Broken Float Towers on 81 GS550

[mmills37]

Hi, I've researched many of the carb rebuild articles on this site (great by the way), but I have a problem I haven't seen mention of. Two of my fragile aluminum (zinc?) float towers in two different carb bodies have broken (one was from po, one I think was my fault during a rebuild. So, my question is, does anyone know of a way to repair aluminum that is going to be submerged in fuel?? Unlikely, I bet. So, does anyone have a used set of carbs for sale? I'd like to know what years and sizes are interchangeable. I hear talk of some Kawasakis that might fit. Any help is appreciated. I've scoured ebay, but no luck yet.

Mike

[duaneage]

1st you can use carb bodies from the 550 through 750. They are the BS32 CV carbs and except for jetting and the needles are compatible.

The carb rebuild instruction page is great but it instructs to tap out the float pins with a hammer. That breaks the towers. Use a small pair of wire cutters to grab the big end and gently pull them out.

Third, I've see towered repaired with wire through the tower. Two small holes are drilled, one on the piece and one on the tower left behind. A stainless steel safety wire is threaded through and tightened. Believe it or not it worked. I used ceramic epoxy made by Belzona to repair mine when I followed the carb repair page. Ceramic R is what it is called and gasoline cannot affect it. IT is very strong and hard. Rock solid in 5 minutes, I had to grind the material with a dremel tool to remove material so the bowl would fit.

Note the bowl holds the pin in place so I am at a loss to explain why they would make it so hard to get the pin out in the first place.

JB weld allegedly fails eventually when immersed in gas. Of course this is critical so a failure here will ground the bike by flooding the engine.

I would search for another carb body, or two, and be very careful about pulling those pins.

[mmills37]

Thanks Duaneage

Where can you find the Belzona Ceramic-R? I've found links to information about the product, but can't find any for sale.

[tcraft128]

If you tap the pins out, just back them up with a small socket and you wont have any problems.

I have also repaired float posts by drilling and tapping the carb to accept a screw that has the head cut off (after assembly) and a float pin sized hole drilled through it in place. Works great and with blue lock tight, its pretty permanent.

You should be able to use any two part EPOXY, just do a test to check.

Or....

Put a want ad up and just wait, it wont take long.

[Nessism]

There is a lot of traffic around here right now, I'd try posting an ad in the Wanted to buy forum for some carb bodies. Failing that, Dwaneage has a good suggestion. Lots of people have had failures tring to repair float posts with JB Weld so keep this in mind.

[duaneage]

Where can you find the Belzona Ceramic-R? I've found links to information about the product, but can't find any for sale.

Contact them here
and get in touch with the local distributor. There is a conditioner that needs to be applied so that it adheres to the metal and then the Ceramic R is mixed and applied. You would not believe the heat generated by the chemical reaction when it is curing. I used a small amount and worked it after it cured with a dremel.

This isn't Mighty Putty or some other 2 part epoxy , but a serious industrial grade material used to repair machines, like crankshafts, boat impellers, and other outrageously expensive machines. It is designed for reconstruction and buildup of material when metal is lost or broken.

[anikmankar]

sleeve

I had also slipped a brass tube (made from an empty shell ). Cut the tube to make a "C" so it slides on top of the aluminium pillar. the opening of the "C" should align with the bridge. Crimp it. The epoxy (i used areildite) and the sleeve makes sure it does not move. The sleve just reinforces the joint (for next carb overall)