Leaking petcock

[greekxj]

Hey guys, my 07 iron lunger has a leaky petcock from the nipple area when in the OFF position. Kind of a pain because it has a drip from the the nipple when the fuel hose is removed so its a pain if the tank comes off for work etc. Any fix for it other than buying the 50 dollar one from our host? Its the female styled one. And i have to laugh cuz every time petcocks are mentioned its hard not to describe the problem without sounding perverted lol Thanks!

[mrunderhill1975a]

Two possibilities come to mind............if you are certain you can fill you tank exclusively with real petrol/gasoline (no ethanol), you can use a trick from the 1950's of rubbing the nipple area with hand bar soap.  The soap mixes with the gasoline/petrol and forms a gel that will hold the leak quite nicely until you wash it off.  This worked well for me for several years until EPA started requiring ethanol be added to the gasoline here in the states.

The second idea I have (if you cannot find real gasoline/petrol) would be to empty the tank, dry the nipple, then use a product called "Seals All" available in most hardware stores in the USA.  I believe it is a polyurethane base sealer that has worked for me.  I slathered it on quite thick and allowed it 24 hours to dry.  Good luck.

[greekxj]

Hey thanks. I think there is a little mix up though, it is leaking from the nipple that supplies fuel to the hose to the carb, not the threaded tank nipple where the petcock attaches etc. So basically if i pull the fuel hose from the petcock nipple and have the valve in the Off position the open nipple will slowly drip.

[mrunderhill1975a]

Ahhhhh, that is an entirely different problem. other than a new petcock, the only other solution I can think of is to make sure the float valve in the carburetor is working properly so that the drip will not make it into the carb float bowl.  Other than that, a new petcock is your only option.

I once tried to dismatle a leaking petcock, but was informed by Kevin that it was a losing battle and I should just replace the petcock.

[greekxj]

Thanks again, Yeah i figured a new one was in order just finally looking in to getting one and had to be sure etc. Thanks!

[edthetermite]

If you're going to get another anyway I would try to disassemble this one and see if debris or something is the culprit. Nothing to lose by doing it , right?

[greekxj]

If you're going to get another anyway I would try to disassemble this one and see if debris or something is the culprit. Nothing to lose by doing it , right?

Absolutely i will!

[greekxj]

OK guys got the new one on a few days ago and it seems to be working for now, hope it holds up over time! Disassembled the old one and didn't see anything obvious wrong in  there. Pulled the seal and and just reversed it and reassembled. Not sure if that fixes anything but i can always keep as s spare in the future and maybe it will work ok now. Ah well, just wanted to share.