carb bowl hoses!!!!!!

Hi all,had a question hopefully someone can help this newbie out?
Got a 78 kz650,and she's been running great up till now,well she still runs great,but as i was rideing today,been out probably an hour,i stopped to get gas,when i noticed that the carb bowl hose closest to the petcock,was dumping gas,none of the other 3 hoses did it,just the 1.So i road home to get the bike up ASAP,and continuously checked at each light,and stop sing,still same thing,first hose was dumping fuel,but none of the other carb hoses were.Get home turned off the petcock and it stopped,this hose dumps gas while running and not running,funny thing though is that the bike never ran crappy,i would have never known.Is this something stuck open in the 1 carb?Has anyone ever experienced this or heard of it.Please help

9/1/09== Ok now,this sucks,now i have gas comming down the float bowl hoses 1,and 3,not just 1 anymore,could this be something somebody recognizes before i go and tear apart my carbs,maybe petcock giving to much fuel,or what please help!!!!!!!

You either have a stuck float valve in #1, or a leaky float valve in #1. If you're getting good flow out that tube, it is probably stuck open, rather than just leaking.

Remove your carbs, open the bowl and check the valve and float hinge to make sure everything is moving smoothly. Also check the valve tip to see if ti is worn.

Would i be able to yank carbs,and replace without new gasket?Or do i have to order gasket and wait?

This is what to look for:

ohioKZnut wrote:

Would i be able to yank carbs,and replace without new gasket?Or do i have to order gasket and wait?

Maybe.

Depends on the condition of the gaskets. Usually, you can open up carb float bowls without ruining the existing bowl gasket. But if a previous owner did something stupid like use some gasket adhesive there, you'll probably need to replace them. But that is not likely.

You may also want to consider the condition of your intake and manifold boots (the rubber things that bridge the gap between the carbs and the engine in front, and the airbox in back. If they are old and hard, you may have difficulty getting the carbs off, and an even harder time getting them back on. If they are old and hard, you should replace them anyway, as they are prone to leaking through the cracks in the rubber, which causes an air/fuel mixture imbalance, causing your engine to run poorly.

You can *try* to remove and inspect the #1 float bowl with the carbs still mounted to the engine. But there's not a lot of room to work down there, and it can be a little tricky to get it all back together while hanging upside down. I've done it, but afterwards thought that it would have been easier to just remove the carbs.

I've done the float valves without removing the carbs. I find it much easier than removing the carbs, but I use a little 1/4" ratchet and screwdiver tip to take out the screws and a mirror (don't tell wifey) to see under the carbs. It's actually much easier than it sounds.

OK is the valve needle anything to do with the jet?and can i see if it is stuck open from the bottom,what to look for,and if i can just do a quick kinda fix.

ohioKZnut wrote:

OK is the valve needle anything to do with the jet?and can i see if it is stuck open from the bottom,what to look for,and if i can just do a quick kinda fix.

No, it is not a jet. The float valve assembly consists of two floats (usually black foam disks) connected by a metal bar. In the center of a bar is a small tab that pushes on the tail end of the float needle. The float needle sits inside a metal cylinder, with it's pointy end facing up. the pointy end blocks off the opening to the fuel supply tube, where the gas comes in.

The float needle should be able to slide freely in the cylinder.

When you turn on the fuel supply at the petcock, gas flows to the carbs, through the fuel supply tube, and into the float bowl. As the bowl fills, the floats rise up, and the center tab pushes up on the float needle until the pointy end of the needle blocks off the opening to the supply tube, and stops fuel from entering the bowls.

If the float needle point is worn, it may not be able to fully seal off the fuel supply, and gas will continue to flow into the bowl until it overflows. A worn needle usually results in a slow leak. A fast leak, where a lot of fuel is flowing out the overflow tube, usually is indicative of the needle or float hinge getting stuck.

To remove the float needle, you'll need to remove the bowl. There is a metal pin between the floats that acts as a hinge for the floats to move up and down. You should be able to slide this pin out from either side. If you are doing this with the carbs still on the bike, when you remove the pin, the floats should fall down, and the float needle will also fall out of the cylinder. On some carbs, the needle is attached to the float tab with a small metal wire loop on the back end of the needle. On other models, the needle just sits on top of the tab, with no attachment to the float tab, so be careful removing the floats, as the needle will just fall out, and it is rather small and easy to lose.

Here's a diagram that shows what I'm talking about:


(the red dot marks the float tab, and the green dot marks the needle)

Once you get the needle out use a Q-tip to carefully clean the orifice (seat) up in the carb that the needle seats against and clean the needle. Carb cleaner will work, just don't use anything abrasive. Generally, a little piece of crud can keep the needle from seating properly, thus fuel continues to flow as long as the petcock is on. This happened on my bike a few years ago, but once I cleaned it no more problems. It the needle looks ok, cleaning should do it, if not, the needle and orifice should both be replaced (easy to do.) If a bit of crud got in the carb, you may want to consider adding a fuel filter to prevent more of the same. By the way, be very careful in removing the float. Do not bend the little tang that the needle rests against or you will mess up the fuel level in that carb. Ed

Thank you soooooooooooooooo much guys,will do as said,hopefully thats it.Didnt really plan on dissassembleing the carbs till winter when i put the 2" comp baffle on.Again thank you for your help and advice.

The guys have given an excellent write up on how to properly address the problem with the stuck float/ not sealing needle and seat.

As it is the Number 1 carb and it is easily accessable you could try to tap the carb with a rubber hammer or something that will not damge the carb body. This will 7 out of 10 times dislodge a stuck float and allow the needle to seat.

I am in no way discouraging you from completing the correct process, but I have had this happen to me at least 3 or 4 times and it always worked for me. It could hold you over to winter. When you can properly rebuild the carbs and install the inline fuel filter.

If you do decide to try the low tech method, make sure to give it a good tap and not a smack and do not be afraid to tap it like a man.

Or you could give it a "tap, tap , tap-a-roo" like Happy Gilmore.

KR

Oops, Kool Ryder beat me to it. I was reading the thread agreeing with everyone, but keep thinking "man, before I did that, I'd take my medium-sized crescent and give that #1 carb a couple of nice "taps" right at the bowl/carb interface. Works for me more than half the time!

good luck