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Fuel Tees Leaking and Hard to Find=Carbs Come Off 04 May 2020 10:16 #824945

  • Rick H.
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Okay, so when I decided to have my carbs overhauled I also decided it would be a good idea to replace the OEM fuel tees. At least it sounded good at the time. So I ordered some super duper fuel tees from France, yeah I know, and had them installed when the carbs were overhauled by a secondary bike shop. After the bike was operational I always noticed gas seepage on the float bowls at times and would just snug up the bowl screws thinking that was the problem. Well this past weekend when it got very nice out I thought I would take the KZ for a long ride and fired it up. As it was warming up I looked at it while putting my helmet on and lo and behold gas was running all over the garage floor. It was a major leak too! Shut the bike off, close the petcock and start hunting for the leak. I put the bike on my lift and at first thought it was #4 carb and fiddled with it checking float level etc. Turn the petcock on and gas is running all over the place. Now it looks like #3 carb, so check it out. Did I mention that I pulled both bowls and checked needle valves, float levels, etc.?

By this time I decided a warm weather ride was not in my immediate future because I could not find the leak, so off comes the fuel tank and try to dry everything off as best as I could. Then I connected an auxiliary fuel tank and turned the valve on and gas starts running out of the fuel tee between carbs #3 and #4. It is amazing how gasoline will instantly run all over the place in a heartbeat and leave you wondering where it's coming from. Once I saw where the gas appeared to be coming from I was happy to have found it, but PO'ed because those were brand new super-duper fuel tees!

So then the next project is to take the carb rack off which I really don't relish because for me it is always a struggle. Worse is putting them on. There must be an easier way than I do it, so if anyone has an easy way to put a carb rack on please give me the secret! Well with the carbs off I head to the workbench and begin the un-ganging process which I have never done. Get the manual out and read all about it, doesn't sound too bad I tell myself and it wasn't, but my mind is thinking about all the stuff I have to re-do when I put things together. I finally get to the point of taking the right carbs off the rack and pull them of the brass fuel tee and sure as shooting I find a split o-ring. So I have ordered new OEM fuel tees and I will give them a try. The brass one I took out is now somewhere in a field across the street from me. The last OEM tees lasted over 40 years so maybe I will get lucky.
Rick H.

Rick H.

1977 Kawasaki KZ-1000A1
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Fuel Tees Leaking and Hard to Find=Carbs Come Off 04 May 2020 10:31 #824947

  • Warren3200gt
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Why not just replace the o ring Rick? As between 2 & 3 and 1 & 2 don't leak (or you didnt say they did) they must be ok. I would guess that leaking one was put in without the use of grease/oil to ease them in and that was why it split.

Z1000J2 somewhat modified!

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Fuel Tees Leaking and Hard to Find=Carbs Come Off 04 May 2020 10:49 #824948

  • hardrockminer
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I only use the black plastic OEM fuel tees. I soak them in gas for 24 hours before installing them. No o-rings required....and no leaks!

One of the nice points of changing Z1 carbs is how easy it is compared to KZ900 or newer. No struggles at all. So I replaced the airbox on my '80 KZ1000 with a Z1 repro. Works just fine but the metal support underneath on a Z1 is not present on a KZ1000. This puts a bit of weight on the intake boots so I check them every year for cracks.
I have several restored bikes along with a 2006 Goldwing with a sidecar. My wife has a 2019 Suzuki DR 650 for on and off road.
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Fuel Tees Leaking and Hard to Find=Carbs Come Off 04 May 2020 11:09 #824950

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I would imagine that o-ring got damaged upon installation , a new o-ring was the best answer, lube up the new one when it arrives or you could end up the same again.
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Fuel Tees Leaking and Hard to Find=Carbs Come Off 04 May 2020 11:47 #824956

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Call me silly, but I have only taken off the two right side carbs leaving the lefts intact for now. Not sure how long it will take to get the tees so I want to wait until they get here to take the lefts off. Less chance of screwing something up that way for me as the disassembly will be fresh in my mind. I had thought about just replacing the o-rings, but I am not certain on the correct size of I.D. and O.D. My gut tells me they were assembled "dry" not even a little spit to help I'll bet. I will say the new French made tees seemed to move relatively easy but that's just a personal opinion. I did some searching on the forum about installing the carb bank and someone suggested rolling back the rubber air ducts to gain more clearance. Does that trick work on the KZ-1000 with stock airbox? Someone else suggested using a heat gun to warm the air ducts up and make the more pliable. I may try that too.
Rick H.
Rick H.

