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Float and fuel height

  • Thread starter Thread starter drt
  • Start date Start date
D

drt

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HI all

Great forum and information,

My question is this, My daughter got a hold of a 1980 GS850G and it looks like its been worked on before. She left the fuel on PRI and it filled the crank case. We drained 3.5 gallons out of the oil drain. It ran rough (I thought) so we took the carb off and did a rebuild with new parts (rebuild kits from Z1)
- Checked the valve clearance found nothing would fit between the lobe and shims all the shims were 2.6 - 2.75. replaced shims to get.03 - .08 (actually appox.06) ....
- Valve and Breather Gasket sealant or no
- Now while doing Carbs (BS32SS ID Number 45110) checked float height found all of them to be 20.5mm The manual wants 22.4mm +/- 1mm
Would 20.5 cause fuel to be to high and overflow or to low.
- I don't have the tube adapter to check fuel height which I think is supposed to be 4.5mm - 5.5mm .... looking to find something that will work.

Any advice on if 20.5mm is ok with some and not others

We don't have it back together yet so any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thank You
 
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Did you remove the gasket before measuring float height ( had to ask) and are you measuring from the right place? What manual are you using ?
http://members.dslextreme.com/users/bikecliff/ in case you haven't found it yet.
Lower float height will give higher fuel level.
When you did the carbs did you compare jet sizes with stock?
Some can get creative with jets and levels.
 
Thanks Brendan

Did double check the jets sizes with what came out of the carbs. The Carb kits were K & L.

Measured without gaskets

Downloaded a GS850 manual I believe it was from the bikecliff site about 454 pages and used the pages that referenced GS850GT that referenced Carb ID # 45110.

I think now it might be the GT model because IT HAS A cross over pre muffler. Not sure if that makes a difference.
 
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Yes..the lower then float ht the higher the fuel will rise in the bowls. The float ht is intended to get it in the usable range and then the wet bowl fuel level check affirms if the floats will need further adjustments. Remember the fuel level is particular to each individual carb so check each one and adjust each one accordingly.
 
Thanks Chuck,

When I get the needed stuff to do a "wet bowl fuel level check" Ill get that done. Apparently then both need to be checked and its not redundant.
 
Agemax,

I believe your talking about the tube method (wet bowl fuel level) ?
 
If you have an '80 850, you DON'T want to use the reference for the 850GN. The "N" is the '79 model, which has different carbs. They don't get set to 20.x mm either, so it doesn't really matter. You have an '850GT, which uses the BS32SS carbs that will be found in the first 'supplement' in the bike for the newer models.

The measurement you are looking for is 22.4 +/- 1.0mm from the carb body to the lower part of the 'step' on the float. Make sure you measure both floats of each carb to make sure they are within about 0.5mm of each other.

.
 
Steve,
It does have the BS32SS with ID # 45110 carbs on it. And the VIN plate - manufacted in 2/80 and DOES NOT have the stepped seat or the cross over/pre muffler pipe

frame no. GS850-125044 Engine no. GS850-133150

(but it looks like it had been worked on before and maybe different parts?


But I will look and ref the manual again.
 
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Brendan,

Yes, stock air box and prob. original exhaust. 4 to 2.
The bike only has 42000 miles on it. unless it had been rolled over. Not sure
 
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drt said:
Brendan,

Yes, stock air box and prob. original exhaust. 4 to 4.
The bike only has 42000 miles on it. unless it had been rolled over. Not sure
Click to expand...

Just thinking about the possibility that someone found the bike running lean after ditching the stock set up and rather than re-jetting tried to fix it by upping the fuel level by dropping the float height.
 
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It has been repainted but doesn't look damaged. but all the lights have be refitted and spliced in to the wiring (urgh). Ill post some pictures tonight or tomorrow.
 
When checking float heights I find it really important to make sure the floats are 'level' as well --
The one edge you check may be the proper height - but be sure the entire float is sitting 'flat' so the opposite side is also at the correct height.
This ONE missed step cost me an extra removal and re-set of a set of carbs on a GL1100 4-cylinder Wing.
Doesn't sound like much - but those are the second hardest carbs I have ever tackled to remove and replace - it was hours of extra work...:(
 
Wingsconsin,

I did think of that too.

Good to see a fellow winger.....
 
It's VERY common to find that the float heights have been measured incorrectly on these carbs. So, uh, make sure you have this right.

047_Remove_float_pin-20080304-192558.jpg


Also, Z1 is a great vendor and all, but I've never seen any parts from a carb kit that were worth a damn except maybe the float bowl gaskets.

If you still have the original jets, you're far better off cleaning and using them, or getting OEM jets if they're too far gone. Guess how I learned this...
 
Yes I/we measured to the step not the top. it was 20.5 mm. Been doing a lot of reading of posts and from this site and bikecliff. I just maybe over thinking a lot of this but don't want to have to take it apart again just because and find something I should have done and didn't do. Looking to find fittings to check fuel height before I put it all back together.
 
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