Max-X carb - Broken overflow "T" repair

Another fixit I just needed to do. Someone had earlier ripped the carb from the bike and broken the nipple off the overflow "T" going between carbs 3&4. Fortunately the tube was loose on top of the engine and the broken nipple was still inside it.

I looked for a used one but the only reply was from a friend who is rebuilding his X and won't be needing the carbs for a long time. He separated his set to send me one so I can get this running asap, asking me to find one later and send it to him. Not knowing when I'd be able to find that and not wanting him to have to also have to look for one later, I decided to try and repair my broken one while the replacement was on its way to me in the mail. (Thanks Dave, I'll be sending it back to you).

The nipple is made of plastic and not the kind of material to take glue or most epoxies. An adhesive would offer no support. I thought about heating both ends to melt and then pushing them together but if I failed, I might ruin any chance of a repair. It seemed like my best idea was to pin the two pieces together and use a plastic epoxy to adhere as best as possible and let it set in a clamp for 24 hours.

The local True Value has brass & copper mini tubes and I found a copper on that was an almost perfect fit in the ID of the nipple. I figured if the epoxy wouldn't adhere to the T well, that I'd have to cut some deep gouges inside the ID of the T and the mating part in the main body, reason being if the epoxy was in those gouges as well, it would be next to impossible to dislodge.

I flattened the broken/jagged edge on the main section to make it flush with the top of the T, roughed up the top of the T & turned it around so the flat undamaged end would mate with the body of the T and the jagged part would be now at the end where I could fill it with epoxy and make it round as normal to accept the drainage tube.

I took a drill that fit the ID of the main part of the T and inserted it in the top of the T and then "ovaled" the copper tube so as to give more bite into the plastic, found how much tube was needed to go to the end and not impinge on the lumen at the top of the T (the part that goes in-between carbs) and applied the epoxy.

I took the photos with the tube in it right before cutting the tube off with a dremel cutting wheel (you can see some of the gouges in the tube that extend to the end of the tube) and then put the T in a vise, compressing the two parts together. I waited 24 hours and discovered the project worked! I might be able to dislodge the two pieces but it would require at least as much force as it would take to break it so I consider it acceptable.



Note the gouges, I cut them with a dremel cutting wheel and I used a bent nail where I made the tip 90 degrees to the shaft & cut it to fit inside & then put that in a drill so I could gouge the inside of the plastic.



It ain't pretty but it's 100% functional again. Note the extra epoxy at the end where I made the end square, it was quite jagged after being broken.



Even though it's the overflow end, I made really sure there's not particles of anything inside the T.

It's fun to fix things!