Brand New Floats -- Sticking Open? Comments needed.

I finished-up a set of carbs and sent them back with New Floats ... right out of the bag.

Before shipping them out, I set the Float Levels to Specs.
I put Anti-Shake-Loose Material under the Floats for the shipping ride home.

Tonight the Client has an issue with the New Floats Sticking OPEN. What happened between here and there?

(Yes ... the Client took-out the Packing)

 

Could it be the client's fuel supply was unfiltered and dirty? What caused their needing to rebuild their original carbs?

 

once the packing was removed the floats fell past their operating range
now the tang on the floats is pushing sideways on the needle valve
once the bowl has some gas in it and the tang pushes more up than sideways
all should be well
smack them puppies with a screwdriver handle, shake 'em loose
maybe

 

Well ... their Brand New.
I deliberately tried to overfill 'em during the Float Level Test.
No Problem.
I'm puzzled.

 

What type of fuel is the owner using? I posted a while back that when I fueled up with premium gas the floats wouldn't close when the should. Not a problem of sticking (how do you or the owner know that the floats are sticking? or are they just letting too much fuel into the bowls?) I went back to regular fuel and the problem went away. So, might it be possible that the fuel--or possibley the atmosphere--is different enought that the floats need to be significantly adjusted?

My two bits.

 

different fuels can have different specific gravity values. I'm sure there is a difference between hi test and regular grades and between ethanol and non-ethanol fuel.

I am not sure how sensitive float level settings are Vs. specific gravity ranges one might encounter with different fuels... I assume the the center of the adjustment range should allow sufficent 'slop' factor to work okay with all fuels. But if the adjustment was at one extreme and a particular fuel was at the other.... who knows.

 

Plural? As in more than one float was sticking open? Do you mean to say the float(s) sunk or the float needle(s) let fuel overflow by not seating properly?

 

Maybe the client thought the -floats- were the packing material??

I assume you had the bottom drain screws loose to set the float level? Did you make sure to close them prior to shipping? Was the client careful when removing the material and putting the bowls back on?
I had a couple 750RJ carbs leaking after cleaning them up last year; the needles were initially ajar not allowing them to seat. Of course, I now know from this site that this occurrence is common; and I'm also sure that you're well aware of that.

 

packing material I'm not to sure I see this right but could this have had pressure on the floats and caused more harm than good.

if the carbs were of the kind we have seen lately (real mess) this just does not magically stop at the fuel hose it goes up to the gas tank,,,contaminated fuel and if not the cause now it will be,,,,

if client took bowls off an on there's room for error there also.

 

There was NO Pressure. I saw to that.
Only enough to prevent the Floats from Flapping around during shipment.
Just enough to hold them from flying up and down every time the box was bumped or handled.

 

dburnettesr may be on to something there. Is it possible the packing material modified the float tang position when the bowls where screwed back on? That is to say, the packing material thickness was greater than the void between the inside of the bowl and the bottom of the float(s). This would push the float(s) up against the needle plungers until no room was left resulting in the tang(s) being bent down, in effect giving the float a much higher setting than what you original set them at? The result would be carbs that would flood.

 

it does not take much to make a float stick,,,,filters are not 100%,,,,and imo do not end the argument for contaminated fuel,,,

sticking floats are not out of adjustment floats

it may take 2 maybe 3 tanks before it stops hanging a float now an then and that's if the tank is clean

if client put them on an did not have any further problems that would be a miracle imo

 

I thought of that ... and placed the packing material -- UNDER -- the Floats.

Any pressure would have only made the Float more firmly secure in transit.
I "Played with" how much dampening was necessary not to throw a Float Needle, in transit, between Point-A and Point-B.

 

Hey everyone...

these are my newly rebuilt carbs were chatting about...

i removed the paper toweling cushions using a set of curved hemostats. dont ask WHY i had the innocent looking paraphenelia :roll: its NOT why you think!

i carefully replaced the bowls. nothing was askew or tweaked in any manner. the carbs WERE flipped over and back several times, so i suppose it is possible that the floats and the needles got misaligned...

i mounted the carbs, hooked up the fuel and vacuum lines and started to fill the tank. after about a quart of fuel, my wife said "do you know somethings leaking all over the floor?"

i quickly pulled the tank off and started looking. i found that fuel was pouring into the airbox and then draining from the bottom drain...

i hooked up the reliable pop (soda for everyone whos NOT in the midwest) bottle and got it to start up with no more evidence of leaking...

tonight i hooked up the fuel lines again and set the tank on the bike and started it up. again no evidence of any flooding of the bowls...

i DID put premium fuel in it to start, i had to borrow a half gallon from a neighbor since i had already filled my lawn mower. but again, tonight with the same fuel, there is no apparent overfilling/leaking...

d

 

How's it Running?

 

the idle is still about 1200rpm and it sure sounds rough...

im thinking its running pretty rich but i dont have anyway of checking right now...

i will have to put my air filter in and connect the exhaust before i start any tuning procedure...

#4 after it gets running sounds VERY much like its only firing every other time or so. it seems to have a putt-putt type exhaust note...

hopefully more time to play with it tomorrow or thursday...

d

 

You mean you don't have the hemostats to pull porcupine quills from your bird dogs snout? What else would you have them for?

No filter or pipes seems more likely to make it lean.