Averting Hydro lock. I have a bad situation!

[GJS]

So here is my bad situation.

I have just finished putting my bike back together after:
Installing a new front tire.
Installing a new back tire (both Metzler (back from the dark side))
New rear wheel bearings and new dampener set.
A complete look into the rest of the drive line.
Upgraded the alternator
Adding a four-way flasher circuit.
Added even more blue LEDs
Installed a hidden antenna in the fairing.
Added the Kuryakyn 12v outlet
A major upgrade of earlier wiring with a new fuse/relay box.

Had it up and running yesterday just fine.
Got up this morning, went out to the shop, hit the start button, it turned over for a short time and stopped dead. I knew something was not right, she has never done that before. I immediately thought of all the threads I have read here on Hydro Lock.

Good news is I did not spin any teeth off anything as I did not try and start it again.
I pulled the plugs and two of the plugs appear wet & oily (these were new plugs with about 10 min runtime on them). So I'm thinking Hydro lock.

I am feeling a little de-moralized at the moment. I really wanted to just ride the next few days.

I did a brief search but did not find any tips on what I do now.
I have turned the petcock off and removed all the plugs.
Any ideas on how to get the gas out of the cylinders?

I am picking up a brand new Tank with a new petcock and new fuel sender on the 21st, on my way to iZane.

I really don't have the time or money to rebuild the carbs and besides I am about to have a 7,000 mile run to clear out the cob webs. (bike has been sitting since last November).

Thoughts and suggestions?
(I had tried to post a picture of the plugs, but photo bucket has lost it's mind)

[Fritz The Cat]

Don't quote me but i would think that with the plugs out, hitting the start button and spinning her over a few times will pump all the gas out just fine.

[Chrisj CMA]

I would (instead of hiting the starter) put it in second gear and manually roll the bike with the clutch you can control how much force is applied to the motor and then slowly increase (let the clutchout) until all the gas is expelled.

[tank_post142]

then start the bike, turn off the fuel to make sure your petcock is working correctly. if the bike dies from fuel starvation after 5-10 mins that means the petcock is working. then make sure you switch off the fuel every time you stop the engine and you'll be fine.
hydro lock will not occur with just the little bit of fuel in the carbs draining into the engine.  it requires that the float sticks open on the carb AND the petcock allows fuel to flow from the tank even with the engine not running.

[GJS]

So once I get the gas out, put the plugs back in and get it started again, do I have to turn off the gas and run it dry each time until I deal with the stuck floats?

Seems that there is sell a lot of fuel in the lines that could slip by stuck floats.

[GJS]

Thanks Tank,

I was asking the question as you were answering it.

[shooter64]

Another thing I always do is to turn the petcock off about a mile from home. Then (if the petcock is working) that will drain most of the fuel out of the line between the petcock and the carbs.

[whitestroke]

Another thing I always do is to turn the petcock off about a mile from home. Then (if the petcock is working) that will drain most of the fuel out of the line between the petcock and the carbs.
[/quote
+

You are right GJS. There is alot of fuel in the lines and  1 cylinder is not very big.  
Is #6 the wet plug?

[Chrisj CMA]

After clearing a hydrolock, I would also change the oil

[Patrick]

You are not going to know of you have fuel-lock for sure until you try to clear the cylinders.. The longer fuel sits in a cylinder the more will leak into the base/oil.. If a cylinder has fuel in it,, clear it,,open that carburetor drain and flush a lot of fuel thru in an attempt to flush out whatever is holding the float open.. Start it and run it a bit.. Start it later and just 'tap' the starter button.. If it is locked again,, clear the cylinder,, flush more fuel thru it.. This does work pretty good but may take a few tries,, beats pulling those carburetors apart..  If it doesn't work after a few tries,, then it time to take 'em apart.. Check to be sure the petcock doesn't leak in the off position..

[Thunderbolt]

I am with ChrisJ on changing the oil.  If you had enough fuel to stop the piston it has to either come out when you hit the starter with the plugs out or it drained by the rings into the oil sump.  Of course you want to be outside away from any source of ignition when you hit the start button.  Pushing it without turning the switch on as Chris said would be the best option also.

[GJS]

So .....

