how much air is ok?

Hello, This is only my 2nd post here, but I've been lurking for quite some time while tinkering with an '85 interceptor 700 I recently got from my brother in law. I've rebuilt several bikes, but this is my first V4, and also the most complicated machine I've dealt with. He said that he thoroughly cleaned the carbs trying to get it to run with no luck, so I haven't taken them off to check his work (just taking his word for it so far). I did do a valve adjustment on it because he thought one of the valves may be stuck. Some of them were pretty tight and out of tolerance, but nothing too bad. Now I'm trying to make her run, and all i can get is a steady fire from the front left cyl, and intermittent from the right rear. wierd... I just noticed tonight that the breather hose that exits the case right over by the clutch housing (next to an oil line) is blowing quite a lot of gas-smelling air out. I know that *some* air will come from there, but how much is normal? My dad came over today and had a look at it and thought I may have stuck rings or a hole in a piston. I'm at the end of my rope with this machine and dont want to do any more unnecessary work on a bike that is a lost cause. What do you guys think? I"ll probably end up taking the carbs off again to check them over for myself, but if it's a major issue, I'm going to put it all back together and get rid of it. Just waiting on any words of wisdom you guys have to offer. Thanks in advance.
BTW, I know that a pic would help, but I'm impatient and wanted to post my question right away.

 

Lots of air coming out that breather isn't a good sign. Do a compression check before you go any further.

 

+1 with compression check next.

 

dry, then wet, leak-down test wouldn't hurt either.

 

Just a quik update... charged the battery longer, covered the holes on the top of the carb (the long sort of rectangular holes above the throat of the carbs) and i get 3 firing cyl, 1 intermittent cyl, and it runs for a little bit on its own. If i feather the throttle i can get it to rev a little, but that one cyl never picks up. I thought maybe a plugged pilot, but shouldnt the main pick up once I start to rev it? I dont have a compression guage, and just wanted to mess with it for a little bit this afternoon before church. Dont know why closing off the enricher circuit (IF that's what those holes are) made it start to work... is there a chance that maybe... just MAYBE its just a carb issue and not something major given the amount of blow-by? come on, gimme a little ray of hope guys I actually called the brother in law last night and told him to come get it. I had thrown in the towel... until today.. we shall see.

 

If that cylinder is not firing (spark) properly it matters not how good the carb is, how much compression you have, etc, etc. If it's not firing you may have a bad plug, or coil. A consistant or even intermittent missfire is going to cause a severly over rich condition on that cylinder, washing out the rings, dumping fuel into your crankcase, and causing a fuel smell to come from any crankcase vent hose. If the rings are washed out badly enough it may account for the extra air coming from that vent hose, but I wouldn't worry to much about that right now. Check your spark man, sounds like a dead hole.

 

I agree start with the basics, spark, fuel and oxygen see if there is any spark

 

Did you yank all the plugs and have a look at them? Are all cylinders firing? Did you swap the igniters ( whatever they are called) and see if the problem goes away on the cylinder.

was there any black or white smoke when you first got the bike and started it? Could be rings if the bike sat for a long time...Start with a compression test to make sure that all cylinders are equal...

I sent a link out with the shop manual for your bike a weeek or so ago...should be able to find it on one of the posts.Let me know if you cant and Ill send it to you...Just follow the troubleshooting procedures as outlined there..

 

For some reason, it won't let me log on anonymously... I obviously dont have a password. I may try and follow it back to its home and just create an account or something. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction though!

A side note.. we swapped the two black boxes in the back.. same problem. swapped coil wires, same problem. pulled all the plugs and hit them with a plumbers torch (refried) ...even swapped the plugs around. then after getting it to run, the plug was still dry or only a little damp.. not soaked like fouled. I checked it after letting it run at idle, and it was still dry. Only damp when revved. I'm hoping for a dirty carb. I'll let you guys know what I find tomorrow.