Fuel filter into fuel tap - is it threaded or just press-in?

I have two good original style fuel taps, replacing the pot metal ones that I bought. A bit of a story on the latter, but basically the threads didn't hold up and these came to me free and work great. The problem is I have no filters. Are the filters just press in? I see no female threading on the tap, and the filters that I think are correct do have threads. But maybe they are not really 'threaded' and the ridges are just push-in to seal? Thanks for any help on this minor issue.

My taps - smooth in the bore:


eBay filters

Those stock type will eventually leak, but it might take 25 years or longer. lol

The brass filters in the old taps I still have in a box are glued (epoxy?) in place. They do not have plastic housings. You might be able to epoxy the ones shown, but I don't actually know.

The fuel petcock shown below works really well, but doesn't look like anything Norton ever would have used. This style petcock uses the screw-in filters you show.



cNw sells them. Fuel petcocks

Schwany said:

Those stock type will eventually leak, but it might take 25 years or longer. lol

The brass filters in the old taps I still have in a box are glued (epoxy?) in place. They do not have plastic housings. You might be able to epoxy the ones shown, but I don't actually know.

The fuel petcock shown below works really well, but doesn't look like anything Norton ever would have used. This style petcock uses the screw-in filters you show.

cNw sells them. Fuel petcocks

Click to expand...

Thanks Schwany, I have those. Well, one. I feel a bit hamfisted, which happens more often than I like to admit. Using the copper/rubber seals it held OK but didn't have much purchase, only two or three threads would go in. When taking one side's lower fitting off to work on the carb I would try to hold the tap steady, but it wiggled a bit and always needed a little tightening. Well, eventually the threads gave up and fuel poured out. Like a dummy, the engine was piping hot. I was in a pickle. I plugged the outlet with my finger and wheeled the bike to the other side of the garage to reach a funnel and fuel tank. I was spazzing and lost some more brain cells inhaling fumes.

The metal on the original type is much better and has more purchase. They don't leak, I think they are new and were given to me. I may J-B weld the filters in or put a small inline filter in (not a fan), and see how it goes. I still have the filters from 'your' type and I'll see how it goes.

On another subject (as I wander off a bit, maybe it's the fumes....), today I went for a fantastic ride to the San Clemente Cars & Coffee, and on the way back my tachometer drive gearbox spat the dummy. It threw the end off, gear and little nickel-sized cap is gone. I noticed the tach stopped working, and when I stopped, I heard what I thought was an exhaust collar leak. I looked down and saw a heavy mist of oil blowing out. My right-side Blundstone boot is now permanently waterproofed! The gear and little cover/copper piece inside are gone, dammit. I had carefully checked it out, packed with grease, and all was good for a few hundred miles. I think I may have J-B welded the little cap on but given all I had going on I may have thought about it but never got to it. Such is life. I know I have terrific oil pressure and can blank it off temporarily, and probably will just buy the one from Andover Norton to replace it as I don't see internal gears and caps available.

To get home, I used the small microfiber towel I carry around, wadded up to block it off. It was only a mile or so and mostly top gear low RPM or coasting, so I eased it home and didn't do any damage.

Fairly sure the screens where fine brass and soldered.
Screw in filters are not compatible.

Would suggest external filters on the lines.

MichaelB said:

Fairly sure the screens where fine brass and soldered.
Screw in filters are not compatible.

Would suggest external filters on the lines.

PETCOCKS FOR UNIT TRIUMPH GAS TANKS TO '79 MADE IN UK

PETCOCKS FOR YOUR VINTAGE TRIUMPH. THESE PETCOCKS FIT ALL UNIT TRIUMPH 500, 650 AND 750 THROUGH 1979. YOU WILL RECIEVE ONE MAIN PETCOCK WITH A STANPIPE AND A RESERVE WITH NO PIPE. THESE PETCOCKS ARE MADE IN ENGLAND, IT IS A BRASS TAPERED VALVE THE WAY THEY WERE MADE FOR TRIUMPHS ORIGINALLY. WE...

vintagetriumphsupply.com

Click to expand...