I decided to lay a towel in front of the open spark plug holes and turn the engine over.
The middle cylinder on both sides had fuel in them. The right side had a lot of fuel.

I kept turn the engine over until I could not see anymore fuel spray from from the holes.
I re-installed the plugs and she fired up just fine. I ran her till the fan came on and then shut off the fuel. It took a long time for it to start slowing and finally stall.
When it was close to stalling I tried revving the engine and was able to sustain a very rough 2500 rpm.
As soon as I backed off the throttle, she stalled.

I disconnected the fuel line and found it was dripping slowly. If I turned the tank valve on or to reserve the fuel would drip quickly. So now I am going to take the Petcock apart. It got a rebuild kit last year, but now appears to be leaking.

I'm not clear why/how the petcock would let any fuel pass in the off position.
I did not think the diaphragm was involved in being off.

Thanks for the input so far.

[Mr.BubblesVRCCDS0008]

You could also remove the little three bolt cover on the timing belt cover put a socket and a rachet on the timing wheel nut and turn the engine over that way. Make sure key is off to avoid any sparks.

[gordonv]

You can also run some high strength carb cleaner through your fuel system. This may also break down some of the gunk in the fuel, that may be causing the float to stick open.

Is it safe to drive? Yes it could be. Driving is not a problem, only when you shut it off. Some do feel there is enough fuel after the petcock to cause hydro lock, and there is some evidence to confirm this.

Since you already know what do do (or not do) if you have hydro lock again, I would suggest carb cleaner for your whole trip and see where you are when you get back home.

There are 2 parts to every hydro lock, remove one and it shouldn't (rarely) happen again. You will need to fix that petcock. I personaly would keep it, but others suggest a pingle valve.

[Ricky-D]

There are two conditions necessary for "hydrolock".

One -  A malfunctioning gas petcock

Two - A malfunctioning carburetor float valve assembly.

In order of importance, the carburetor float valve leaking is the most important.

Clearing that carburetor float problem (and) the bad petcock loses some influence.

You cannot determine if the petcock is leaking or not by running the motor with the petcock in "off" position.  The only way to get an indication of a leaking petcock is to remove the hose from the petcock!   
Any reasonable person would understand that a hydrolock can occur with as little as a drop or two of gasoline every minute leaking from the petcock but the motor surely cannot run on such a small amount.

Drop the float bowl of the offending carburetor and inspect and clean out the debris. If you are mechanically inclined enough, you can remove the float assembly and the float needle but that really is not necessary.  Let a bit of gasoline run thru the carburetor to wash out any crap.

Attending to the petcock should be next in order of importance.

***

[MP]

You state fuel leaks thru the line, even when in the manual OFF position.  If I understand correctly, that means the petcock is leaking on the "non-rebuildable" side of the petcock.  You need either a new petcock, or need to drill out the rivets, replace the orings, and repair with screws where you removed the rivits.

We had one hydrolock this way at the VOAI Reunion this year in Keystone.  I had a new petcock along, so we put that in the mans Valk, and no more problems.  This one was leaking down the vac line to the #6 carb though.  Gas would drip out that vac line while in manual off position.

MP

[GJS]

I took apart the petcock, found some grit inside the bearing side and a hair or paint brush bristle in the diaphragm side.  After I reassembled everything, changed the oil and checked for any dripping I went for short ride.

On my return, I shut off the fuel a mile so before I got home so it was starving by the time I parked.

For now, it looks like I dodged the hydro lock bullet.


Thanks everyone.

Glenn

[whitestroke]

For now, it looks like I dodged the hydro lock bullet.


Thanks everyone.

Glenn

You might want to leave petcock open for a few days and pull plugs and check for fuel in cyclinders. You need to have both petcock and needles valves working properly, or your flirtiin with disaster.

[gordonv]

There are 2 parts to every hydro lock, remove one and it shouldn't (rarely) happen again. You will need to fix that petcock. I personaly would keep it, but others suggest a pingle valve.

The "rarely" issue not mentioned in detail was the dreaded #6 vacum line fuel leak from the petcock. It does happen, but as rarely as a hydro lock seems to be to me, the leaking diaphram is as rare compared to the regular one.