SX carb still dumping gas...

[Name Brand]

My SX carb is still dumping gas out of the overflow tube as soon as I turn the fuel lever to 'on'. Not dripping, a steady flow of gas. I had the float bowl off a couple of times now. The last time I took it apart the float moved freely and showed no damage. The thing the float pushes on (Plunger?... don't have my manuel nearby) to close the hole it's in moves freely and is also not damaged or worn on the rubber end. I did find some debris stuck to it last time which I think was the problem. I gave it a very thorough cleaning and put it back together. It worked fine but only for a little while.

Maybe, I have another piece of debris on the plunger. Clean gas in a very clean tank though. What else could be going wrong?

[userj8670]

i had the same problem and it was my needle. The best part was that it fixed itself to lol.

[cybrman]

I had the same problem. Two things I did that I think solved my problem.
1. Make sure you have a good seal on the bottom of the carb. If you haven't already get a rebuild kit and use the new gasket. I found that trying to get a good airtight seal with the old gasket was a pain.
2. Make sure the drain screw on the bottom of the bowl isn't pitted or misshapen on the end. It needs to make a nice tight seal. Any air getting in will allow the gas to drain out the bottom. I took a piece of sandpaper and sanded the end a bit to make sure it was sealing properly. Mine was coneshaped on the end but had some pitting due to rust.

I don't have the problem any more and those are the two things I did.
Hope it helps.

[Name Brand]

i had the same problem and it was my needle. The best part was that it fixed itself to lol.
Which needle exactly? I'm not having the same luck as you...


cybrman - It got a brand new float bowl gasket the last time I had it apart. I took the drain screw apart and made sure it was clean too. It's something else though. If I hold my finger over the drain hose, gas just comes out the vent tube.

[userj8670]

LOL!!! That is unfortunate. THe needle i am refering to is the needle inside the carb that works with your float. I dont have a pic at the moment but i am sure someone around here does. Anyway back when i had my problem i made a video of it, thought you might enjoy it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ET-pp1dc3vA

[Name Brand]

Yup! That is exactly what mine is doing!

That is the needle I was thinking off and have already inspected.

I'm thinking I'm gonna have to pull it apart again and check for any debris in there... again.

[userj8670]

Haha, sucks dont it? Esp. with the price of gas. If i were you i would take it apart, blow it out (every nook and cranny) and put it back on. Dirt always gets into the darndest places!

Keep me posted!

[chrisand4]

What condition is the float in, on the XR 80 I just got the float had small cracks in it that let it fill up with gas, then the gas would just poor out of the overflow.

[Derek]

Yea if the float has a hole in it which happened to my Lt125 then it will fill up with gas and become to heavy for the gas to lift it therefore the needle will never close. Take the float off and shake it listen for gas or dry it off and see if it becomes wet with gas again.

[HondaManr]

My 200 had the same problem.
Just redid the gas tank, and a bunch of rust kept going into the carb.
I just kept cleaning out the carb till the tank was clean, and the carb was clean.
Make sure to take every needle etc. out and clean them throughly.

[POS 250sx]

my 86 250sx had same problem, came with no fuel filter and one hell of a rusty tank that still needs replacing, i rebuilt that carb bout 3 or 4 times counting yesterday when i finally fixed the choke. throw your float in a bucket of water make sure it floats. if thats good, reassemble float and needle now blow through fuel line and with your hand raise and lower float. and obviously you'll know whether needle is sealing or not. now reassemble whole carb and add fuel to test before putting it back in the machine. if its working go buy one of these http://www.vow2.co.uk/images/InlineF.JPG

if your machine is nething like mine itll quit running every time filter is clogged which is alot eaiser and cheaper than rebuilding carb every other week.

[WaimakRydah]

I had the same problem. I fixed it by buying a whole new carb.

Few days after the new carb started it i ended up forcing the float up which gave it a miss at high revs but stopped the leak.

Now i have an XR200 carb in my 200S that runs great so far.

[Red Rider]

I did find some debris stuck to it last time which I think was the problem. I gave it a very thorough cleaning and put it back together. It worked fine but only for a little while.

Maybe, I have another piece of debris on the plunger. Clean gas in a very clean tank though. What else could be going wrong?Name Brand, it sounds to me like you've identified the problem. The reason it started leaking again is, you said it youself, there's more debris in the float seat (plunger as you called it). You could keep going through the same routine of cleaning out the seat, which will fix it for a short time, or even try a thorough cleaning of the gas tank to get all of the crap out there, or you could nip this problem right in the bud & install an inline fuel filter, like POS 250sx suggested. Good luck.

[Taiser]

Had that same problem with a yamaha a few years ago. Was a worn seat on the needle float. But it could be a piece of *Edited**Edited**Edited**Edited* caught in the seat as well! Fixed mine with a rebuild kit but I guess it could be a cracked float too, but that would be rare. I was in the bush when it happened so all I did was add some longer tubing to the overflow and taped the tube up on the side of the tank...basic physics, can't leak past the height of the gas thank :D Ordered a new kit on e-bay, rebuilt the carb and no more problems.