petcock repair kit 69 T500
Posted: Fri Jun 28, 2013 2:11 pm
any one know were to get all the rubber parts in the petcock the Suzuki fiche is hard to read and most parts are na. also need carb float bowl gaskets thanks Ron
The petcock on the T500 is one of the more problematic items on these bikes. Suzuki sold it as an assembly, so the fiche for the bike only shows it (for the most part) as a single part number (the bowl filter and gasket, and the upper, mounting gasket, are also listed).
Internally, there are not many parts. There's a round seal with 4 holes, which Suzuki did sell (and came in at least 2 sizes), and the diaphragm assy (diaphragm, small o-ring, and spring), which Suzuki never offered (though I've read there is a Kawasaki part that works).
Of course, all of the parts are NLA from Suzuki.
I have futzed around with the pair of petcocks I have, and built one up that almost works correctly. The main failure mode is that they still allow gas to flow to the carbs when there is no vacuum. This is especially troublesome on the early bikes, as the carbs do not have external venting of the float bowl. If gas flows from the tank, and your needles/seats in the carb don't seal well, you can fill the cylinder crankcase with gasoline.
Carefully disassembling the diaphragm (5 screws, as gently separating, so not to tear the diaphragm itself), you can replace the o-ring on the shaft with an appropriate sized one, and buff out where the o-ring sits.
What I finally ended up doing is just replacing the whole darn thing, for a much smaller aftermarket unit. More room to access the left carb, and I remember to turn off the gas when I'm done riding.
