fuel leak, revisited

[1st bike]

okay, so really how screwed am i? i just spent the last hour reading all the info on carbs (maintance). as it stands, i just can't fix them. it really is beyond me. i can take big things apart, brakes, water pumps in cars, things like that, but i don't have the background or detail to really make this work. here is the problem. i have a small, tiny, like maybe a tablespoon every two days, fuel leak. it appears to me that it is coming out of the carbs into the airbox. i know this can't be good, but how bad is it? i was told to try seafoam and pray, so i am going to try that first, but is the damn thing gonna blow up on me if it doesn't fix it? i don't feel like spending more on the carbs than i did on the bike, but i don't want my legs and a$$ on fire either. thoughts?

[CatatonicBug]

One of your floats is sticking. Double-check the gaskets on the float bowls, and make sure they are not hanging inside the bowl AT ALL. The floats can get hung up on them, since they don't have much clearance in there. Make sure all the floats swing freely on the pins too. Have you checked float height? Its obviously not a valve leaking, or you would have a LOT more than just a tbsp of fuel coming out.

You'll get it. It just takes patience.

[1st bike]

here is my concern. can i do all of that without messing with the float height or having to re-synch? checking the float height looks way more complicated than i am used to, i was reading and the guy had a whole set up with a different gas tank, and to be honest that scares the crap out of me. i don't want to end up with a non-runner here. if i can take them apart to check all of that, and just put them back together, that is something i am good with, but if doing so is going to throw everything off, then i am out of luck, i am afraid.

[CatatonicBug]

Every time you take the carbs apart, you should re-sync. Things change in there, and it throws everything off.

However, checking the float height does not require fuel. Take the carbs off, and remove the bowls. Turn them upside down and measure from the metal surface of the carb (not the gasket, but what the gasket sits on). To adjust, bend only the tab on the float that holds the float valve into it's tube, not the arms on the float.

I'm not sure what the correct measurement is, but it's available somewhere on this site - probably in a tech tip. If you want to just take the bowls off and check the gaskets for their interference with the floats, that requires no adjustments of any kind. 4 screws on each float bowl, and an exacto knife to trim the gasket if needed. Screw them back on and re-install the carbs. However, if I was in your shoes, I would take the extra time to check the float height while the carbs are off the bike.

[Ken Talbot]

On the later model carbs, there is an o-ring around the body of the float valve. Even if your floats and float valves are working properly, you can still get a leak if this o-ring is bad. Replacing these o-rings is a fairly simple job, but as mentioned, you wil have to re-sync when you're done.

The other thing that is not working correctly is your octopus. If it was working as it should, your floats could all be bad and the o-rings could all be shot, and the octopus would still save the day and shut off the fuel flow when tour'e parked.

The fact that you have a leak meands you have at least two problems that should be fixed. Go in and check the floats, float valves, and float valve o-rings first. Then do a bit more reading about the octopus and get that fixed also. Then you'll be good!

[DGXSER]

Hey first, You can do this, really!! If you can replace a water pump you can work on these carbs. Just remember finess is better than force. Where in Indiana are you located? NW, SW, NE, SE, Center?? I work in all different parts of the state so I may be coming to a town near you sometime soon.

[1st bike]

thanks guys!!! i guess i'll give it a shot. like i said, i can tear them apart, and put them back together, i will just work slowly and carefully. as for resynching...that is a whole other story. i guess i'll leap off that bridge when i have to. and dgsxer, i like about 5 minutes from your work, if i remember correctly. you said you go to keystone at the crossing, or near there, and i live up near 106th and 69 in fishers. if nothing else, lunch at some point would be in order, i believe just to say hey. unless of course i royally screw this up, and then i might be begging for help, with payment in beer and dinner or lunch, if that's cool. i don't need anyone to do it for me, just help me learn how to do it right. i guess this is more of a confidence issue, and i want to have a bike to ride, not look at in anger when i break it.

[XSokieSPECIAL]

1st bike

We all make mistakes, that's how we learn.

You don't know how to do anything until we try, and maybe screw it up once or twice.

Jump in! You'll learn to swim. No one will let you drown.

