Motorcycle Repair: Inspecting and Cleaning a Fuel Petcock

**Always follow the instructions in your repair manual when doing repair or maintenance work on a motorcycle. Manuals can be found at the dealer and online.**

In this video I remove and inspect a fuel petcock on a 1985 Honda XR600. The fuel petcock is a gasoline flow metering device attached to the motorcycle gas tank. The petcock allows the rider to turn the gas flow to on, off or reserve. Attached to the fuel petcock is a long 4 or 5 inch screen that filters any large debris from the gasoline before it enters the carburetor. Bikes that have been sitting for long periods of time run the risk of having contamination develop on the screen and reducing or stopping the flow of fuel. On this bike the petcock must be removed from the gas tank to clean to screen.

The petcock screen can be cleaned using a soft bristle brush and compressed air. The screen is very delicate, so care should be taken not to damage the screen with the brush, and air pressure at a low psi should be used to remove the contamination. Contamination caused from old fuel can usually be broken down with carburetor cleaner, but this type is cleaner can also be to strong for plastic parts, so its better to only use this type of cleaner as a last resort.

Tools Used:
- Phillip Screw Drive
- 12 mm Closed End Wrench
- 10 mm Socket
- Tooth Brush if needed
- Compressed Air if needed

Category:

Autos & Vehicles

Tags:

• Howto
• tutorial
• engine
• repair
• honda
• xr600
• 1985
• mechanic

[DDRaHolic]

How freaked out would you have been if the mouse would have jumped out when you took the tank off! lol! I would have died! Thanks for the informative video.