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Rebuilding the petcock on a CA160.

kmil

Member
Joined
Jul 26, 2022
Total Posts
39
Total likes
1
Location
Jonesborough, TN, USA
I am rebuilding the fuel petcock on my 1968 Honda CA160 and have run into the problem of the slide being to tight to turn. I have replaced the cork which was what was leaking in the first place and the slide lever is to tight now. I have checked for proper seating and fit and I am using a genuine Honda packaged cork. Does anyone have any sage advice on this problem. This petcock is totally different from the CB and CL petcocks.
 
I did my CM400 petcock and had the same problem. In the end I removed a plastic washer they included to minimize wear of the lever by the tensioning wave washer.
Mine was built as the body, 4 hole direction gasket, lever, plastic washer, tension wave washer and the cover piece. How is yours built? May be pictures of it?
 
kmil said:
I am rebuilding the fuel petcock on my 1968 Honda CA160 and have run into the problem of the slide being to tight to turn. I have replaced the cork which was what was leaking in the first place and the slide lever is to tight now. I have checked for proper seating and fit and I am using a genuine Honda packaged cork. Does anyone have any sage advice on this problem. This petcock is totally different from the CB and CL petcocks.
Click to expand...

Hey sorry for delay in answering but those petcocks really are different. I think I've done at least four so far. Usually they have the problem of leaking at the lever because the top packing ( the one with holes and the reserve stand pipe) doesn't sit deep enough in to seal against the upper side of the lever. If you don't have that problem,
then I would suggest loosening the 3 screws that hold the body against the tank just a bit. There is a large O ring that seals that and if it's in good shape you shouldn't need to tighten the 3 screws so much and the funny spring plate (with the 4 spring tangs and a little tab) won't compress everything so tight.
Another tip would be to grease the surfaces of the lever to aide in turning it.
Last resort is to sand the cork a bit thinner (I've had to do this on a belt sander for the purpose of getting the upper packing to seat deeper to stop lever leaks).

I hope this helps. The levers on mine do have some resistance to turn but they don't leak on the outside nor leak through to the carb.
 
Thanks ballbearian. Tony redid the tank and put an NOS petcock on the CA95 I finished a little while ago. He said its leaking into the carb. I have retired for good and am not taking on any work. He asked me to come back to work for him in his shop and help take care of his collection. With your info I may go in and take a look at the petcock on the 95. Boss lady wont be happy.

Bill H
 
old timer said:
Thanks ballbearian. Tony redid the tank and put an NOS petcock on the CA95 I finished a little while ago. He said its leaking into the carb. I have retired for good and am not taking on any work. He asked me to come back to work for him in his shop and help take care of his collection. With your info I may go in and take a look at the petcock on the 95. Boss lady wont be happy.

Bill H
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Sheesh. Don't get caught sneaking out. Maybe tell her you got jury duty or something. Just don't forget to wash your hands before you go home. :lol:

At least the leak isn't coming out at the lever because the aftermarket replacement top packings are sometimes just a little small and don't seal around the wedge shaped edge. Then you have to sand down the cork so it sits deeper.
Since it's leaking into the carb it could be a few things. Seal washers on the screws? Some have aluminum seal washers instead of redish fiber. Maybe the slot in the lever plate isn't right (lever upside down?). If the cork packing isn't cork but rubber and it doesn't leak at the lever but the carb, it may be Ok.

I've been able to trouble shoot leakers sometimes by leaving the sediment bowl off. That would be my first move with a small mirror in hand to look at the bottom with gas in the tank and the petcock in off position.

Tom Hanna
 
Thanks for the replies. I talked with a guy who lives on my street who happens to work for a valve repair company here in the local area and he suggested that I put some silicone grease on the lever to help it move easier and it did work. My leak out of the lever has stopped but as was stated by some of the replies the petcock is now leaking into the carb no matter what the position of the lever. The lever is properly installed and the holes line up the way they are supposed to for each position. The gaskets on the screws are the fiber type and are tightly seated. I have now ordered the top rubber packing "A" and will install it when it arrives. If this doesn't fix it I guess I may have to go with one of the adapter plates and newer type of petcock. Nothing is ever easy on this little bike.
 
kmil said:
Thanks for the replies. I talked with a guy who lives on my street who happens to work for a valve repair company here in the local area and he suggested that I put some silicone grease on the lever to help it move easier and it did work. My leak out of the lever has stopped but as was stated by some of the replies the petcock is now leaking into the carb no matter what the position of the lever. The lever is properly installed and the holes line up the way they are supposed to for each position. The gaskets on the screws are the fiber type and are tightly seated. I have now ordered the top rubber packing "A" and will install it when it arrives. If this doesn't fix it I guess I may have to go with one of the adapter plates and newer type of petcock. Nothing is ever easy on this little bike.
Click to expand...