[tarzan]

Another side note here.You may not have to resync if you don't seperate the carbs from the rack.That is because the sync adjusts the airflow past the butterflies.Nothing inside the bowl should affect the airflow, just the fuel flow.

So you will probably have to adjust the idle adjustment screw though.

Another thing to check with floats is make sure both pontoons are level with each other.What I mean is, sometimes they can get a little bit twisted or cocked.So one side measures right and the other is too high or low.

And I think Ken is probably right on in that the o-ring under the float valve is probably causing you're leak.I had that happen and it is a slower leak then a
float valve itself leaking.

[DGXSER]

Hey 1st, your right. My office is in the Keystone Park area there at 96 and Keystone. I have stayed at the Springhill in Fishers and have a project in Noblesville that I may well be visiting in the next week or two. So if you hit a spot where you get stuck, I'd be happy to stop by and see what we can figure out.

[trbig]

What I would do is just order a new set of float valves and seats, as seen here.

https://www.partsnmore.com/cat_index...&category=carb


Make sure that the new float needle has a viton (Rubber) tip. they seal much better than some of the old ones that are metal. I also agree that this is going to be just a float valve leak.. or a leak around the o-ring at the valve seat. If it were a float hung on the side, the fuel would free flow out of that carb and be a much larger amount than just a teaspoon.

I must throw out a caution here. The only thing to be careful about is removing the float pin. Those two aluminum posts that this pin goes through break VERY easily... so use caution. But don't worry about the carbs. They really are pretty simple. The float valve is what your float raises and lowers by a little tab attached to the float. While you're in there, take a look at the actual bowl of the carb. On the edge of the bowl, there'll be a hole. Down in the bottom of this hole is a small brass jet. This is your enrichener circuit (Choke) jet. Shoot some carb cleaner down through that to make sure it's clear.

Also.. after you take the bowls off, just mess with one carb at a time. When you put the bowls back on correctly, the drain holes at the bottom need to aim to the outside.

Tod

[1st bike]

man you guys are great! i tear em off the bike and get the top off and see what i have, but i'll keep em together and hopefully i won't have to worry about the synching. i am very very very hopeful that this is a seal, i can fix that, get a good look at the carbs, and maybe if something else goes wrong in the future i can go it a little more prepared, i just hate the not knowing. if i do it once (and i want to do it myself, and learn the right way) i know i can work on the rest of it, if that makes any sense at all. thanks guys!!!!

[Rasputin]

I spent weeks of riding time and about 800 bucks at the shop trying to get them to get the carbs set right. They had a dyno and all the fancy exhaust gas analyzer and knowledge, or so I thought. Finally I manned up and decided that with the help available on this forum I could do it. I was scared to do it. I did a lot of reading and searching on the forum. Posted more than one question too, just to make sure what I thought I knew was correct. When I took them apart I found many errors that the shop had done, no wonder it ran poorly. Now I have a fair grasp of how it works and I have done two bikes and am starting on the third one. All I can say is go ahead and tear into them. These guys and gals on this forum will help you every step of the way. I also would find a way to buy, beg , borrow , build or steal a synch tool as it is the single most important tool (IMHO) for working on the carbs.

[trbig]

Agreed.. A synch tool is important. During the riding year, it would probably be a good idea to synch the carbs at least every couple of months. If you use pod filters, which may get stopped up at different rates, it probably wouldn't hurt to synch more often. Did you just clean your air filter?? Need to synch it again.

Sure, they'll run without doing it so often, but gas mileage and performance will suffer a bit. If you put out a call on here for some help doing it the first time, someone around you will usually show up. It would take the unkowing element out of it. It's a very simple process to do once you know how, and will keep it running in top shape. Even if it is pink...


Tod

[XSokieSPECIAL]

hopefully i won't have to worry about the synching.

If you take the carbs off you MUST sync when you reinstall. There is NO way around it.

Buy a sync tool. They are around $100 or build yourself one.

Basic carb stuff here. If you want to ride learn all you can about them. They WILL be your biggest PITA.

I've had the carbs off mine ? times and I'm on my 3rd rack. Finally got them right but had to sync EVERY time.

Touchy little bastards.