OK I know that this topic has been covered many times before but I thought I'd add something of my own recent experience. Hadn't used my bus for about a week and then, on Tuesday, drove about 25 miles to meet up with friends for lunch. Got back home with no incidents and parked the bus in her usual place. Next day there was a strong smell of petrol around the bus but it was too late and cold for me to go and investigate so I left it until this morning when I opened up the engine bay and was very surprised to find that my left hand carb was literally covered in ice and had obviously been leaking petrol apparently due to the float valve sticking. The other carb was fine. I think that probably the leaking petrol, whilst evaporating had caused the carb body to get colder than normal and that it was maybe condensation that had frozen around the carb and manifold. It did look very strange and rather surreal and I do wish I'd taken a photo of the offending item. The petrol leak has now been halted but I guess a new float valve and seating will be required with perhaps an in-line petrol filter to stop the muck getting through to it in the first place. Is it true to say that the colder weather increases the chance of icing on the carb and manifolds or does it usually just affect manifolds? I have a t4 engine by the way. :- :-
If you've got short, twin carb manifolds, icing's unlikely as they warm up quickly. They'll warm up even quicker if fuel's leaking ... With the stock single-carb manifold, the temperature and flow of the inlet air will cool the manifold (which is about 100 yards long), and fuel'll separate out onto the sides of the manifold. This causes the problems. There's no ice involved.
Snotty, Yes, they are short tc manifolds. So where did all that ice come from?? Not frozen petrol surely? Anyone know what temp petrol freezes at?? Must be verrry low cos I've never actually (I don't like that word!!) heard of it freezing (unlike diesel)
