Other Fiberglass repair

Midlake Crisis · May 19, 2012

Subiaco, congratulations! I think getting a hull with the footholds done already puts you way ahead of the game.
Kraqus, nice post on the filters!
I own and love a '90 SJ and IMHO the only real problems with them are wanting to upgrade to a 701 eventually, which isn't that hard or expensive,
and more importantly the sheer age of the components and stuff starts to need to be replaced. You are in the right place to get lots of good help from people who know their stuff on this site. The Tech FAQ is a gold mine.

SubiacoCGB · May 19, 2012

Bennie you are the man! Thanks. I gotta work the next few days, but will take a look at it when I get home and find my filters, see how many I have and the condition they're in.

I will order a few filters as soon as I know which I need to order, but is there a chance I can get away with just
cleaning them (with carb cleaner) and putting them back on until the new filters arrive? Also, should I drain the fuel from the tank and refill it with fresh fuel regardless?

Thanks again man!

kraqus · May 19, 2012

You most likely have ONE FILTER that is located right under the Lip of the engine compartment.
NO CLEANING FILTERS! They are disposable items just like your Oil filter in your Car.
You can get away with just cleaning your Carb IF the components are still OK.
I say this because you only have ONE CARB, if you had the dual set up I would recommend going with the Rebuild kit right away.
You can CAREFULLY disassemble the Carb following the instructions I posted earlier for you.
Inspect every gasket and component, If they seem Ok you can reassemble and should be OK.
Make sure you get to that inside filter and clean that sucker, check the needles for anything lodged in there too.

What I would do is change that ONE filter you have for right now.
Take the Gas tank out and dump the fuel along with all that sediment that gets collected at the bottom.
Later on you can add 2 more filters coming out of each line at the gas tank.

Where in Alameda are you located?
I have and extra filter that will fit in that location. You can have it......
This, plus cleaning your carb and dumping the fuel should get you going, if this is what the problem is (of course).

Benny

SubiacoCGB · May 19, 2012

Hey Benny. Thanks again for all your help. I'm actualy in Hayward, but I'm kinda playin with of the idea of moving out to Livermore. I'll also send you a PM with my contact info. Thanks for the offer on that extra filter you have. I'll definitely be ordering a few filters from JetManiac, and recommendations on which ones are best? High-capacity, high-flow? Cold Fusion? (I'm thinkin the hc,bc will prob do it) .

Tyrant1919 · May 19, 2012

Looks like Benny is taking care of our soon to be new riding buddy. That SN was such a steal...

SubiacoCGB · May 19, 2012

Thanks Ty! I'm down, and I'm lookin forward to it. Thanks for the props on the SN too. I think its gonna be a great ride, it just wants me to get to know it a little better before it really starts putting out.

SubiacoCGB · May 19, 2012

Hey Midlake. Thanks for the props man. I'm stoked about the footholds too, and I'll definitely be checkin out the Tech FAQ. Thanks for mentioning 'em.

SubiacoCGB · May 20, 2012

Hey Midlake. Thanks for the props man. I'm stoked about the footholds too, and I'll definitely be checkin out the Tech FAQ. Thanks for mentioning 'em.

SubiacoCGB · May 20, 2012

Here's a picture of my engine compartment. As you can see there are no fuel filters. Is that while canister online above the fuel tank a check valve? What is a check valve for anyways?
View attachment 184092

txsuperjetfreak96 · May 20, 2012

thats your vent line line for tank it should go up through your handle pole. check valve prevents water from going back in tank. The fuel filter should b back more close to where the fuel selector is on the right side in engine bay.

Midlake Crisis · May 20, 2012

SubiacoCGB said:
Here's a picture of my engine compartment. As you can see there are no fuel filters. Is that while canister online above the fuel tank a check valve? What is a check valve for anyways?

The check valve lets air in to the gas tank to displace the gas that is being used so you don't get negative pressure in the tank.
If you follow the line that goes from the check valve away from the tank it should go to a water separator canister, then up the pole.
The canister has a drain in the bottom that you can empty periodically if you see water in it. That keeps water from getting in to the gas tank.

If you follow the bottom fuel line on the front side of the carburetor back you should find a fuel filter mounted under the rim of the hull before the fuel selector.

