Fuel taps

Previously Barry Davie wrote:

Does anybody know the way round the choice of fuel taps these days, I was going to fit some BAP taps and then found out some ar emade abroad, then found some of th eflat lever type only to discover they are Indian made, I saw some at a show and on close inspection found them to be pretty ropey, any good suppliers out there stocking UK or even european made taps that will 1/ not dribble fuel past the seal and 2/ have some decent 1/4 BSP threads and decent taper seats. I'mn not bothered as to what they look like just as long as I have a main and reserve. Thanks.

Try Andover norton, they have some listed under accessory. They are a type used on Triumphs.

Our (Andover Norton's) BAP taps are Made in Italy, and I use them on all my private Nortons. Which is why I introduced them as an alternative to the "original" taps. The Indian copies are even worse.

Part numbers for the BAPs 60-7266 & 60-7267.

Have a look at Scottparts for some properly engineered fuel taps. They are £17 each but are made from stainless steel with ethanol proof seals. They are about the best job I've seen and not made from monkey metal (mazak)

Picking up this thread -- yes, I've got a leaking tap -- my '72 Fastback has the original-type taps, replacements for which would be Andover Norton part no.s 03.3155 (main) and03.1746 (reserve).

Inspecting the tap bodies, there are circlips retaining the rotating valve to which the lever is attached. The implication is that the tap could thus be dismantled and rebuilt.

However, while internet searches reveal various suppliers (including the NOC spares scheme) offering similar-type complete taps, no one appears to offer anything that resembles a set of tap internals.

So, are the taps rebuildable, and if so what parts are likely to be faulty and what fixes work?

Previously julian_wells wrote:

Picking up this thread -- yes, I've got a leaking tap -- my '72 Fastback has the original-type taps, replacements for which would be Andover Norton part no.s 03.3155 (main) and03.1746 (reserve).

Inspecting the tap bodies, there are circlips retaining the rotating valve to which the lever is attached. The implication is that the tap could thus be dismantled and rebuilt.

However, while internet searches reveal various suppliers (including the NOC spares scheme) offering similar-type complete taps, no one appears to offer anything that resembles a set of tap internals.

So, are the taps rebuildable, and if so what parts are likely to be faulty and what fixes work?

Sod's Law: just found a picture of this type of tap dismantled: http://www.accessnorton.com/wrong-fuel-taps-t6811-15.html

The associated discussion implies that repair is likely to be tricky and unsatisfactory, and generally pointless given the price of complete new taps.

What do others think?

The early taps like you describe will have a tapered plug in a matching hole.(in brass) You may be able to improve things by lapping them together with fine valve grinding paste. Make sure the plug hasn't bottomed out in the hole before it seals. Later taps of a similar appearance have a ball valve squeezed between two nylon cups. Any of them that involve a thin locking nut and not a flanged fitting next to the tank are crap IMHO

David,

Thanks for info about internals of later taps, but can you enlarge on your point about lock-nut vs. flange designs? Unless I've misunderstood what you're saying it seems that I'm doomed to crap taps, since my tank takes screw-in taps.

Julian

Previously david_evans wrote:

The early taps like you describe will have a tapered plug in a matching hole.(in brass) You may be able to improve things by lapping them together with fine valve grinding paste. Make sure the plug hasn't bottomed out in the hole before it seals. Later taps of a similar appearance have a ball valve squeezed between two nylon cups. Any of them that involve a thin locking nut and not a flanged fitting next to the tank are crap IMHO

p.s. it's also just dawned on me that I should have mentioned that my problem is that the tap's dispensing fuel to the outside world, not that it's failing to shut off supply to the carb.s -- so, looking at the pictures at the link previously posted, it looks as if my immediate problem is likely to be the O-ring shown in this pic:

http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/gg287/DogTi/gastap.jpg

On the other hand, I see that the version here doesn't appear to have an O-ring, or any provision for locating one -- in which case, what keeps the petrol in?

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b73/Les3066/PetrolTaps004.jpg

It also seems that the profile of the valves in the two taps is quite different.

The latter seems to imply that two taps of outwardly similar appearance might not have compatible internals.

Julian

Previously julian_wells wrote:

Picking up this thread -- yes, I've got a leaking tap -- my '72 Fastback has the original-type taps, replacements for which would be Andover Norton part no.s 03.3155 (main) and03.1746 (reserve).

There is another tap that looks the same externally as the original but has a rubber sleeve between the plunger and the body. This has a hole through it that lines up with the holes in body and plunger when tap is turned on. Avoid them, they are hopeless as the rubber swells up which makes the flow of petrol insufficient when you are "making progress".

The best ones I've tried are the AN B.A.P. type. They don't look original but they do work. Only thing I find odd is that you turn the lever up to turn on not down.

Ian

The first of your photos has the tap with a built in flange. relying on the fibre washer to seal against the base of the tank. This is a good design. Others just have a thread and a locking nut. The difficulty with these is, preventing petrol from seeping down the threads. The fibre washer seals between the nut and tank but the threads need sealing too. PTFE tape doesn't seem up to the job when there is petrol about.

Thanks to David for clarification on flange vs lock-nut, and to Ian for warning about the rubber sleeve variety.

My taps are the lock-nut kind (the last person to work on them before my acquiring the bike thought fit to install them with PTFE tape but without washers of any description -- surely bad practice, especially with a fibreglass tank?).

I see that the taps offered by Andover Norton have a Dowty washer included (and the NOC shop also lists them as separate items). On the face of it these ought to meet David's objections -- any comments?

I'm on a business trip next week, so further news will have to wait till the middle of the month at least.

Julian