gas shut off value tool

[sailfish]

do i need to buy the gas valve shutoff tool or can i insal it with out?

[portagepan]

If the tank is straight it doesn't require anything special. Just pay attention to the assembly. Mike

[T. Cotten]

Sailfish!

As Mike points out,
the tool is for attempting to repair a bent tank, not for installation of the petcock.

And if I may point out the obvious, the straightening tool is a cruel joke.


...Cotten

[junkyarddog]

You did not say what your are dealing with.
If they are after market tanks you will probably the the tool. It does work in compentent hands.
Jim

[T. Cotten]

It does work in compentent hands.
Jim

Jim!

Only if you hit it hard and often enough with a hammer!

....Cotten

[sailfish]

thanks for all the help the tanks are not after market and look to be stright i dont know how compentent iam but i swing a mean hammer

[Rollo]

I would put it together with the tank off the bike and put a little fuel in it to see if it leaks. If not your good to go. If it does leak then you need to assess whether it is the seals, the valve body or the rod tip surface. If it is the fit between the valve body and the tip of the rod you can try lapping it for a good fit or you might have to switch out parts until you get something that works.
I have the tool and frankly have not used it but I don't recommend beating the crap out of the tanks to get something to fit. If they are that bad send them to a pro to do it. The fit between the rod and the seat in the fuel valve body is the critcal thing. Screw it in and out a bunch of times to make sure the fit is good and not binding. Some times it takes a few times to get it right but once you do they work fine. I have spent hours and days getting the fit right so my garage doesn't smell like a gas refinery from leaking petcocks or fuel shut off assemblies.

Tom ( Rollo) Hardy
AMCA # 12766

[panz4ever]

I have the tool and have used it on the stock tanks for my 49 EL. Posted a "how I did it" on the caimag forum. Still have to do the tanks on my 65

[SFMike]

I have lapped and pounded and straightened on a number of these over the years.
Sometimes they work, but not to be trusted.

For a every day bke I finally switched to the aftermarket plug and pull type.
The older I get the less tolerance I have for Authentic features that require work.

That said, I'm restoring a '65 with a hack I have been putting off.
What could possibly go wrong with that?

[T. Cotten]

SFMike and All!

The extended five-gallon '65 tanks suffered the most from alignment problems, as over-torquing the un-forgiving brass seals upon the bottom can easily bend the tankout of shape. (Common copper crushwashers used on the Linkert bowlnut are far friendlier!)

The factory alignment tool has two serious draw-backs:
First, it is obscenely expensive.
Second, as most of you know, metal must be moved past perfect so that it may spring back to perfect.
If I understand Chris Haynes correctly, beating upon the tool is supposed to make up for this short-coming.

A far simpler and effective tool can be made by turning 20tpi threads upon a piece of 3/4" rod, and boring it for a 1/4" pilot rod to pass through its center. When threaded into the bottom bung, and then held in a vise, the tank can be easily "massaged' until the pilot rod passes through the top without bind.
(In my attachment, there is also a top cap that has been brazed to a piece of pipe for when the top of the tank must be aligned as well. The threaded rod is tapered and slotted to allow it to serve a dual-purpose of chasing fresh paint from the bung; the sideways hole is for a handle.)

On to the shut-off rod, Kyle Oanes has pioneered the use of PEEK to replace the tip.
I hope to follow his lead, when I find time... (In the meantime, I have produced the bottom seals from PEEK.)

....Cotten

[Carl Olsen]

We are currenly working on the complete gas shutoff rod assy. with PEEK seals on the bottom and a PEEK seal on the tip for a leak free gas shutoff valve assy. We will also have available the early style petcocks that are redesigned for leak free operation and ease of movement. Check our website as we have recently upgraded it to include all of our quality products.
Carl