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Okay, I took my carb apart yesterday to clean her out. Today I tried to start her, and fuel starts spraying from the carb. It appears that it is coming from the top of the bowl. Is that where the vent is located? The small hole on the bowl lid is where the fuel is spraying from. Is that due to the needle and float sticking, allowing fuel to spray back up and out?

-Garrett

Yes, its quite likely that the needle valve has a booger in it and is not seating. I have had luck with disconnecting and plugging the fuel line, letting the engine run till all the gas was gone, and then reconnecting the line. The inrush of fuel with the float all the way down will wash out whatever miniscule spec was holding the valve open.

But before you do that, make sure the fuel is not coming out from under the head of the 3/4" brass plug on the top of the carb.

I agree with Ross, if and when you take the carb. back apart, you can blow in the fuel inlet and raise and lower the float and it should stop and start as the float is moved up and down. Just clean all the gas off before blowing in it.

Remove float. Shake flOAt and listen for gas sloshing in it. If so then it ihas a leak and will not float.

Inspect needle and seat. IF 'rubber' tipped needle then compare to a KNOWN good needle. Inspect seat to see if there is any 'rubber' in it. Ethanol destroys/swells/distorts certain but not all types of 'rubber'.

Thanks Guys!

I will give the suggestions a try today. My brother helped me inspect where it was coming from last night. He told me it looked like it was coming from the upper casting, down below the brass plug. That's when I noticed the vent was located there. The seal on the brass plug still appears to be good.

-Garrett

Okay, the float is fine, no leaks, but what I do notice is the needle is not stopping flow when the float is all the way up. I tried blowing air through the fuel inlet with the float "up" , and air was still moving past. There is play in the needle clip, so when the float is all the way up, the needle isn't. When I manually push the needle up, it stops flow. Is there something missing, like a rubber sealing component? What do I have to do to fix this?

-Garrett

Is there something missing, like a rubber sealing component?

The short answer is No. Many years back some carburetor parts suppliers sold needles that were "tipped" with Viton, and these are best avoided and as far as I know haven't been on the market in a long time. But other than that possibility, no rubber component.

Sounds like you need to adjust the float level.

Another thought: My carb kit's needle and seat put the float in a different position; I think the assembly was longer and would have required bending and resetting the float level. I used the old one as it fit properly, and also because it was all metal. No rubber to be affected by ethanol.

Thanks joeyearl and O_D,

I went out and gave the float and needle another look, because something came to mind when I was inside. I noticed a little tab on the float, and figured if I bent it out a tad, it could work. So, I did just that, and the result when the float is all the way up is, I can't push air into the inlet! I started it and it was running just fine, but the air was let out of my sails quickly. I realized I was out of gas, so no more fuel was being pushed into the bowl. It still should work, but I won't know till I can get some gas. haha

-Garrett

Bending the tab is the correct method for adjusting the float or fuel level which is VERY important. In some carburetors you adjust the actual liquid fuel level in the bowl, in others you adjust the float "drop" - see the specific instructions for your carburetor for which method applies.

Back to the needle and seat issue I just received some information from whom I consider to be the premier carburetor kit supplier and rebuilder. They haven't supplied Viton-tipped needles in many years and today their kits and rebuilds (except for updrafts) use a float control valve which utilizes a brass seat, aluminum needle, and a telfon closure disc. Compatible with today's fuel and pretty much a "forever" arrangement.

The worst with today's fuels were the butyl rubber-tipped needles. With 10% EtOH gasoline they only last for minutes or an hour at best and they are probably still to be found in obsolete and old stock carburetor kits.