Petrol tap corks

[G3L1946]

Good afternoon all,

After having the paintwork completed on the G3L petrol tank and reinstalling the petrol taps/ cocks they have decided to leak.
I have removed them and examined the cork washers which seemed to have worn right the way down! Or are they O.K? See photograph.
I’m assuming that both ends of the tap(s), no matter what make, are removable to complete the renewal? I can remove the non filter end but the filter end is resisting my best efforts! However, the other tap yields up the filter end but not the other!
Are corks universal in size and I presume the club will stock them.

Thanks for any advice,

Steve

[clive]

Just buy good bottle of wine enjoy and then cut your own corks. Yours are probably beyond use. Some recommend boiling them but it has not worked for me. Bit of heat may release that final joint but not too much as the filters are soldered on.

[G3L1946]

Good idea Clive but our plonk comes in a screw cap! .
So, as I thought, both ends are detachable.

Cheers,

Steve

[bitza]

Be careful on reassembley, The nut part split easily if overtightend, use two thin spanners .

[1608]

Both ends are detachable. Pop the tap into some boiling water for a short while that will help release it. As stated you can make your own, but the cork needs to be real cork and not like some bottle corks which are a composite of cork bits, if that makes sense. I have made my own successfully, but its probably easier to buy the club ones. If you decide to try and make your own don't be afraid to make them oversized as they need to be forced into the tap. Bought or home made corks should be boiled for a short while to soften them and prevent them from breaking.

[G3L1946]

Hi bitza & 1608,

Thanks for info. I managed to deal with one tap end by using a thin ring spanner and just ‘snatching’ a bit which broke the ‘seal’ and it unwound with no problem. The other I will try with the hot water advice. Noted re soaking, thank you. Having dismantled the tap I found quite a bit of broken cork debris partially obstructing the petrol flow route. Removed it and have ordered new corks (4+ 2 spares) . Also, took the opportunity to clean the gauze filters which were a bit cruddy.
Hopefully, all should be good!

Steve

[jackstringer]

Quick tip, dont leave the tank dry. Otherwise the cork dries and when you put fuel in it will leak for a while.

[G3L1946]

Hi,
Yep, read that on line somewhere. Suggestion was, also, to soak cork in petrol overnight. But author then noted it didn’t actually make too much difference in his experience!
I’ll see how the new ones fit and work from there.

Thanks,

Steve

[LynP]

Hi, I did the cork replacement earlier this year. I did soak them in petrol overnight. They are a tight fit so need careful easing into the tap and they do come up to the top of the thread which makes screwing the top or bottom parts on difficult. A tip I saw and used to help get the corks down a little was to gently work around the outside of the fitted corks with a small screwdriver, this exposed the top thread and I could get a start at screwing the parts on which needs to be done slowly to compress the corks. I also put a smeer of thin oil on the on/off slider to help it move easier to begin with. One last thing I learned was not to thin the corks a little(wonder how I found this out!). Sorry if this a repeat of any advise of others in this topic but I felt the more input the better.

[LynP]

Hi, sorry two post went on after edit. Could not work out how to delete so please ignore this one!