Did you check the pressure with an accurate gauge .. what pump do you have ? I like the 3.5 psi rotary pumps ….. never had this issue
Ah, I have Dells on the Bus, need to fit a shut off to the Bug, it's on 48's, mind you with those it's hard to tell anyway.
Not sure about pump details but it’s electric not mechanical. Used gauge as below, they got good reviews and I’m pretty sure this has happened on storage as was fine during summer camping trips with Malpassi and electric pump, so not while running:
as above, needle valve worn or not seated correctly could be allowing the drip through. check/ replace if needed. mine did this (also icts). i now got a low pressure fuel pump but i also have a cut off. both the cut off and my fuel pump i've wired in via the fire extinguisher so if that triggers then the cut off will close and the pump will stop. the cut off was just a cheap one from ebay but seems ok and has been there for the last 4 yrs or so?
I’m surprised at this needle valve. Replaced it with a service kit etc less than 2000 miles ago. (I’ve been on lots of camping hols but generally in Dales and Yorkshire so mileage is small) Would the pic below be be considered significant wear ? Running a thumb nail over it I can only just feel a groove, really only just. But with air filter off there was a drip about every 5 seconds. The float height is 5.5 measured with a drill vertically with no compression from float etc. don’t think my engine is vibrating particularly. £29 x2 for a service kit every year. Suppose there’s a possibility that the wear came before I fitted and regulated with the Malpassi…
yes that's what my worn ones looked like - it doesn't need much to let the fuel through. and yes, likely caused before you put the pressure regulator on. i would expect that the replacement would last much better now they're not struggling to close against overly pressured fuel
Interesting article on way out Westy, RE setting float height at 8mm with the new needle valves. https://www.wayoutwestie.com/aircooled-tech/running-weber-icts-on-a-vw-aircooled-engine/
I wouldn't be at all confident in that, there was no pressure other than the header (tank height) while it was filling the engine. I think the problem is that these float valves are simply not designed to be below the fuel tank height. As suggested earlier, some sort of plastic/rubberised thing would seal better. Brass against brass with a small holder pressure is doomed to fail. Surely someone makes a better valve that could be fitted in place of the weber style one - that's what I would look into even if it took some re-emgineering.
That’s also what new ones look like after about 500 miles. Are they made of cheese these days like everything else I wonder?
Interesting "Recently there has been a change in the needle valves". I wonder if they are shorter? It would be typical of suppliers to substite a part from one carb into another and claim it was the same or not even mention it. A good example is DRLA pump jets - now you get a DHLA one with no warning - but they are shorter and with any vent under 34mm they dribble down the inside. Complain and they claim "it makes no difference". Yeah right!
My IDA's seem to have dry float bowls if I leave the Bug unused for any length of time. The reason I say this is... I have to let them refill before it will fire, i.e. lots more cranking. If the fuel was getting past the valves then the bowls would remain full, wouldn't they? Note on a Bug the tank is way lower down than a Bus. My oil always smells a little, however, but I assumed this was just typical IDA over fuelling. Do you have this problem on the Buggy, Mark?
It’s certainly a possibility! If it looks similar, good enough! They still drip after a few months, regardless of what float height you go for though I notice mr westy is blaming ethanol for accelerating wear, which would explain why it’s a relatively recent problem
