Fuel leaking from the air box

[digitalsam]

4 inches of snow today, which in New Mexico means a snow day and closed schools. So i decided to sync the carbs. I hooked up the home made tool, which is four six foot fuel lines that are connected to each other and filled with two stroke oil. It started up fine, but as I fiddled with things I didn't notice that the third and fourth carb sucked oil into the intake. I shut it down and need to know what to do next. Also when this happened, I noticed fuel leaking from the air box.

I need a little help, what happened to make the fuel leak out of the air filter box and am I ok to run the bike with that and the twostroke oil in the fuel?

[brownbear1000]

one of the flots is not stoping the gas do not run it fix it

[brownbear1000]

it happen to me one of my flots hade a hole in it.
the gas was running out the over foll and in to the air box.
check the flots in all your carbs.

[digitalsam]

OK, it's dumb question time!

First, what causes floats to stick? People talk about adjusting the float height, what does that

Second, If they moved freely before I installed the carbs, are there any tell tale signs that a float might stick?

Third, How do you unstuck 'em? Is there a quick and dirty method if you are on a ride? And what is the correct method when you are back at the ranch?

Fourth, Is there anyway to unstuck em without removing the carbs?
I have just installed them for the third time after re-re cleaning them and I grow tired of pulling them past the airbox. Arggg!

[Incubus]

Sometimes you can free up a stuck float by tapping on the side of the carbs with a screwdriver handle or something. Just tapping hard enough to set up a vibration and jstle it loose, not whamming on it trying to shake things up. It's worth a try before you blow 15 minutes pulling the carbs.

As for the two-stroke oil, it might foul out the plugs, but it's made to mix with gas and run through the cylinders so it shouldn't do any other damage.

Patrick

[digitalsam]

When I tap, any idea which one I should tap? Would it be the one that is pulling the most vacuum? How will I know if it loosens up?

Sometimes I wish life were more like a video game with cool noises that told you if you did something correctly. An undo button would be nice too.

[cywelchjr]

When I tap, any idea which one I should tap? Would it be the one that is pulling the most vacuum? How will I know if it loosens up?

Sometimes I wish life were more like a video game with cool noises that told you if you did something correctly. An undo button would be nice too.

Just do a few taps on each of them. Actually when you tap it will tend to jar the whole bank, but I like to tap each one in turn, starting with the outside carb on each side and working my way in.

Mine I found that I need to rebuild my left petcock today. Went out to go to lunch and found the rubber piece from the airbox wet with gas, and gas dripping down from the petcock (not really fast, but fast enough to stay wet). Grabbed my screwdriver from the saddlebag (love having a dresser) and cinched the screws on the bottom just a tad and it seems better but I'm sure it's still seeping. Luckily I do have an extra rebuild kit around somewhere, so I guess I'll rebuild this one this weekend, that should fix it up.

[Incubus]

A lot of POs disconnected the stock undo button.

[bikerphil]

DS, the floats can also hang up on the bowl gasket. If this is the case, trim the inner sides down a little. Gunked up fuel can cause the floats to stick, which is probably not your case. The float dropping too low can cause sticking. There is a tab by the float post that can be bent to prevent this. The float level is important for the fuel mixture to be correct. With the carbs on the bench upside down, lower float level will be richer, higher float level will be leaner. It is important that they all are adjusted the same. Hang in there, you'll get it.

[digitalsam]

Thanks guys, I am out of day today, but will try tapping the carbs tomorrow evening. Will there be any indication that I have unstuck the float? A pop, a ding? Or do I wait and see if there is fuel leaking to tell if I succeeded?

Also, would a stuck float affect the vacuum of a single carb?

[Incubus]

Float height has no affect on vacuum. You will know the float is unstuck when fule stops leaking.

Patrick

[MindWebs]

i learned this the hard way.

2 stroke oil will not hurt your engine. it will only give it a little extra lubrication.

a side effect will be that it will foul your spark plugs.(not 2 stroke heat range plugs) slap a new set in and you'll be good to go there.

leaking carbs..

my advice.

#1. install carburator rebuild kits if you haven't done it yet.
the factory float measurements only work on new and good parts.
NOT 30 year old parts, float valve springs only last for so long then they get weak.

#2. Install petcock rebuild kit.
there rubber parts only last so long and then they get brittle and hard.

these parts along with new feul lines will bring your fuel system back to a like new state. All measurements and adjustments recomended in your service manual will then be usable and correct.

Good luck

[Ivan]

In a spirit level size sync gauge, there wouldn't even be enough oil to foul the plugs. Start it and enjoy the puff of smoke. Just be sure it doesn't send any wrong signals to the natives.

Also, if the scoot has been sitting for a while and the floats were down, its possible they just got gummed up in that position. Lots of people like to shut off the petcocks and run the bowls dry, which I reckon causes a lot of stuck floats.

[DGXSER]

OK, it's dumb question time!

No such thing we are just curing ignorance. Which we all needed before we knew this stuff.

First, what causes floats to stick? People talk about adjusting the float height, what does that

The leaking fuel can be a stuck float, or it can be dirt or debris of some kind in the float valve, between the valve and the seat. Neither of which should have been caused by your pop of oil into the vacuum. That is way downstream of the carb and will only go into the engine.

Second, If they moved freely before I installed the carbs, are there any tell tale signs that a float might stick?

Sadly, no. I have suffered this fate with one set of carbs at least six times in a row. Even ran the bench test both upside down and right side up and all went fine. load them in and I get a leaker.

Third, How do you unstuck 'em? Is there a quick and dirty method if you are on a ride? And what is the correct method when you are back at the ranch?

Motly outlined by the other great responses. The only I woudl add is cleaning the float valve seat and the valve and the fuel inlet T.

Fourth, Is there anyway to unstuck em without removing the carbs? I have just installed them for the third time after re-re cleaning them and I grow tired of pulling them past the airbox. Arggg!

See above post by others....good news is by the six or seventh time it is a piece of cake to put them in and out!!!

[area51child]

I had this happen once...

I repaired my octo with rtv (yeah, I know), then eventually some pieces got stuck under a float valve. Were your lines filtered?

I really wanted to mention that the fuel goes both ways... i.e., park downhill and it goes past the valve, down the wall, and past the rings. I though the problem was intermittent but wound up with a oil pan full of gas.