GS550L float needle spring question

[Guest]

Hi all,

I'm doing a cleaning of the carbs on my GS550L (recently purchased from another owner), and I've noticed that 3 of my float needles don't have springs, and 1 of them does. Does this really matter? I have the float heights set to within the factory spec for all of them, but should I get 3 float needles with springs? I've heard they're mainly for "shock absorption" more or less, but just curious what people's opinion on this was. Thanks!

[Steve]

I'll bet they all have springs.

Three of them might be STUCK, but the springs are there.

.

[Nessism]

I agree with Steve, most likely the spring in the needle is gunked up. Try pushing in on the end of the needle to see if you can free it up. A nice soak in carb dip or at least carb spray in a cup will help break down the crud.

[mitosis]

Thanks for the replies everybody!

It's a 1981 GS550L.

I'll check them again when I get home tonight. I was thinking that they might be gunked up too, but after 24hrs in carb dip they still seem solid. I'll push harder tonight

For what it's worth, the 3 without springs look different than the 1 with the spring, so I was thinking they were some cheap aftermarket float needle without the springs.

[Rattytatty]

I thought the same with mine but I was like there's gotta be a spring!
Sure enough, let them soak in some cleaner overnight or get aggresive and get your needle nose pliers and work them free, repeat a few times or replace, mine kept sticking

[mitosis]

Okay, I'm totally convinced these 3 float needles don't have springs. Here's a picture of the one with the spring:


and the one without:


For the one without, the metal on the top seems to be all one piece -- both the "plunger" and the retaining circle for the little clip.

I don't think it should make that big of difference whether it has the spring or not. If anything, for the one without the spring, as the gas fills the bowl the floats will push harder to close the float needle because there's no "give" from the spring before the full force of the floats are applied to the needle. The spring is probably better because there's a little more "shock absorption" in the needle but who knows.

[JTGS850GL]

The spring is incorporated into the valve design to keep the float valve from hammering the valve seat when the bike bounces up and down on rougher surfaces.

When you say "spring" exactly what are you talking about. The reason I'm asking is because the first picture shows the float valve clip that's there to limit float travel. It's not the one that we've been talking about. The "spring" is located inside the valve and can not be seen.

[mitosis]

Sorry, I didn't move the clip far enough out of the way in that first picture. I took them off to show the differences between the two. I mean the actual spring in the needle.

I'm just gonna get 4 replacement float needles and not think about it anymore. Thanks for all the help everybody.

[jdvorchak]

I have used a heat gun on the top of the needle valve. I mean I got it nearly red hot and in every case they freed up. Also used PB Blaster soak for a while first. Once you get the spring loaded plunger to move, more PB and more exercise until they would move freely and springy again. If your needle has a rubber tip (doubtful on a Suzuki) don't use the PB Blaster. It will eat the rubber tip in a matter of seconds.