83 GS1100e fuel pouring out of Carb

[Guest]

I have rebuilt my carbs, checked float level @ 22.4 mm , Mikuni.jpg I have fuel pouring out of this orifice when priming or just after shutting the engine off. My carbs need to be sync'd but I ran into this issue. I'm wondering if my float needle is somehow sticking or my float level is too high so I lowered it. The flow out of this orifice actually got worse. I have NO idea what this orifice is for or what its connected to.

I'm also wondering if my float is sinking. A few years of neglect and I'm not opposed to replacing Floats and Needles and seat. I actually cheated on the seat and didn't change those but I changed the needle.

HALP.

[JTGS850GL]

That's the main air jet and it means that your float valve is stuck open or leaking. Try giving that carb bowl a little rap with a hammer to see if it stops. Sometime it will dislodge them. It's also possible that the float is hanging up on the bowl gasket. Did you use OEM float bowl gaskets or aftermarket. Seen some of the aftermarket gaskets do it.

[radbassist]

That's the main air jet and it means that your float valve is stuck open or leaking. Try giving that carb bowl a little rap with a hammer to see if it stops. Sometime it will dislodge them. It's also possible that the float is hanging up on the bowl gasket. Did you use OEM float bowl gaskets or aftermarket. Seen some of the aftermarket gaskets do it.

I should just listen to myself and order up some new floats, Needle and seat(s) and be done with it huh...I'll check my gaskets too. Good thought and makes sense...

[Nessism]

I should just listen to myself and order up some new floats, Needle and seat(s) and be done with it huh...I'll check my gaskets too. Good thought and makes sense...

Throwing parts at the problem is a good way to waste money. Did you go through the carbs using the tutorial linked in my signature?

[radbassist]

Throwing parts at the problem is a good way to waste money. Did you go through the carbs using the tutorial linked in my signature?

Saved to my favorites - Biggest thing I saw for me was the homemade float level checker and the proper way to measure float level.

Thanks a bunch! I was about ready to break out the Xanax before working on these carbs again.

[TiiMuch]

There are o-rings around the brass float needle housing.

I had exact same issue and found those o-rings not sealing. Fuel would pour out of the back lower mouth of the carb.

[JTGS850GL]

Assuming that those O-rings were replaced during the rebuild. Could be a pinched O-ring though. You could take out the seat and re-seat it to make sure it's not cut or pinched. You can also inspect the float valve to make sure it doesn't have an indention where it seats. Should not be able to feel anything as you drag your nail across it.

Have you tried the light hammer tapping first?

[radbassist]

Yeah i tapped. No luck. I'll dig into it again this weekend. I appreciate all the tips from y'all

[radbassist]

Bam !!! After a needle seat replacement and a bench sync.... Its alive ! Balanced carbs 👍 ... Now I just need to mess with the mixture screws 'cause shes runnin really rich. Thanks for everyones help. I think a complete wiring harness replacement is in order next. Oh.... And brakes. 😄

[Steve]

Nice to see the problem has been resolved, but I still have a question.

When you "lowered the float level", what was the measurement you set it to?

I ask because too many guys will go in the wrong direction. If you set the height to 21, 20, 19mm, etc., you were actually RAISING the level, not lowering it. You are working upside down and measuring the distance from the carb to the point where the floats will stop fuel flow. Lower numbers on the "height" will be a higher setting on the float when you flip it back upright.

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[radbassist]

Gotcha and i see where you're coming from. I actually stopped to think on this one. When i had my fuel leaking issue i was at about 25 ish mm's on an upside down carb(s) pushing the tang down for less fuel height because I thought that was the reason for my fuel dump issue. I "lowered" the level and it turns out it was my needle/seat not seating. I actually used a cheap ( yeah im cheap ) cheap guage to measure. Found in the sewing section on my local wallmart 👍
Said screw it today, theres a reason for 22.4 and ill be danged. I set to 22 and it ran very well from a bench sync initial setting. About 5 seconds after hitting the starter, it fired. Had a bit of a pop out the exhaust so i richened up the mixture a little 1/2 turn, and began to sync the carbs.

