Help......float Bowl Leaks

[GS750GUY]

My question is DID you use OEM gaskets ? some of the Ebay gaskets are thinner than stock, could cause problem ???

You know....that's a thought! I got the gaskets from one of the bike parts houses.....not from Ebay. But they seem awful thin. Hardly thicker than a piece of craft paper And they seem harder and more brittle. Could be this is the problem.
However, I talked to a guy this week that has many years of bike experience and has rebuilt many sets of carbs over the years. He said once in a while he would get one of those carb bowls that had such messed up contact surfaces no gasket would keep it from leaking. He said if you use Permatex Ultra Rubber Gasket Sealant and Dressing (which is fuel resistant and non-hardening) and use it on the very outside edge of the gasket and use it VERY VERY SPARINGLY...he said it stops any problem leaky surfaces and used sparingly at the very outside edges will not squeeze out and interfere with float function or cause fuel problems.
I think I will seek out thicker gaskets and use the above only as a last resort. Problem is you don't know what you are going to get until after you have gotten and paid for them.
GS750GUY

[GS750GUY]

I always wet my bowl gaskets with WD-40 before installing. I feel like that makes 'em a bit more malleable. I've never had a leak from the float gaskets, but I have had a darn annoying leak from the between-tubes.

It's very frustrating when that happens after taking years off your life with the struggle to re-seat the carbs in the airbox boots...

Your WD-40 suggestion is a good one and reminded me that someone else suggested sparingly coat the gasket surface with a heavy non-fiberous autmotive wheel bearing grease. The theory is the heavy thick grease compressed between the imperfect contact surfaces would make it very difficult for fuel to get through.
GS750GUY

[Nessism]

You seem dead set on putting some sort of monkey snot on the gaskets for some reason. Floatbowl gaskets are designed to be installed DRY. Period. They will not leak unless the screws are loose. Mikuni has built millons of carbs...all with dry floatbowl gaskets. Follow their lead. They are the experts.

[GS750GUY]

You seem dead set on putting some sort of monkey snot on the gaskets for some reason. Floatbowl gaskets are designed to be installed DRY. Period. They will not leak unless the screws are loose. Mikuni has built millons of carbs...all with dry floatbowl gaskets. Follow their lead. They are the experts.

Thanks Nessism. I will get a new set of OEM gaskets, try them dry and see what happens.
Thanks for your wisdom!
GS750GUY

[jadesystem]

I love the Permatex red gasket sealer. Excellent product and very cheap
at $5 per tube. Not recommended for sealing a gasket for your carbs.
Anything it not your carbs !!

As Nessism sez, don't use it !! On a valve cover gasket, it works beautifully. Easy to remove too like peeling an orange. A lot of
uses which is high temp, and impervious to gas and oil. This I
recommend to bring along on any road trip.

:-D\\/