1977 Kawasaki KZ-1000A1

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Fuel Tees Leaking and Hard to Find=Carbs Come Off 04 May 2020 12:04 #824959

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If the air ducts are really hard they need replacing with new, it then only takes a minute or two for installing each one, if the left ones are not leaking you may as well leave them alone.
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Fuel Tees Leaking and Hard to Find=Carbs Come Off 04 May 2020 16:34 #824976

  • Mikaw
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Not to kick you when your down BUT. I've rebuilt 3 carb racks now and was temped to try the brass Tee's thinking next rebuild I would only need the O-Rings. BUT like you I wasn't sure on the size, and did not find any replacement O-Rings advertised from the brass Tee sellers. So I have always used the OEM style. I never thought about soaking them I fuel first, but even without that process, just a smear of oil on them and I have yet to have a problem with the OEM Tee's. Sorry I cant help you yet with the carb install with stock air box. Shortly I will be in the same boat as the '76 A4 parts acquisition is almost complete. Just received a nice big box from Z1 Parts today.
1976 KZ 900 A4 kzrider.com/forum/11-projects/613548-1976-kz-900-a4
1976 KZ 900 B1 LTD
1978 KZ 1000 B2 LTD
1980 KZ 750 E1
Kowledge Speaks, But Wisdom Listens.
Jimi Hendrix.
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Fuel Tees Leaking and Hard to Find=Carbs Come Off 04 May 2020 17:17 #824978

  • Nessism
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I make my own fuel tees these days. The Z1 version for VM26's are okay but the O-rings included with them are the wrong size. I also bought some so called KZ900/1000 Tee's off ebay and they don't fit. A huge crap shoot for sure.

If by chance you still have those Tee's (and didn't throw them into the woods) I can help you spec the proper O-rings. The hole in the carb is 11.0mm and you need an O-ring such that after being installed on the tee it's about 11.5mm OD or so, which will afford some crush but not too much. The O-ring ID should be about .5mm smaller than the OD of the groove. Some stretch but not too much. PM me if you want assistance....

20200420_062225 by nessism , on Flickr
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Fuel Tees Leaking and Hard to Find=Carbs Come Off 04 May 2020 20:44 #825002

  • hardrockminer
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OEM fuel tees don't have o-rings. They aren't necessary. The tees will leak unless they are soaked in fuel for a day. This makes them swell and fit like a french tickler.
I have several restored bikes along with a 2006 Goldwing with a sidecar. My wife has a 2019 Suzuki DR 650 for on and off road.
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Fuel Tees Leaking and Hard to Find=Carbs Come Off 04 May 2020 22:45 #825007

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hi rick a post by nesssism last year on july 22nd show a good way to re use the tees i have done this with 2 sets of 28s and its a good fix ,david
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Fuel Tees Leaking and Hard to Find=Carbs Come Off 04 May 2020 23:51 #825010

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david richard wrote: hi rick a post by nesssism last year on july 22nd show a good way to re use the tees i have done this with 2 sets of 28s and its a good fix ,david


Just to keep things correct it was Nessism’s post but Asphalt900’s repair.

Here’s the post; kzrider.com/forum/3-carburetor/611069-ho...de-fuel-tees?start=0

Copy and paste from the original post;
Here is another option. I have been doing this for Years and it works everytime. Because I like to keep things original and rarely buy suspicious aftermarket stuff. KEEP your original VM Mikuni tees, nothing wrong with them. Just "roll" a sharp utility blade along the inner bump and remove the secondary bump and rubber in between. You will encounter two styles, one smooth and one with a casting rib. Sand off/steel wool if casting is ribbed, the corrosion. Pop on a #78 o-ring, there is room for two! Cost is only whatever you pay for the O-rings.






1976 KZ 900 A4 kzrider.com/forum/11-projects/613548-1976-kz-900-a4
1976 KZ 900 B1 LTD
1978 KZ 1000 B2 LTD
1980 KZ 750 E1
Kowledge Speaks, But Wisdom Listens.
Jimi Hendrix.
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Fuel Tees Leaking and Hard to Find=Carbs Come Off 05 May 2020 06:37 #825020

  • Rick H.
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Thanks to everyone for the great advice and ideas. Looking at some of the older posts regarding carb rack installation was an interesting endeavor with some great ideas too. Why Kawasaki didn't allow for some rearward movement of the air box on the KZ-1000A1 is something I will never understand, but I wasn't there to give my thoughts. I wish I would have compiled a book of all the great suggestions from you guys when I started my project bike because there sure are a bunch of them! I don't frequent many other websites, but this one is quite unique as to the amount of real help and ideas offered to those that ask. I used to think I was a decent shade tree mechanic with good ideas, but I would have never thought to roll back the air ducts on themselves or heat them up with a heat gun to aid carb rack installation or rework fuel tees. Where do you guys come up with this stuff? It's great!
Rick H.
Rick H.

1977 Kawasaki KZ-1000A1

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