I got tired of my petcock leaking. I used the RetroBike rebuild kit but left in the original cork seal. I had a slow leak that got worse as I put more gas in the tank. I took it apart again and replaced the cork seal with the new rubber kit seal and it ended up leaking even worse. After a day or so I could barely even move the slider.
I took it back off and noticed the top side of the petcock that seals against the tank was warped pretty bad from being tightened down too much. It measured approximately .030" out of flat. I managed to tap it back into shape but it didn't really help. It seems like my leak is mostly from the slider seal.
Since I want to do more riding and less tank fiddling, I decided to make my own replacement. I'm just using a standard brass 1/8" NPT valve for now. I'm also going to use viton washers and a quad shaped o-ring. If it seals good, I'm going to re-tap and replace the valve with a 3/8" petcock that's made for old harley tanks. It's chrome with a screen and a reserved switch.
Erich
Leaky PetcockLeaky Petcock
I made the base out of alum. It's the same diameter as the stock petcock and the seal fits the groove. I made it pretty thick so it would stay nice and flat when tightened down, and also so I could use the original jis screws. I left the tank full all weekend and had no leaks. It used to leak bad if I put any more than a gallon in the tank. Even worse if I tried to fill it up.
So did you custom tool the base or is this a part I could find and modify from a hardware store/motorcycle supply place? This looks like a great replacement solution which I need badly. Any help on how I may achieve the same results would be appreciated.
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