triangles » Sun Mar 11, 2012 7:01 pm

Glad you got her runnin.
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sikatrix500cc
Posts: 37
Joined: Mon Jan 02, 2012 9:32 pm
I ride: 2000 Kawasaki Vulcan 500
Location: West palm beach florida
Contact:

Re: 1992 VN1500-A6-Flooding bad please help asap

Postby sikatrix500cc » Sun Mar 11, 2012 8:18 pm

Thanx my vulcan brother
Thanks,
Will aka "sik"


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