Fuel Leak

Olajoe wrote: ..........................All you have to do is take the fuel line and blow through it, done. Tighten bowl gasket. ............

Is that another analogy of some sort? How does blowing through a fuel line and tightening the bowl gasket correct a problem in which a carb is overflowing though the air box and overflow tubes? :S Are you serious or just pulling the original poster's leg? I believe he is trying to gather useful suggestions so he can find the cause of the leaks. Ed

Actually if you read what you wrote then its' obvious. If you run a float type carb you already know what i'm talking about. But you calling me out because you have more time than you know what to do with. The guy that posted this said it's his first bike. He has maybe 3 post as of now. RULE NUMBER ONE. Before you start off you have to do your own homework. Spoon feeding trolls is no different than giving a man a fish.

650ed wrote:

Olajoe wrote: Ed i never said your carb has a flapper or that these carbs have flappers Why the hypersensitivty? it's an analogy. How can you put a float on backwards that's not even possible and if by some chance that happened it wouldn't leak because it would already be in the closed position unless as pointed early in the analogy it would need to be cleaned or replaced.

No hypersensitivty on my part. You stated "... the height maybe good already. But the flapper needs some help." To me that sounds like you are saying the flapper needs some help, and since the original posting is about carbs I asked what flapper you were referring to. Suggesting to the original poster that the "flapper needs some help" didn't come across to me as an analogy, but maybe I simply didn't understand your point.

As far as a float being put on upside down (I did not say "backwards" as you stated) actually, the float CAN be put on upside down. Folks have done it and it caused overflow problems. Ed

John_KZ650 wrote: . . . 1979 KZ650 . . . The issue I'm wondering about here happened after after I put the carburetor back onto the bike. I came in the next day and found a huge fuel puddle underneath. Upon further inspection I saw that not only was the fuel leaking from the drain hoses attached to the float bowls but also somehow going through into the air box and leaking out through its drain hose as well . . . .

With this significant volume of fuel leakage, would sniff-test and examine condition of the crankcase oil.
Because some fuel may have entered the crankcase and diluted/contaminated the oil.
If so, would disconnect the fuel hose to assure no more fuel enters the carb. Then change both the oil and filter.
And do not allow anymore fuel to enter the carb, and do not run the engine until the leakage condition has been resolved.

Good Fortune!

When the carbs overflow like that it means the float and needle system is not functioning. Sometimes when working on carbs on a workbench upside down the float gets stuck. A couple of raps with the handle of a screwdriver on the float bowl will trigger release of the float and solve the problem. In this instance that's a possibility but something tells me there is more to the story.

The clear tube test will show the condition of the float/needles. Based on what you are saying at least one of the carbs will show a high fuel level. Of course if you look at the carbs and one of the overflow tubes is dripping you will know right there as well.

Because you are talking from behind a bush.

Patton wrote:

John_KZ650 wrote: . . . 1979 KZ650 . . . The issue I'm wondering about here happened after after I put the carburetor back onto the bike. I came in the next day and found a huge fuel puddle underneath. Upon further inspection I saw that not only was the fuel leaking from the drain hoses attached to the float bowls but also somehow going through into the air box and leaking out through its drain hose as well . . . .

With this significant volume of fuel leakage, would sniff-test and examine condition of the crankcase oil.
Because some fuel may have entered the crankcase and diluted/contaminated the oil.
If so, would disconnect the fuel hose to assure no more fuel enters the carb. Then change both the oil and filter.
And do not allow anymore fuel to enter the carb, and do not run the engine until the leakage condition has been resolved.

Good Fortune!

Patton wrote:

John_KZ650 wrote: . . . 1979 KZ650 . . . The issue I'm wondering about here happened after after I put the carburetor back onto the bike. I came in the next day and found a huge fuel puddle underneath. Upon further inspection I saw that not only was the fuel leaking from the drain hoses attached to the float bowls but also somehow going through into the air box and leaking out through its drain hose as well . . . .

With this significant volume of fuel leakage, would sniff-test and examine condition of the crankcase oil.
Because some fuel may have entered the crankcase and diluted/contaminated the oil.
If so, would disconnect the fuel hose to assure no more fuel enters the carb. Then change both the oil and filter.
And do not allow anymore fuel to enter the carb, and do not run the engine until the leakage condition has been resolved.

Good Fortune!

Right. I'm definitely going to change the oil/ filter anyways. Better safe than sorry.

Cheers!

650ed wrote:

Olajoe wrote: ..........................All you have to do is take the fuel line and blow through it, done. Tighten bowl gasket. ............

Is that another analogy of some sort? How does blowing through a fuel line // correct a problem in which a carb is overflowing though the air box and overflow tubes?

It's funny, but my 750 twin started running really bad and I looked down and it was flooding out one carb. I pulled into a gas station and thought about it for a while..... took the fuel lines loose and drained out the bowls. Then I took a deep breath and did a "hard blow" to the fuel line on the flooding side hoping I could blow loose whatever piece of crap was screwing with the needle valve. And it worked..... :lol:

In the 37 years I have owned mine, my basic rule was you drop the bowls and clean/polish the needles and seats every six months or you will start to get flooding problems.

FYI: I later learned using Lucas Fuel Conditioner extends that interval because it slows how fast the fuel oxidizes to varnish and gunks up the needles. Wish I had known it a long time ago.

That's good stuff. Thanks for the tips.

Took the bowls off my carbs and came across this white gunk that doesn't look to friendly. I'm obviously going to get all that crap out of there but I'm wondering what the hell it is? And also if I should be worried about that stuff leading to larger issues.

That white stuff looks like oxidized metal. If that is so, then it indicates the presence of water. Could you have gotten some bad fuel that caused all these headaches?

Looks like sealant.
Steve

The choke tube looks to be plugged up for one thing, plus there are chunkies visible. I'd ungang the carbs and tear them down. Soak in carb dip and replace all the various O-rings. Cycleorings.com sells a VM kit which should have most of what you need. You can supplement with some bowl gaskets as needed from Z1 Enterprises or similar.

Short cuts are long cuts when it comes to carbs.

members.dslextreme.com/users/bikecliff/i.../vm_carb_rebuild.pdf

... and when it comes time to install them back on the kz650 (where's the pics of this beauty?) make sure you put a fuel filter on it.

That white stuff looks like oxidation of the carb bowl surfaces but there also appears to be flakes of it stuck on the floats which makes me go "Huh?". The point is something is loose in the fuel and it's exactly the size needed to plug up a jet or cause a float valve to stick etc.

A little money (like under $5) spent on a fuel filter now can save you hours, hundreds of dollars and stress later.