OK makes sense. I should just do that and avoid hacking with J-B weld. I can throw a couple of those compact funnel-shaped ones on there.

Those are good taps with full flow. Those are the British made ones. May or may not leak in time
The BAP divert to a trickle.

gpzkat said:

OK makes sense. I should just do that and avoid hacking with J-B weld. I can throw a couple of those compact funnel-shaped ones on there.

Click to expand...

Beware, those external in-line clear plastic filters can be a liability. Have had two fail in past couple of months on different bikes, both relative newly fitted. On the Commando it blew off the spigot while nearly at WOT, engine sputtered, quit. Didn't see fuel pouring out until stepping off bike roadside. Go home by crimping off the line from carb to filter with a zip tie and running off reserve side tap.

So, i no longer use in-lines.

Tornado said:

Beware, those external in-line clear plastic filters can be a liability. Have had two fail in past couple of months on different bikes, both relative newly fitted. On the Commando it blew off the spigot while nearly at WOT, engine sputtered, quit. Didn't see fuel pouring out until stepping off bike roadside. Go home by crimping off the line from carb to filter with a zip tie and running off reserve side tap.

So, i no longer use in-lines.

Click to expand...

I am not sure why mine have no filters. I'll figure something out, I trained MacGyver. That should be a thread, give us your best McGyver fixes (apologies for the US centric reference). Of course I'd win.

Re: tach drive

The internal parts are unobtainium. You may luck out on ebay, otherwise a source for new replacement drives, or gear boxes, can be found in this link:


More info here:


Slick

texasSlick said:

Re: tach drive

The internal parts are unobtainium. You may luck out on ebay, otherwise new replacement drives, or gear boxes, can be found in this link:

Retaining and Sealing the End Cap in Smiths Tach Drive Gearbox

it seems that once the end cap on Smiths tach gearbox drives begins to weep oil, it is only a matter of time before the cap falls out and the internals are lost. Here is my try at preventing the tach drive gear box from spilling it's guts on the...

www.accessnorton.com

Slick

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Thanks Slick. For the time being I rigged it so the unit is place, sealed but not functioning (no drive to tach). I used a flat headed allen bolt poking through from engine side, with washer and nut compressing the O-ring, just stuff I had on hand. Filed down the head of the allen bolt and there's no interference. I will put a nickel over it and ride with no tacho until I either spring a full replacement ($175 on Andover) or something appears on eBay. Honestly, I don't need a tach but I do like things to work.

MichaelB said:

Those are good taps with full flow. Those are the British made ones. May or may not leak in time
The BAP divert to a trickle.

Click to expand...

Say more please, about the BAPS, does the rubber seal swell reducing flow?

Not that I'm aware of.
I'm sure you've had the BAP's apart and notice the design.
Down, around, through the little groove in the handle and then out again.
In my little garage testing, they don't flow as well as the straight through designs, new.
I question whether a single BAP flow enough for a hard running, Twin carbed, Norton.

I haven't departed or tested a Paoli, so I can not comment on them.

ON the tach drive: Back in the day there were a fair number of these running around with a buffalo nickel in place of the soft plug that came from the factory. The factory ones tended to leak, which was the warning sign that it was about to pop out. There were also some brass ones, I have one of those.

On taps and fuel filters: I have used BAP taps for years along with the factory ones. The BAPs don't leak and feed the engine just time in my experience.

I have several screw-together, blue ,aluminum filters with a scintered bronze element inside. I don't remember where I got them but in 30+ years there have been no failures, except when I unscrewed one to check the filter element the rubber washer had shrunk from ethanol (or age) and wouldn't seal when I screwed it back together. I've not found new seals anywhere and a standard O-ring doesn't work. If I knew where to buy these filters or ones like them, I would. I like the idea of external filters. They save a lot of carburetor grief whatever they are installed on, mowers, motorcycles, old trucks, snow blowers...

Yikes on the oil squirting episode. I've had worse, much worse happen.

