Carbs leaking fuel

Hey everyone!
It's been awhile since I've posted!

I've been turning this:


into this:


I'm asking about a '81 KZ550 C. Stock engine/carbs.
2 of my carbs are leaking gas from the overflow tubes. I checked and adjusted the levels, checked for cracks, and checked the seals on the overflow screws. I'm thinking this might be caused by my petcock. The bike originally had a vacuum actuated petcock, and I replaced that with a regular (non vacuum) one. Do these (stock) carbs require the vacuum petcock?

No, a manual petcock is ok as long as it is working properly.
If the overflow tubes are not cracked, then the likely culprits are leaking float valves and a malfunctioning petcock.

Is there a quick way of testing the peacock. It's just. valve right? As long as it shuts off fuel, or let's it flow it should be working correctly, right?

Also, how does one measure the fuel level inside the float bowl? Or how do I appropriately adjust the floats?

Look up clear tube test.
Steve

thejameswilliam wrote: Is there a quick way of testing the peacock. It's just. valve right? As long as it shuts off fuel, or let's it flow it should be working correctly, right?
Right. Pull the fuel line off the carbs and put the end in a container. If fuel flows when the petcock is in the OFF position, then it faulty.

Also, how does one measure the fuel level inside the float bowl? Or how do I appropriately adjust the floats?

Yup, clear tube method. It is described in the factory service manual and in several threads around here. You really need the factory manual.

Looks like someone put some red pod air filters on that bike of yours. The red should be signaling you like a red traffic light to STOP and take those carbs apart proper like and see what's on the inside, including taking an inventory of the jetting because the pods will make the mixture run drastically LEAN now.

I'm not a jetting guy but typically when installing pods you need to move the main jet several steps more rich, the needle a step or two more rich, and sometimes the pilot one step. This is just me spewing off the top of my head, not instructions. You need to take an inventory of the jets in your carbs now and compare to what was installed stock. If you have the stock jetting in your carbs now, with pods installed, I wouldn't even bother trying to start the bike because you will just be setting yourself up for a bunch of frustration and possibly damaging the engine. And speaking of that, you should be checking and adjusting the valves before running the bike too. This needs to be part of reviving every old bike you find. Valve neglect is one of the most often neglected maintenance tasks and one of the most damaging so much like the jetting, I wouldn't even bother trying to run the bike until you verify the valves are set properly if you haven't already done so.

Hope this helps and good luck. Oh, and agree with the others about finding a factory Kawasaki manual and performing the "clear tube" method of checking the fuel level in each carb.

I had a 550 that also had a bothersome leak though carb drain hoses, one carb as well. There is video on clear tube here



Other 550 stuff too at my channel. In this case it was a leaking vacuum petcock. Rebuilding it was successful. Yours being a standard petcock, it is easy to check. Take the tank off and hook up a gas line to a container and let it sit over night. If it leaks there will be gas in the container. Even a small leak, a few tablespoons will cause overflow. I also replaced all four valve seats and float needles. Also with pods, most 550s do not need the same one two step jetting adjustments, member Loudhvx has great info on his 550 pages. Search one of his topics and the link is in his sig line. Good luck. R

With a factory exhaust, you might get away with just shimming the needle about .5 to .7 mm, and using stock jets. But it has to be shimmed properly.

There is a link to carburetor info and factory service manuals in my signature.