petcocks: new vs. rebuilt

[DougXS2]

I'm @ the point of needing petcocks and need some opinions on rebuilding my originals vs. buying the new ones at Mikesxs.

at first, this seemed like a no-brainer, but in the past i've run across situations where I would rather have rebuilt orig. japanese part over new chinese or mexican parts.....

....on the other hand, don't won't to waste the time and money to rebuild if they're likely to be leakers, and I'll have to buy new in the end.



also, what parts of my originals do I need to inspect to see if they're good candidates?

thanks.

 

[xjwmx]

at first, this seemed like a no-brainer, but in the past i've run across situations where I would rather have rebuilt orig. japanese part over new chinese or mexican parts.....

Ain't that the truth. I rebuilt my vacuum petcock a few weeks ago and am happy so far. I used only the parts from the kit that I needed and left the original parts that were still performing ok. I read too much "brittle metal" and "don't tighten the screws too much" and so on about the replacement to do anything but try a rebuild of the original. Plus it wouldn't surprise me if the replacement itself would need rebuilding or replacement in record time. Haven't heard any reports, but it wouldn't surprise me.

On the other hand, with an xs2, you might have a better selection of new replacements.

 

[5twins]

It's hard to say. Sometimes a petcock is worn or damaged internally to the point where a rebuild kit won't take. I would inspect the flat surface on the backside of the arm. That's the main sealing area in a petcock. If the bike sat for many, many years with gas in there, it could have eaten away the metal.

 

[DougXS2]

think it would help to post a picture once I get them apart? would you guys be able to tell?

 

[5twins]

I think you'll see it right away if it's bad but go ahead and post one, we love pics, lol. As XJ said, I wouldn't disassemble everything, just the arm area. I don't usually disturb the backside unless it's obviously leaking from there and I mean obviously - like dripping. Just because the petcock is all covered with varnish doesn't necessarily indicate bad leaks. Some things just don't seal 100% and that varnish build-up could be from minor "sweating" over the course of 5 or 10 years. Clean it all up and it may be fine for another 5 or 10 years.