The petcock I posted a pic of installed in pairs flows enough for a pair of 35mm FCR carburetors on a healthily built 750 Norton engine. I always have both petcocks open when I ride, and they run into a T that feeds a single line into the FCR fuel feed manifold. 5/16" lines no inline filters. Still looking for something I'd use that is small with a true 5/16" ID.

I did not have any problems with the thread length into my fuel tank, which should be the same tank you have more or less. I have a thin washer and a dowdy type washer stacked with the brass nut securing the petcock.

I got the petcocks I have from Steadfast Cycles, not cNw. Steadfast wants $80 for them with the brass nut and washers. I want to say they are made in Italy, but could be Spain.

My original P11 timing cover had a flat faced cover plate at the tach location. I still have the timing cover with tach hole cover plate.

Schwany said:

Yikes on the oil squirting episode. I've had worse, much worse happen.

The petcock I posted a pic of installed in pairs flows enough for a pair of 35mm FCR carburetors on a healthily built 750 Norton engine. I always have both petcocks open when I ride, and they run into a T that feeds a single line into the FCR fuel feed manifold. 5/16" lines no inline filters. Still looking for something I'd use that is small with a true 5/16" ID.

I did not have any problems with the thread length into my fuel tank, which should be the same tank you have more or less. I have a thin washer and a dowdy type washer stacked with the brass nut securing the petcock.

I got the petcocks I have from Steadfast Cycles, not cNw. Steadfast wants $80 for them with the brass nut and washers. I want to say they are made in Italy, but could be Spain.

My original P11 timing cover had a flat faced cover plate at the tach location. I still have the timing cover with tach hole cover plate.

Click to expand...

I had a look, the threads on the left one in the picture aren't cut down enough to allow the nut to back off and give enough threads to grip in the tank. The one on the right backs off to where it bottoms out on the ridge and was fine. They have different lettering on the 'On, Off, Reserve' so they don't match in that way either. I got them from Walridge. I cheaped out on these, they are probably the least expensive ones I could find. The metal is soft, so combined with lack of threads holding it in, it shredded them after a couple times snugging them up.

I like the original style and figure if they leak it would probably be due to a lot of lever on/off, since it's a metal seal, will see how they go. I just leave one on and one off, and shouldn't have to lever it much.

The rest of the bike has been so good, so I won't beat myself up over missing this. I am rigging up my tach gearbox so I can get back to riding. My tach cable and tachometer will be non-functional fore a while, they should last a long time that way!

I have not had good luck with the type petcock you posted a pic of in post #15.

BTW, I call myself a f..ing moron frequently. I probably do it out loud since I'm the only one in my garage. It happens often when I spend 30 minutes looking for something I had in my hand and put down 5 minutes before I went looking for it.

Schwany said:

BTW, I call myself a f..ing moron frequently. I probably do it out loud since I'm the only one in my garage. It happens often when I spend 30 minutes looking for something I had in my hand and put down 5 minutes before I went looking for it.

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Do that myself, ever more frequently . Usually, I don't find it in 30 minutes.

Slick

Replacement tach gearbox from Speedograph-Richfield


Price 125 GBP

Get the ratio correct. I presume reversing means it can be driven either CW or anti CW.

Slick

I use the BAP fuel taps. the originals leaked, got very stiff and hard to turn on and off, so I bought the BAP's. Also a filter inside the tank is less user friendly than an inline external, clear plastic fuel filter. I can see if my fuel is flowing or not and certainly also see if the filter is clogged... In the 43 years I've had this bike the last 35 years it had the BAP taps with tygon fuel line and external filters and I haven't gone up in flames yet.. nor has it ever failed

How can you see if your inside the tank filter is clogged?? Look in the filler cap? X-ray vision? it's not an issue with an inline fuel filter. I can also change the filter with a full tank of fuel by just turning off the tap and removing the old filter, replace and reconnect. Can you do that with the in the tank filter?..... of course not...

My fuel lines have never come apart because I used nylon double row hose clamps on them from mcmaster-carr like these...



I use one of these fuel filters on each fuel line. When I open the fuel tap, I can see the fuel flowing to the bowl, then I see it flow again when I bleed the carb.....