Unique? Predicament

[84xj1100]

Just picked up my 86 last week and it would appear I have an issue already.

 

I've put about 500km's on her since I picked her up and every now and then I get a wiff of antifreeze. This morning I spotted two 2" dia wet spots under the engine. Antifreeze. It's coming from the drain valve. I dried everything off and found a couple of interesting things.

 

First according to the manuals there is a screw that holds the plug in place = not on mine. It appears as if the head has snapped off the screw. How does one get the plug out to inspect it?

 

Second, if I turn the plug it simply goes all around as opposed to stopping in either the open or closed position. Is this normal...does this plug simply turn 360 degrees??

 

The manual says to align it with a mark either open or closed for purposes of draining the rad.....I can't seem to find a mark on the housing only a hole top dead centre...is that it? For the time being I have the plug turned so that it appears closed (same as the picture in the manual) and the leak has apparently stopped.

 

Questions

 

I suppose I'll have to drain everything and drill out the screw in order to remove the plug and probably replace the gasket which I suspect is the cause for the leak....am I on the right track here??

 

Any suggestions??

 

How big of a PITA is this going to be.

 

Another totally unrelated question for anyone who responds....how do you remove the fuel filter?? There is some sort of bracket or something holding it in place. How do you get in there?

 

Any help here would be good.

 

Thanks

 

Ed

[Venturous Randy]

Ed, what you are encountering on the leak is fairly normal on the 1st gens. It is simply the o-ring needs replacing. The screw that is there fits into a grove that keeps the plug from coming out. The head on the screw is not very big so are you sure the screw is broken off? If I were you, I would try just spinning it around several times and see if that gets it to stop leaking for the time being. The correct position will be for the tops of the letters to point toward to the 5 oclock position.

The best time to replace the fuel filter is when you have the rear tire removed.

RandyA

[Squidley]

Randy is spot on with the advise, common problem with the 1st gen Ventures. The fuel filter is above the swing arm on the left side, it's a PITA to get to if you dont know where it's at. Like Randy also mentioned best time to replace it is with the rear tire off, I'll try to get a pic on here later for you.

[Marcarl]

When I looked at the manual, it indicates a 2\7 o'clock position, not a 5\11 o'clock postion. The valve is basically a plug in a tube, with a rubber o-ring to seal it off. The screw from the side holds it all in, as the screw pushes in a spring, that pushes in a ball bearing that rides in a groove to keep it all together. You may be missing the spring or the ball or both, but as long as the plug doesn't come out and doesn't leak, you're good to go,, for now at least. For the right running position, the word open should read upsidedown, (more or less) and run from the 2 o'clock position to the 7 o'clock position.

JMO

Carl

[84xj1100]

Thanks for the responses.

 

However my bike and I are on somewhat more intimate terms now as I spend the entire day tearing her down, draining the cooling system, removing the entire thermost housing from where it enters the engine, the piping that houses the drain plug, rad, etc, etc.

 

I drilled out the shank of the screw that holds the drain plug in place, retapped it, replaced the O-ring on the plug (would have been a ten min job if there was a screw that could have been removed ). I also took the time to flush and back flush the system, clean up the ball and spring that sits in the drain plug, clean the bugs out of the cooling fins and took a suggestion from the tips guy - I added some screening in front of the rad for bugs........good news is, no leaks and I shouldn't have to worry about the cooling system for the next five years. I used long life (5 year) coolant.

 

I guess these old girls can be quite a pain until you show them who's boss......it makes riding her that much more enjoyable.

 

 

 

 

PS - FYI - Do not attempt this type of job at -10 degress centigrade on a concrete garage floor, especially if you are over 40 yrs old.......your body will not be happy the next day:backinmyday:.

[Marcarl]

Thanks for the responses.

 

However my bike and I are on somewhat more intimate terms now as I spend the entire day tearing her down, draining the cooling system, removing the entire thermost housing from where it enters the engine, the piping that houses the drain plug, rad, etc, etc.

 

I drilled out the shank of the screw that holds the drain plug in place, retapped it, replaced the O-ring on the plug (would have been a ten min job if there was a screw that could have been removed ). I also took the time to flush and back flush the system, clean up the ball and spring that sits in the drain plug, clean the bugs out of the cooling fins and took a suggestion from the tips guy - I added some screening in front of the rad for bugs........good news is, no leaks and I shouldn't have to worry about the cooling system for the next five years. I used long life (5 year) coolant.

 

I guess these old girls can be quite a pain until you show them who's boss......it makes riding her that much more enjoyable.

 

 

 

 

PS - FYI - Do not attempt this type of job at -10 degress centigrade on a concrete garage floor, especially if you are over 40 yrs old.......your body will not be happy the next day:backinmyday:.

We were all of a mind to tell you all that, but we didn't want to scare you off from doing it. Now that you have it done, thanks for telling us, and we're happy you found it so much enjoyable and had a great time yesterday. Too bad your body feels the way it does, but that just gets you more in the mind to go for a ride.

I maybe will visit Ottawa again this year, daughter lives in Napean, and brother lives in Chesterville, so they may have to put up with us for a weekend.

[Guest Swifty]

check this out for your first problem...

http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?threadid=31962

[mbrood]

Fuel Filter removal cheat

 

Pull the two bolts holding the fuel PUMP... this allows it to swing away a bit and then PLENTY of room to get the fuel filter out.

[84xj1100]

Marcarl,

 

Thanks for sparing me the big one. I think a lot of my time was used up thinking what part would come out and what I would have to remove next. Do you and "the others" often shield the truth from us rookies?? BTW if you do pop in to Ottawa drop me a PM and perhaps we could do "Tims".

 

swifty,

 

Checked the thread....the screw shown on the left side (original) didn't have a head left on it at all. I may have been able to do something if it was a stripped phillips head. As it turns out I used a Roberton head (square), from my parts bin....best I could do on a Sun evening. I should post a pic of the finished product......important thing....leak=gone

 

mbrood,

 

Great tip, I'll try that once I recover a little more. I really didn't want to wait till rear tire replacement as someone mentioned earlier.

 

Thanks to all:banana: I'm a happy camper once again