I think i want to go to go back through the sync process after i mess with the mixture screws again. Im at 3 turns each and im sure it will effect my sync after all is said and done.

If i I missed anything, please let me know!

Thx!

[radbassist]

Welp. Midrange is lean now. Snappin and poppin when trying to get on it. Jet change is in order i think. Ugh. I put stock jets in it with a 4 to 1 and pods. I read 2 jet sizes bigger for that set up? Im assuming its my main jet? Researching now....

[850 Combat]

I had one that was sticking occasionally, until it got worse. The tapping had worked a lot of times. I ended up draining the float bowl and letting it refill a few times, trying to flush any crap out of the float valve. That seemed to have worked, so far. +1 on the O rings around the float needle. I don't think that a rebuild kit comes with that, either. You need a set of O Rings to get that, not a rebuild kit.

[Steve]

I think i want to go to go back through the sync process after i mess with the mixture screws again. Im at 3 turns each and im sure it will effect my sync after all is said and done.

Playing with the mixture will NOT affect the sync.

When I work on a set of carbs in my shop, I set the mixture screws out 3 full turns from lightly-seated. That gives a plenty-rich mixture to get it started. I do a bench sync to assure that things are close. When the bike is running decently off-"choke", I do the vacuum sync, which makes sure that each carb is contributing the same amount to the total power. Then I play with the mixture screws by watching the sync gauge. All four columns will go up and down as the mixture changes, because it's the engine speed changing, which affects the vacuum on all four gauges.

I put stock jets in it with a 4 to 1 and pods. I read 2 jet sizes bigger for that set up? Im assuming its my main jet? Researching now....

That will depend a LOT on what 4-to-1 and pods you installed. Some pipes say they don't need any jetting changes, others require quite a bit. A quick guide is ... how LOUD is your pipe? Loud pipes tend to flow quite a bit more than stock pipes (which were pretty good for stock pipes), quieter pipes will be close to stock. Most of the jetting changes will be because of the pods. Some pods will flow a bit more than stock, others will flow a LOT more than stock, but that doesn't mean they are 'better'.

And, if your midrange is lean, jetting changes alone will not fix that. You will need to 'shim the needle' or just suck it up and get a Dynojet Stage 3 kit. Yes, you can get close to the DJ kit with jets, but it has needles with a different taper that make all the difference.

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[radbassist]

Playing with the mixture will NOT affect the sync. Thx on that

When I work on a set of carbs in my shop, I set the mixture screws out 3 full turns from lightly-seated. That gives a plenty-rich mixture to get it started. I do a bench sync to assure that things are close. When the bike is running decently off-"choke", I do the vacuum sync, which makes sure that each carb is contributing the same amount to the total power. Then I play with the mixture screws by watching the sync gauge. All four columns will go up and down as the mixture changes, because it's the engine speed changing, which affects the vacuum on all four gauges.
Good to know...


That will depend a LOT on what 4-to-1 and pods you installed. Some pipes say they don't need any jetting changes, others require quite a bit. A quick guide is ... how LOUD is your pipe? Loud pipes tend to flow quite a bit more than stock pipes (which were pretty good for stock pipes), quieter pipes will be close to stock. Most of the jetting changes will be because of the pods. Some pods will flow a bit more than stock, others will flow a LOT more than stock, but that doesn't mean they are 'better'.
I think I have a Kerker? Semi loud. I'll find out what I have and get back to you

And, if your midrange is lean, jetting changes alone will not fix that. You will need to 'shim the needle' or just suck it up and get a Dynojet Stage 3 kit. Yes, you can get close to the DJ kit with jets, but it has needles with a different taper that make all the difference.
I had a stage 3 kit on it. Yanked all the jets out and went with stock ones BUT, I left the stage 3 needle in the slides - That's probably my problem?

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See above - Sorry I didn't quote like U did I'll get there