There seems to be some variation in the castings of the housings over the years and perhaps different suppliers to Honda. Some of the top packings fit more snugly than others. Thus, my adventures in using a belt sander on the middle packings (cork).
I removed one of those adapter type plates and was able to put the original back into use that a PO had swapped out. I will keep it though, in case I'm forced to give up on one. They charge such ridiculous $ for those plates with a cheap petcock.
 
Well, I received the packing "A" and I am disgusted with this supposed OEM part. It has apparently set on a shelf for fifty years and turned hard as a rock. The rubber is like hard plastic and won't seal at all. No wonder it was cheaper than the parts from Taiwan. Back to the old packing and making it seat better. I have one of the adapter plates but can not find a petcock that will fit the threads in the base. I don't have a sizer that will go as big as the threaded hole in the base. Working on that.
 
kmil said:
Well, I received the packing "A" and I am disgusted with this supposed OEM part. It has apparently set on a shelf for fifty years and turned hard as a rock. The rubber is like hard plastic and won't seal at all. No wonder it was cheaper than the parts from Taiwan. Back to the old packing and making it seat better. I have one of the adapter plates but can not find a petcock that will fit the threads in the base. I don't have a sizer that will go as big as the threaded hole in the base. Working on that.
Click to expand...

Where did you buy it? I'd be asking for a refund.
 
kmil said:
Well, I received the packing "A" and I am disgusted with this supposed OEM part. It has apparently set on a shelf for fifty years and turned hard as a rock. The rubber is like hard plastic and won't seal at all. No wonder it was cheaper than the parts from Taiwan. Back to the old packing and making it seat better. I have one of the adapter plates but can not find a petcock that will fit the threads in the base. I don't have a sizer that will go as big as the threaded hole in the base. Working on that.
Click to expand...

If you soak it in our cheap ethanol gas for a couple hours, it will soften and swell a bit. Did you try to shave the cork so the 'A' wedges down deeper?

I've heard the cheap petcocks in the plates are a Harley knock off and thus not a metric thread.
 
Hi All, Sorry for the delay, life keeps getting in the way. I have taken your advice and gently sanded the cork. It worked pretty well but is not perfect. Fuel still leaks into the carb when you let it sit a few weeks. Just something else to keep an eye on. You would think I would be used to leaks being a Triumph owner. I did get a refund even though the part broke when trying to install. I'm really going to try to stick with only the better parts places rather than looking for a bargain on Ebay.
 
kmil said:
Hi All, Sorry for the delay, life keeps getting in the way. I have taken your advice and gently sanded the cork. It worked pretty well but is not perfect. Fuel still leaks into the carb when you let it sit a few weeks. Just something else to keep an eye on. You would think I would be used to leaks being a Triumph owner. I did get a refund even though the part broke when trying to install. I'm really going to try to stick with only the better parts places rather than looking for a bargain on Ebay.
Click to expand...


So with the sediment bowl off, you can see leaking (which would then go to the carbs)? The 3 mounting screws and their seal washers aren't leaking? Try flipping the cork over or turn it around or maybe sand just a bit more.

At least it's not leaking out at the lever, so the top A packing is sealing around it's wedge edge. That is something, at least.

A final back-up measure would be to get a cheap Briggs&Straton inline fuel cut off and put in below petcock. If it ever swells enough to quit on it's own you could then remove the backup valve.
 
I already thought of the inline shut off valve for a temporary fix and it appears to be working. Now I can get on with the engine noise that I have been working on for so long and an exhaust system that doesn't cost an arm and a leg. Onward and upward!
 
kmil said:
I already thought of the inline shut off valve for a temporary fix and it appears to be working. Now I can get on with the engine noise that I have been working on for so long and an exhaust system that doesn't cost an arm and a leg. Onward and upward!
Click to expand...

Good plan. You can always take it off from time to time and see if it settled in and quit on it's own.
 
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