Prairiehammer Posted September 2, 2014 Share #51 Posted September 2, 2014 any hints on where to find a fuel sending unit? looked at the popular online parts places with no luck, saw a used one on Ebay, but that is really about it. Found just one on eBay? Using this search term: venture fuel sending unit I found 40+. Starting from $14 with free shipping. FWIW, all First Gen Ventures use the same sending unit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcgyverit Posted September 2, 2014 Author Share #52 Posted September 2, 2014 apparently wasn't sorting correctly through the drop downs on ebay. early morning and all, thanks again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcgyverit Posted September 15, 2014 Author Share #53 Posted September 15, 2014 used POR-15 gas tank seal kit. works really well, amazed that it came out clean on the inside with all of that rust I saw in there. since the rear frame was off, cleaned the rear end of the bike off in order to get ready for the assembly of the tank and such. putting new seals where I can on the tank to hopefully prevent any issues down the road. got a replacement fuel sending unit and fuel filter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcgyverit Posted October 1, 2014 Author Share #54 Posted October 1, 2014 installed my freshly rebuilt carbs this past weekend only to discover that the choke mechanism on the carbs doesn't move. I was really looking forward to starting it again and listen to it idle, but... so last night I removed the carbs again and see what is wrong with the choke as it worked prior to the first removal, so something got boogered up at the shop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcgyverit Posted October 3, 2014 Author Share #55 Posted October 3, 2014 apparently once clean so completely some graphite lube help the brass parts slide easier. all is back to normal, so going to try and get it back together this weekend Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Condor Posted October 3, 2014 Share #56 Posted October 3, 2014 I traded for an 84 with 25K miles that doesn't have a title and has been left neglected uncovered in a carport for about a year. It was one of those it ran when I parked it kind of thing. looks like most of the pieces are intact, although some of the body work is cracked here and there, but nothing serious. my goal is to make it road worthy and safe to be able to take on some short trips. if we like that sort of thing then upgrade to a newer model somewhere along the way. started tearing pieces off of the frame to get an idea where all the key components are located not to mention reading a lot of posts on here for vital information. looks like somehow the PO blew the main fuse, swapped that out for an inline style from NAPA, filled and charged the battery and turned the key and it appears all the main switches function: turn signals, horn, lights, as well as the digital display. that is a good start anyway. checked fluids and the oil is really clean, looks almost new. has coolant nice and green, smell gas in the tank but pretty sure it is nasty, the fuel gauge showed 1/4 tank. put some oil down the cylinders and hit the start button but apparently the battery isn't strong enough as it just clicks the solenoid. not that I wanted it to start just yet, but see if it cranked anyway. next step is to drain the gas tank and put fresh gas in it along with some seafoam in the carbs and let it soak, get a good jump from a decent battery and check everything else out functionally. and then try starting it. I don't have much hope of it actually starting and running decent without some serious carb cleaning but if it cranks and tries to start I am ok with that! About '06 I bought an '83 that had been sitting outside in the weather for 3 years. No clutch, no brakes, and the battery was deader than a doornail. Wasn't sure if it was going to be parted out, or put back on the street. Running was the main factor. Put a fresh battery in her, sprayed carb cleaner down the venturies, turned the key and it coughed and ran for about 3 seconds before turning her off. Cool!! Poured fresh gas into the tank and a full can of Sea Foam. Started it again with the carb cleaner, and eventually she started to run on her own.... But like crap... Let it idle and the longer it ran the better it ran. Cleaned it up, bled the clutch and brakes, and took it on a 100 mile ride. I felt she even ran stronger than my first '83. Sold it a couple of months later. MOF I think I have a pic of both of them in my gallery... 'Double Trouble'.... BTW I never did flush out the tank... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zagger Posted October 4, 2014 Share #57 Posted October 4, 2014 As part of your gas tank cleaning efforts, you might want to consider putting in some stuff called "Red Kote": http://damonq.com/techsheets/red-kote.pdf My '83 gas tank seemed generally ok on the outside but I noticed quite a bit of rust sitting down in the "crevasses" where the sheet metal sections are welded together. Rather than fight with dirty gas forever, I simply used Red Kote to encapsulate and trap the rusty bits. Of course, I first cleaned out the inside of the tank as well as I could and made sure it was completely dry before using the Red Kote stuff. As I remember, after banging chains and soapy water around inside the tank (water lowers the spark/explosion risk), I rinsed the tank very well with water and then with denatured alcohol simply to remove as much of the water as possible before trying to dry it out. Then I let a small fan blow air through the tank (in the level sensor location, out the filler) for several days before doing the coating. As I remember, the Red Kote stuff is kind of syrupy and wasn't very easy to get it to flow around inside the tank. Diluting it