Stripped Threads on float bowl

[Guest]

Hey guys. I'm in the middle of dipping and rebuilding the carbs off of my 82 GS450-L. I've run into a bit of a snag. On one of my carbs the four screws holding the float bowl to the carb body just keep spinning and spinning. The screws look fine but I've seen little metal flakes coming out of the screw holes when I turn the screws. This leads me to believe that the threads in the carb body are stripped. Is there anything I can do to fix this or will I need to get a whole new carb body? First time builder here. Thanks for any input you guys!

[Octain]

Dont hear of this one much.
Can you apply pressure on the screw while losening it?
Perhaps a small screw driver or puddy knife between the bowl and the body while turning the screw. Just try to get the threads to bite.

[BassCliff]

Hi,

New carb bodies might be the easiest fix. But you also might try taking the carb body to a machinist to see if there's any chance of filling, re-tapping, etc. You'll at least need new screws going this route.

Check the parts sections here in the forum and shop on eBay but make sure you are getting the parts you need. A lot of eBay sellers don't know what they are selling or are just plain shifty.



Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[tkent02]

Cut the screw head off with a Dremel, remove the bowl, then pull and turn the screw with vice grips. It might work, it might not.

[keman]

I think you can get thread inserts that small. Helicoils or similar. These screws do not need much torque. Another option might be to drill them one size larger then re-tap. Either would be way cheaper than replacement.

[Billy Ricks]

Try some self-tappers just slightly larger than the stock size.

[Tom R]

If I'm reading it right, you're able to remove the screws, just not torque them down. I agree that a tap one size up is the easiest. I've used standard screws on metric bikes several times because I have a bigger collection of standard screws and taps.

[hampshirehog]

On some carbs in some positions you can get a nut in behind the thread so an easy fix. If not try going with a slightly larger tap / screw and don't forget non-metric stuff might be the best option in terms of size.

[Good Times]

Hey Greg, I just ran into the same problem in my rebuild. I went to Lowes and got an 80 cent bolt (actually 40 cents there were two in the pack) and fixed it. You can look at my build thread in my signature. I have pictures there. Easy fix.

[JEEPRUSTY]

two stripped holes grinning in a float bowl

[GregNC]

Yeah I'm able to get them out no problem. It's just that they wont bite when getting put back in. Just spinning and spinning and spinning.....

I'd love to be able to just throw a nut un the other end but the carb body is too tight to it. Not enough room to get one in there. I'll take it to a bike shop and see what they say. I hope it's as simple as tapping it a little larger. I'll let you guys know how it turns out on monday.

Thanks for all the replies guys I really appreciate it!