Got my engine started briefly today (made a vid but have discovered I'm not intelligent enough to get it onto YouTube or photo bucket yet) however I discovered a petrol leak at carb. I'm almost certain it wasn't there before engine removal so am a bit bam baffled. Anyway it's coming from here....... Dripping off the bottom of that lever, right hand side of carb, dead centre of photo. The spindle goes right through from throttle arm on the other side, to there, so I assume there must be a seal or something round the spindle that's gone? Or should I be looking for something else? Easy fix? Just looking for some pointers before I get the carb off. It's a 34 pict3 btw. Cheers Just a thought, I poured petrol in the top of the carb to get it started, could this be the culprit? And under normal running conditions it wouldn't be leaking?
it's a common fault....the bushes will wear over time....poor idle and flat spots can often be traced back to worn spindle bushes...sure fire test is to run the engine and squirt plus gas, damp start or whatever, around the spindles....if the engine picks up a bit it's pulling air through them. You can have them rebushed or buy the bushes and DIY...it's an easy job if you're that way inclined. google carburettor spindle rebushing UK...something will come up near you
If it didn't leak before then I would suggest that you slightly flooded it when pouring a drop of petrol down its throat.
Was it dripping a lot? If not if just let the fuel get gummed up in there it will stop itself. Smear some Vaseline on, that will do the trick. Obviously if its *******ing out get it sorted sharpish
This was my thought after writing it out, maybe I'd put too much in? Don't see how it would leak out though, it wasn't pouring over the top or owt like that. I'm almost certain it didn't leak before, and it hasn't been touched to alter/break anything.
Pretty sure I have a set of bushes lying around from when I had a single carb, never used them as I got my carb professionally rebuilt and then went to twins. If you want the bushes you can have them. I will post them out if you PM me your address.
^this (or similar). Worth changing the bushes if they're worn, but the leaky petrol is another problem. There's no reason worn bushes should cause a petrol leak, unless it's coming from elsewhere. My money's on the float valve jamming. Take the top off the carb & check that the needle's seating properly.
S Super offer there thanks. Let me have a look tomorrow and see if I can work out what's going on, if I can avoid taking it to bits I'd be happier. I'll let you know.
As snotty said, it shouldn't drip fuel there even if the bushes are worn. Mine used to do this and it was because the float was coming apart and letting fuel in. Are you sure it wasn't dripping before?
Almost certain it wasn't dripping before. Engine was only running for 30secs or so, then I found out about leak and haven't started it again. Will have another look later
You may not have noticed it. If the float chamber's overflowing, normally the fuel'll vanish straight down the carb if the bushes are ok.
Struggling a bit here as i think maybe theres more than one issue. The leak on carb, and fuel starvation. Only way I can start engine is to pour some petrol in carb, then it seems as if when that's used up it'll splutter and die and not start again unless I pour more in. Running for maybe 10 - 15 secs max. This would suggest fuel starvation? ive put 2 gallons in an empty tank, this should be enough id think? All new fuel lines/filter. but also it's still leaking out somehow, I'm sure it's connected to the petrol I'm putting in carb as after a while the dripping stops. Trouble is obviously I can't see what's going on in the engine bay if I'm cranking it over at the other end. Also I can't get it running long enough to see if the leak stops when running normally ( ie me not pouring fuel into carb) As I said I'm almost certain there was no leak previously and the engine was running. Any more ideas? All appreciated xxx Edit I'm just want to make sure it's not something simple before I take the cab off and take it to bits!
Check you have put the new fuel lines the right way round on the fuel pump, also as it is now quite cold the engine will need choke to start, is it operating properly?
Sorry, missed this post. I doesnt help that i know nothing about carbs and don't know what all these terms mean! So the float valve is in the float chamber? Is that the bit at the top where I'm pouring petrol in? What would be the symptoms of dodgy float valve/chamber? Needle seating properly? It's all double Dutch to me.....
Stock pump.....supply from tank, upper connection. Supply to Carb lower connection. Just in case they are reversed.
Pipes are defo the right way round. No idea if the choke works or not, it's connected up and the engine has always started fine before........