No biggie but I would also PM Jetmaniac and replace that missing tank strap.

SubiacoCGB · May 20, 2012

Thanks a lot Midlake! I'll hit up Jetmaniac for that strap and some fuel filters. BTW, how hard is it to rebuild the carb? It seems like something I should get comfortable doing, but it also seems like it could be a real can of worms.

SubiacoCGB · May 20, 2012

Here's a picture of the other side of my engine compartment. I think that might be the fuel filter in the upper right corner.

kraqus · May 20, 2012

Yes that is your fuel filter and by the looks of it, not even close to be the right one.
Do you see that metal bracket right to the left? That is where the stock fuel filter attaches with a rubber "thingy".
It is not hard to rebuild a Carb, is actually very simple.
Follow the instructions here:
http://www.shopsbt.com/pdfs/mikunisbn.pdf

Be organized and keep all the parts in order so you know how to put them back together.
Use a towel to put them in line in the order you disassemble them.

This is the kit you will need:
http://www.mfgsupply.com/451460.html

Benny

txsuperjetfreak96 · May 20, 2012

sorry for the miss info on the check valve. i thought it was to release pressure from tank

SubiacoCGB · May 21, 2012

No worries TXSJFreak, thanks for tryin. Besides, you weren't far off anyways.

SubiacoCGB · May 24, 2012

I just got my fuel filters and the carb re-build kit. I think I'll be doing the rebuild today after I build a stand out of PVC for my SJ. I'm also gonna drain the bad gas and put some good stuff back in there before I do the re-build too. BTW, JetManiac got me the parts super fast and was good to work with.

kraqus · May 24, 2012

Benny

SubiacoCGB · May 24, 2012

The PVC stand I was planning on building proved to be way more expensive to make than I wanted to deal with, so I scratched that idea for today. The link to what I was going to follow is right here: http://www.theudells.com/PWC/gallery/dan/pwc_stand/PWC_stand.htm

I was going to build the same 3" PVC frame and a similar wood frame with wheels (casters), but I was going to get bigger, locking casters and was going to look into how I could safely bring the stand up to the height of my truck.

3" PVC is uncommon and very expensive. The PVC alone was going to cost around $100.

I also wanted to check my SJ for a leak before I went rebuilding the carburetor. Here's what I found. I got all the water out of the inside of my engine compartment started her up and hooked her up to water to see if I could find any leaks. I don't know where it was coming from specifically, but I noticed some water in the engine compartment after doing this. It's possible it could have already been there and just came forward due to the vibrations of the running, but I think that's unlikely. I am pretty concerned about this, but realize it could also be something very simple.

I changed my crappy fuel filter for one of the better ones I got from JetManiac, but I'm putting off the carburetor rebuild until I get the fuel tank flushed and run some fuel that I know is good through the engine first. I'm hoping to isolate the problem.

SubiacoCGB · May 30, 2012

I took my carburetor off today and am getting ready to re-build it. Between the carburetor base and the intake manifold is a plate that sits between them and anchors the throttle cable for the carburetor. I'm calling that plate the "throttle plate". I don't know if that's what it's really called, but it works for now. There is a gasket between the intake manifold and the throttle plate and one between the throttle plate and the base of the carburetor. The picture on the far left is the one between the intake manifold and the throttle plate. The one between the carburetor base and the throttle plate started to come apart a little as I was trying to take it off and it became apparent I would need to replace it. I've talked to a couple buddies who are more mechanically experienced than I am (one of them is a really good mechanic that works on baja race trucks on the side) and they told me I could cut my own gaskets out of material I could buy from an auto shop. So I bought some "Rubber-Fiber Sheet" from Pep Boys (it says it is for carb bases) and cut some gaskets with a hobby knife and a punch. I think they came out pretty good, but the material is a little different than what the existing gasket was. There's a little bit of fiber, very fine amounts, in areas of the edge where I've cut. I think it will be ok for the carburetor base, but I don't think I'll be using this gasket material for the gaskets between the carburetor and the air filter though. I am concerned that the little fibers could get into the carburetor and possibly clogging up the filter, the jets, or something else in the carb. Besides, the gaskets up on the air filter are in pretty good shape anyways.

Other Fiberglass repair

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