a little with MEK helped a lot. By the way: Red Kote and MEK are not good to breath in - work outside and leave the tank outside for a day or two to fully dry. Both are very flammable/explosive so be careful and don't smoke or do anything that makes sparks. Hope this helps, zag Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcgyverit Posted October 7, 2014 Author Share #58 Posted October 7, 2014 got the carbs back on this weekend. flushed my fuel pump out to make sure that there was no debris in there as well after getting the carbs and gas tank clean, didn't want any chance of that problem again. hooked the tank up, put some gas in it and powered it up. fuel pump was cruising along and I was looking for leaks anywhere around the carbs. I am smelling fuel and see it running down right in front of the rear wheel. crap! thought maybe the tank was leaking. pulled the tank back off and power it up again and see it running out one of the overfill tubes. great. frustrated at that point I turned everything off and went to researching as to what could be the cause, seems as though one of the floats must be stuck from what I have read. about that time I got distracted with something else so I left it alone and will come back to it soon. getting very close to good running condition though. if I can get it to idle that will be a huge step it getting road ready for next spring. over the winter I am planning on getting the brakes sorted out and working. that should be really all that is needed to get it road worthy. cosmetics will come later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Condor Posted October 7, 2014 Share #59 Posted October 7, 2014 I am smelling fuel and see it running down right in front of the rear wheel. crap! . Probably one of your carb float bowl needle valves is stuck wide open. Trace back from the hose that's leaking to the carb, and pull the bowl drain screw out. Take a long skinny (broom straw) and run it up into the bowl and see if you can get it to move. It's probably just varnished up and stuck open. Once it's working you shouldn't have a problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowpuc Posted October 7, 2014 Share #60 Posted October 7, 2014 (edited) As part of your gas tank cleaning efforts, you might want to consider putting in some stuff called "Red Kote": http://damonq.com/techsheets/red-kote.pdf My '83 gas tank seemed generally ok on the outside but I noticed quite a bit of rust sitting down in the "crevasses" where the sheet metal sections are welded together. Rather than fight with dirty gas forever, I simply used Red Kote to encapsulate and trap the rusty bits. Of course, I first cleaned out the inside of the tank as well as I could and made sure it was completely dry before using the Red Kote stuff. As I remember, after banging chains and soapy water around inside the tank (water lowers the spark/explosion risk), I rinsed the tank very well with water and then with denatured alcohol simply to remove as much of the water as possible before trying to dry it out. Then I let a small fan blow air through the tank (in the level sensor location, out the filler) for several days before doing the coating. As I remember, the Red Kote stuff is kind of syrupy and wasn't very easy to get it to flow around inside the tank. Diluting it a little with MEK helped a lot. By the way: Red Kote and MEK are not good to breath in - work outside and leave the tank outside for a day or two to fully dry. Both are very flammable/explosive so be careful and don't smoke or do anything that makes sparks. Hope this helps, zag I am with Zag on the Red Coat, have used many "Tank Coat" methods and Red Coat has worked the best of the best, IMHO. MEK works great for the cut too, Acetone will also work but it seems to evaporate real fast, either way be sure to listen to Zags advice about NO SMOKING and working in good ventilation!! By the way, one of the best prep methods for coating (or just to clean the tank) that I have found is soaking the tank internally with white vinegar.. Fill it up and let it set a few days,, stuff eats rust!! Probably one of your carb float bowl needle valves is stuck wide open. Trace back from the hose that's leaking to the carb, and pull the bowl drain screw out. Take a long skinny (broom straw) and run it up into the bowl and see if you can get it to move. It's probably just varnished up and stuck open. Once it's working you shouldn't have a problem. You could try this too, figure out which carb has the float sticking, try tapping on that carb bowl with the handle of screw driver or wood dowel.. If it does shut off as the pump brings the carb up to full, turn the bike off, drain the bowl down and try it again just to check it.. Also not a bad idea to run it for a while with an overflow hose for that carb positioned into an area where you can check it periodically,, at least to the point that you know you can trust it to not stick. Keeping a screw driver/dowel handy to give her a tap if you need to during this process aint a bad idea either.. KEEP MCGYVERING MCGYVER, WE ARE ALL ROOTING FOR YA!!! Edited October 7, 2014 by cowpuc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Condor Posted October 7, 2014 Share #61 Posted October 7, 2014 For rust removal this might be the answer and not have to coat anything. METAL RESCUE http://www.metalrescue.com/video.aspx?videofeed=5#videos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcgyverit Posted October 8, 2014 Author Share #62 Posted October 8, 2014 amidst cleaning up for another project I walked by the bike and thought I would turn it on to see which carb/float was causing the leak. the good news is that after letting the carbs sit overnight with fuel, the float loosened up and no longer overflows fuel. so this encouraged me to hold off cleaning up the other project and begin to see if I could get it to start. the bad news is it wouldn't fire off. so I need to sit down and retrace all my connections and make sure I didn't forget something important but so far so good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcgyverit Posted October 12, 2014 Author Share #63 Posted October 12, 2014 after a couple of days now of trying to get it to start it finally caught and ran. and the best part it idled. I only let it run for a minute or so since I didn't have a lot of gas in the fuel tank. idling at about 1200-1500 rpm's and sounds good. this was with a bench sync so now that it is running I need to get them fully sync'd up. thanks again to the site for all of its help to date! