Took the carb assembly off my '83 Spectre KZ550 and cleaned it all out and reassembled. The carb bowl gaskets are all intact and about 5 years old. Problem is that a few of them seem to have slightly expanded and a few millimeters and the gasket does not want to lie flat in the groove on the bowl. After careful assembly, I am having some slight leaking from bowl #2 seal area. Can someone recommend a sealant that can be used in combination with the bowl gasket to ensure a good seal? I did some searching on the internet and found Permatex® Anaerobic Gasket Maker, but don't know if it is gasoline resistant. Last thing I want to do is add something that gets into the carb and plugs something up.
From your description I'm thinking the gasket is more of an O ring type that fits in a groove in the bowl. They tend to swell from alcohol in the fuel
Some sealants are gasoline resistant but very few are gasoline proof and most will break down so I wouldn't use any sealant.
Best solution is obviously new float bowl O rings but I have had good success with throwing the old ones in the freezer for a half an hour where they shrink down. Then you have to be fast fitting them before they expand again.
I think I've seen people report using a hair dryer to shrink them but go gently as you can also over do this.
Do not use sealant. Most carb rebuild kits will include bowl gaskets and they should be formed to sit right in the bowl groove. Tighten the bowl screws only until the split lock washer on the screws is flattened out. Use a criss-cross pattern and do not over tighten. Light snug is all it takes.
I just went ahead and removed the bowl from the leaking carb and it is not one where the rubber gasket was outside the groove. If anything, this gasket is flat to the point where it does not extend above the bowl groove much at all in many places. It looks like it will require a new gasket. Partzilla sells the OEM gasket new for $14 each plus shipping. Any good aftermarket manufacturers that sell all four gaskets for a lower price???
On my 750, which also uses O-rings for the floatbowl seal, I bought bulk O-rings from an O-ring store. Unfortunately, I'm not sure what size O-rings fit the Spectre carbs though.
To hold the O-ring in the groove a dot of superglue in each corner works well.
BTW, when the O-rings swell the best way to shrink them back to size is to bake them in an oven. This drives off the absorbed chemicals and restores them to their original condition.
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