'84 Honda Gyro Fuel Leak

[Not Jackie Chan]

I've got an '84 Gyro that I'm thinking of selling, but first I'd like to fix the fuel leak it has. It has very low miles on it, and after riding it a lot recently, I noticed fuel dripping out of a gold-colored metal piece that looks like it hold the rear engine "pod" to the front part of the scooter. I learned that this piece has an oil and fuel line in it. So, is the fuel line going to be a bear to get to, or is it something I could tackle in a couple hours? Thanks for any help.

[mousewheels]

There is a splice in fuel and oil lines around the location you are describing. Set your Gyro on safe stands and look underneath. If it's a cracked hose end, it may be fixable without pulling plastics. Yet if you do need to remove engine or side plastics, it's a pretty easy job.

[Not Jackie Chan]

I took the plastics off, and the fuel line looked okay, and I didn't look like it had been leaking at all. I put the plastics back on because I couldn't find anything immediately wrong, turned the fuel back on and it started leaking like a sieve. I took the plastics back off and found that fuel was pouring out of the fuel control valve? I'm not very technical, but it was the valve where you turn the fuel supply on and off.

[mousewheels]

Bad 'petcock', common issue.

You may be able to drill out the rivets, and replace the inner rubber gasket for a repair, then replace the rivets with small screw/nuts (around 2-56 or 3-48...) Honda sells the rubber part for petcocks that were designed to be disassembled.

-- Other routes --
There is a part from 'Clone' cycles that some have used on TG50's. It is not a drop-in, the OEM actuating knob does not fit this part. I've considered putting a vacuum tap into the intake and using a vacuum petcock from a Spree/Aero etc. The large thread version fits the NN50 tank. I've yet to mount the tank up and check for fit on the Gyro...

Wiki Gyro section

[Not Jackie Chan]

Bad 'petcock', common issue.

You may be able to drill out the rivets, and replace the inner rubber gasket for a repair, then replace the rivets with small screw/nuts (around 2-56 or 3-48...) Honda sells the rubber part for petcocks that were designed to be disassembled.

-- Other routes --
There is a part from 'Clone' cycles that some have used on TG50's. It is not a drop-in, the OEM actuating knob does not fit this part. I've considered putting a vacuum tap into the intake and using a vacuum petcock from a Spree/Aero etc. The large thread version fits the NN50 tank. I've yet to mount the tank up and check for fit on the Gyro...

Wiki Gyro section

Thanks very much for the help! I think I'll probably try to replace the gasket before I go looking for a completely new part. Doesn't sound that hard to do.

[zuphilius]

I did that on my ex-Gyro, drilled the rivets, tapped threads, put a new gasket in, but I couldn't find the correct gasket so it leaked again. I bought a new peacock from Honda, but some say it was the last one Honda had. $80 worth of last one. Don't know if it's true, so, you know.

[Not Jackie Chan]

I searched around for a long time before I located a petcock for sale. I bought it, and me and my dad were going to install it tonight. We took the old petcock out, but noticed that it didn't have a rod sticking out of the top of it like the one I bought does.



The old one is on the left and the one I bought to replace it is on the right. I looked in the shop manual, and it shows a rod sticking out of the petcock. Could this have been the source of the leak for whatever reason?

[mousewheels]

Take a close look at your petcock and the replacement. The difference is not related to leaking.

The OEM NN50 has only a 90 degree rotation, and On/Off position.

The replacement has the tube to limit fuel draw for a 'reserve' position. It will have a 180 degree rotation like (On/Off/Res). The replacement you found is handy for scooters like the TG50 Gyro, which have no fuel gauge.