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcgyverit Posted October 22, 2014 Author Share #64 Posted October 22, 2014 I know it is a silly update, but got the tank mounted back the way it is supposed to be and went ahead and filled it up and was happy to see that the new fuel sending unit was working as it is supposed to and showed bars on the instrument cluster. next step is brakes, going to disconnect the rear from the front and tie the fronts together. all this after I make sure the calipers are working as they are supposed, not holding by breath on that one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcgyverit Posted October 31, 2014 Author Share #65 Posted October 31, 2014 went on vacation/work trip for the last week and when I came back home and opened the garage door got a huge whiff of fuel. turns out, I had pulled the tank off again to get started with the de-link of the brake system and when I set it down the weight of the tank sliced the gas line and caused it to leak out about 1/2 a gallon. but the lines needed to be replaced anyway as they were old. got the rear brake system pulled apart and plan on rebuilding the master cyl and de-linking it as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bongobobny Posted October 31, 2014 Share #66 Posted October 31, 2014 Keep up the good work, you WILL be rewarded with one of the finest touring bikes ever built!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcgyverit Posted January 28, 2015 Author Share #67 Posted January 28, 2015 finally getting around to cleaning out the m/c for the rear. made the plug for de-linking the system, but when I opened up the reservoir it was not a good site. so let the tear down begin and hopefully get it working again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcgyverit Posted January 30, 2015 Author Share #68 Posted January 30, 2015 took apart the m/c and now sonic cleaning of some of the housing, but ordering a rebuild kit anyway for fresh seals and such. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcgyverit Posted February 14, 2015 Author Share #69 Posted February 14, 2015 received the rear rebuild kit finally and swapped parts out and assembled. only issue I had was now that the whole assembly is working the way it is supposed to it is a lot harder to assemble the snap ring while fighting the spring the other issue I had was the rebuild kit gives a cylinder cup that shows it going on the end of the cylinder, but I don't think that is needed as the piston from the brake pedal would go up inside the cylinder. any thoughts? removed the rear brake caliper to make sure the pistons move as they are supposed to, but need to read up some more on that process. seeing as the rear was all gummed up from sitting I went ahead and ordered a front rebuild kit as well and will begin the process of rebuilding it as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prairiehammer Posted February 14, 2015 Share #70 Posted February 14, 2015 the other issue I had was the rebuild kit gives a cylinder cup that shows it going on the end of the cylinder, but I don't think that is needed as the piston from the brake pedal would go up inside the cylinder. any thoughts? Are you talking about the dust seal boot here: If so, yes it is needed. For the obvious purpose to keep dirt from the master cylinder innards and for the less obvious purpose to keep the brake pushrod from flopping around and possibly getting mis-positioned. I gotta ask: why would you even consider not using all the parts, especially on something as critical as the brakes? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcgyverit Posted February 14, 2015 Author Share #71 Posted February 14, 2015 Prairiehammer, it is the small cup that goes on the end of the cylinder inside the dust boot. at least that is the way the diagram shows (and I am interpreting) on the manual Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prairiehammer Posted February 14, 2015 Share #72 Posted February 14, 2015 Prairiehammer, it is the small cup that goes on the end of the cylinder inside the dust boot. at least that is the way the diagram shows (and I am interpreting) on the manual Here is a pic of a disassembled master cylinder: Notice the "small cup" (the donut shaped one) must be threaded onto the spindle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcgyverit Posted February 14, 2015 Author Share #73 Posted February 14, 2015 thanks for the pics! clears that up for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcgyverit Posted February 14, 2015 Author Share #74 Posted February 14, 2015 reading the manual says that air can move the caliper piston out, is that true? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prairiehammer Posted February 15, 2015 Share #75 Posted February 15, 2015 reading the manual says that air can move the caliper piston out, is that true? Yes, compressed air will push the piston out, sometimes violently. Read this thread about caliper rebuild. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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