Fuel sending unit replacement

[Tom Herold]

That's an ugly scene right there, did you put the connecting rod through the block on that one?

The 885 in the Thunderbird was pretty abused and negelcted. It took me almost 6 months to get it reconditioned and back in the bike. The biggest problem was the waiting for parts to come in - and finding a reliable dealer who'd give decent customer service :roll:.

Evil: You'll need to have fuel feeding the throttle bodies to do the balance.  You can purchase, or make, longer fuel lines to allow you to keep the tank connected to supply fuel while the engines runnning.

The tool (Manometer) can be purchased on-line, or through a motorcycle dealer and can run anywhere from $40 to $250 depending on the type you want. Mine is the cheaper one and has served me well for the better part of 6 years now. I use it on both my carb's and injected bikes with good success. It's more a matter of choice than anything else, but there are those who prefer one thing over another.

Balancing the TB's is a straight forward exercise. With the motor warmed up, the tank sitting off to the side, or elevated, and the airbox off, hook up the manometer to the vacuum ports on top of each of the throttle bodies, hang the manometer off the handlebars and start the bike. With the motor at idle, simply turn the two screws, one each between the throttle bodies, to bring the mercury in the manometer level to each other in the three tubes hooked up to the engine.  They'll be a bit jittery because of the pulse of the engine, but that's okay, just average them out as best as possible. Once they're set at idle, run the engine up to around 3500 RPM and check the balance there too. BE CAREFUL when bringing the throttle back down to idle, do it slowly so you don't suck any mercury into the engine.  Recheck the balance at idle and adjust as needed. Remove the manometer, put the vacuum caps back on and reassemble the bike.

That's it, you're done with the balance procedure and you've saved yourself another $300-$400 over paying the dealer to do it. It'll take you around an hour, starting with removing the tank and ending with everything back together.

Again, feel free to PM or e-mail me if you need any help.

[EvilBetty]

Cool! :D

I need to get on bike bandit and order the rest of my initial parts!

I went out Googling this manometer and I'm not sure what I'm looking for.  Most of the ones I'm looking at have a single tube and meter.  I assume the one used for this task as at least 3, correct?

Any links or models I can search for?

[Mustang]

I like this one http://www.carbtune.com/

[EvilBetty]

Is there a "free" parts manual somewhere?  I have the factory service manual but I don't think I have anything showing the factory part numbers.  BikeBandit lists their own part numbers.

I was astonished at how much some of this costs on BikeBandit and want to check around.  I know I won't need many of these seals and gaskets if they don't tear... man I hope they don't tear!

FILTER HOUSING GASKET  $4.43
AIR FILTER ELEMENT  $43.68
CAM COVER SEAL  $51.68
FUEL FILTER  $44.56
FUEL PUMP MNTG PLATE  SEAL  $18.21
FUEL SENSOR SEAL  $7.32
OUTRIGGER BUNG $2.19

I plan on using a BMW or Purolator fuel filter, but I really don't want to use an oiled K&N fuel filter.  Are there any other alternatives?  Any cheaper seals and gaskets out there?

[walker]

+1 on the carbtune. I have that one. Have owned the earlier design as well. Order from the site in the UK - shipping is cheap, and it gets here quick too!

and with the exchange rate, you'll pay about $18 less than I did a few years back.

[blacktiger]

For everyone's info. You can do the valev shims without a special tool. Once the checking and measuring has been done, you need to remove all the bearing caps (marking them so that they go back where they came from) then you can tilt the cams, from the non sprocket end, just enough to remove the shims. It's free.

[EvilBetty]

When changing the sending unit and fuel filter, do I need to drain the fuel from the tank (maybe a half a gallon) or is it fine sitting upside down while I work on it?

If I need to drain it, do you use the fuel line or do you have to dump it from the cap?

[Stretch]

I siphoned out as much fuel as I could before I even removed the tank.  Then before I opened up the tank for the filter change, I set it on my workbench, with the back of the tank downhill (prop up the front end).  Then I disconnected one of the small balance hoses from the front end of the tank and let as much fuel as possible drain out through the hose from the back end.

[EvilBetty]

Thanks!  

I've been reading my service manual, and I see no mention of using threadlock or replacing one time use bolts or washers (at least in the tank / air box / cam cover sections).  Is this really the case?

[Tom Herold]

Drainng the tank and placing it on it's side to access the fuel pump and filter can be done, but completely draining it will let you get any residual water out of it.  

Once you've done that, remove the fuel pump and tilt the tank to drain the rest.  I was able to slosh the remaining fuel around to get some grit and old pieces of fuel varnish out before cleaning with the rag.  

I'd recommend wiping down as much of the the inside as you can reach with a clean, lint free, cloth before putting things back together. It's good, preventative maintenance due to the tank vents clogging easily and potentially allowing water into the tank.  Be sure to clean out your vents too since they're accessed easily with the tank out.

When I drain the tank, I've simply set it on top of a clean 5 gallon bucket, opened the gas cap for ventalation and unpluged the fuel hoses and let the bucket catch the fuel. I then used a funnel to put the gas back in the tank after it was mounted.
 
When you go to start the engine, turn on the power with the key and let the fuel pump build up pressure before kicking the engine over. You'll be able to hear it buzz and then turn itself off when the proper pressure's been reached.

[John Stenhouse]

Thanks!  

I've been reading my service manual, and I see no mention of using threadlock or replacing one time use bolts or washers (at least in the tank / air box / cam cover sections).  Is this really the case?

No there aren't any, many of the bolts actually go into inserts in plastic, so beware of overtightening. I would guess that threadlock isn't used for the same reasons.