Fuel leak at T joint - '83 KZ550

I'm working on a 1983 KZ550 LTD that hasn't ran since last July, although it sat with fuel in the carbs. I cleaned the carbs, and after putting them back together I found I have a fuel leak where the T joint enters the #2 carburetor. The plastic surface of the T joint appears to be somewhat degraded, so that is probably a factor in causing the leak (soaking the carbs in Pine Sol during their cleaning seemed to add to the degradation. Whoops ).

What is the best way to stop the leak? I did a little digging on the forum and found that people have suggested yellow teflon tape, heat shrink, plastidip, or even just JB Welding the joint in place. Unfortunately, the part is out of production, and Z1 doesn't seem to have a metal alternative to the T joint (Kawi P/N: 92005-1020).

Thanks



Edit: Is there a trick to getting these carbs on and off easier? I already lubed up the boots with silicone lubricant. This would be a breeze if the engineers would have allowed the airbox to move back one extra inch.

On a positive note, I got the bike running today for the first time since July. She sounds great

Am thinking the stock fuel line T-joint is probably a metal part, perhaps some kind of pot metal.





For comparison, here's the kind of fuel T-joint ("fuel pipe") used in the KZ900, which has a semi-flexible structure like "built-in" o'rings, and which may be more tightly fitted by wrapping with yellow teflon tape.




Part #92005-1020 is supposedly available from:

www.plenternz.com/product_info.php?manuf...68s6f42uqetreg0vbp53

www.motosport.com/motorcycle/oem-parts/k...x550/carburetor-assy

Hopefully, a couple of new o'rings (Part # 92055-1134) may stop the leaking.

Does the fuel joint at hand appear to be made of something other than metal?

Good Fortune!

If you know someone with a lathe you can make a T pretty easily. I made this one and it worked perfectly.

My T joints leaked when I first got my bike back on the road 4 years ago after sitting for 18 years ,so I bough a couple of new stock "T"s to replace them with but by the time they got delivered to me the originals swelled up and had stopped leaking.
I have around 28,000 miles on them since then and still no leaks

Now that the bike has been running, the leak is much slower. I'll give it another couple days to see if it fixes itself.

The bike runs great, starts easy, and feels very quick! The 550 will be a great bike to bomb around town in.

My choke seems to be acting funny, however. When I pull it out halfway, it works fine, but when I pull it out fully my engine dies.

Edit: I should add what drivetrain-related maintenance has been done to the bike the last few weeks.

• valve clearance adjustment
• carburetor clean (Pine Sol soak)
• float height set to 27mm (factory setting)
• pilot screws turned out 2.5 turns (factory setting)

Hamaya wrote: ...float height set to 27mm (factory setting)....

"Float height" setting may not produce correct FUEL LEVEL (the sought after result).

Would perform the clear tube test to confirm FUEL LEVELS.

Good Fortune!

Patton wrote:

Hamaya wrote: ...float height set to 27mm (factory setting)....

"Float height" setting may not produce correct FUEL LEVEL (the sought after result).

Would perform the clear tube test to confirm FUEL LEVELS.

Good Fortune!

+1!

The float height setting may get you in the ballpark, but the only way it can make the fuel level in every carb equal is if every float weighs exactly the same and has the same buoyancy, and everything about every float valve is identical, etc. The clear tube test shows the actual fuel level inside the carb bowls when everything is assembled, and that is the only way to see how close the fuel levels of all the carbs are to the spec. Ed

I know the clear tube method is the best way to measure fuel height. I'm just a little burnt out from working on the bike right now and that job is a little tedious

Could that be related to full choke killing the engine? I'm not sure how the choke mechanism works exactly.