Leaky carb question

[Blast_Her_Man.]

Here it is.....

After sitting around for a week or so without riding, the carb started to drain gas as soon as I turned the pet weiner to "ON". I took the carb apart, put back together and it stopped draining like that and rode like a champ. What could cause this and how can I prevent it so that I don't have to take the carb out if it happens again.

Is it just built up pressure or something? Can it be fixed by just opening that little drian plug screw on the bottom of the carb?

 

[wolf424242]

Look at the float height to make sure it is correct but that shouldn't be the problem. It may have been stuck open also because it was dirty from sitting. The same thing happened to me all the time before and I just keep it clean now.

 

[royalt67]

Prob just a bit of crap in the needle/seat or just stuck from varninsh/drying out. A common fix to try before disassembly is to tap the float bowl with a hammer HANDLE. This works for me about half the time.

 

[Blast_Her_Man.]

Thanks for the help.

The bike is a '03, but barely used. Probably only had around 30 hours on it or so when I got it. The first thing I did was take the carb out when I got it because it was leaking then and the thing was SPOTLESS. Like, not a speck of anything inside.

I actually hit a jump the other day and landed hard. After that, it stalled. After I got it started it sounded a bit funny on the way home and seemed like it wanted to stall. When home, I noticed that it was dripping very slowly from that drain hose on the carb.

 

[royalt67]

Classic "jump/flood" from a stuck float. Newer style carbs (like FCRs) are designed to prevent this, with mixed results.

 

[Blast_Her_Man.]

Jump/Flood, huh?

Should I just take the carb out again and take apart, then put back together?

Doesn't sound likee a big deal.

 

[royalt67]

No, you already cleaned it. It's just a fact that jumping (and sometimes just riding) sometimes makes the float stick because you are making the float bounce. That's why tapping helps. You are dislodging the stuck float. If that doesn't help then you take it apart, clean it, and recheck the float level. It's not real common but it's possible that a lot of hard riding could make your float level change.

 

[Blast_Her_Man.]

Cool, I will tap it and see how that works. If not, take it apart again.

Never had one stick before. I guess I never jumped them hard enough. Either that, or my landings are always so graceful and easy.....

 

[Blast_Her_Man.]

By the way, thanks for the help!

 

[royalt67]

....or just damn lucky...I think all but one of mine have leaked at one time or another. Good luck and don't forget that if it continues you might just have to get a new needle, they do go bad.

 

[Awk08]

hard landing once knocked my float level way out once,
20 - 21.5 mm from gasket surface to top of float

 

[royalt67]

Yeah, and just the other day my Raptor dumped 1/2 tank of fuel on the floor before I noticed the drip-drip. Tapped it and it stopped. Sheesh.