carb flooding ???

[Anonymous]

Has anyone else had this problem. I have one carb that is flooding with gas . I have had it off and inspected the float float height setting the needle valve the valve seat all of this seems ok. It seems like the float is sticking and allowing fuel to fill the carb till it runs out the air intake throat spilling out throught the air filter. AQny help with this would be appreciated

[Anonymous]

Re: carb flooding ???

Has anyone else had this problem. I have one carb that is flooding with gas . I have had it off and inspected the float float height setting the needle valve the valve seat all of this seems ok. It seems like the float is sticking and allowing fuel to fill the carb till it runs out the air intake throat spilling out throught the air filter. AQny help with this would be appreciated

which carb-tell us more about the bike also

[Anonymous]

and....

Also check the petcock. My 450 has the vacuum operated petcock and the sealing O ring had flat-sided over the years and leaked by, filling my carbs, cylinders, airbox, and exhaust. The O ring looks to have a tapered edge to work better as a valve so a standard O ring may not work.
New petcock from Suzuki....$58.00. No service parts available.

Good luck.

[Anonymous]

re carb flooding

the bike is an 81 1100E it is the left center carb .this bike uses the cv type mikuni the size escapes me right now.

as for it being the fuel petcock,I'm pretty sure even in the prime position the floats shoulkd cut off the fuel flow in the bowls once the proper height has been attained

[SqDancerLynn1]

The needle and seat are mounted into the carb with an O ring to seal it Fuel may be leaking past the O-ring bypassing the needle and flooding the carb It is advisable not to leave it in the prime position. Due to the nature of the carbs they will/can leak fuel into the engine if left in the prime position

[Anonymous]

the bike is an 81 1100E it is the left center carb .this bike uses the cv type mikuni the size escapes me right now.

The left center carb is the one the vacuum port to the tank connects to. It would suck gas from the tank irregardless of the float setting, since this is a direct vacuum port on the carb. This would send gas in both directions -- even to the point of flooding the #2 cylinder and past the rings. Not a good thing. Pull the vacuum hose off and see if fuel drips out of it. Suck on it lightly to see if it hold a vacuum. Put a longer hose on it and pull it upwards (clear is best) and see if you draw fuel (or taste it -- yuck). Gas with a beer chaser, maybe?

The o-ring around the float needle and seat also, if bad, would still allow fuel to enter since it circumnavigates the needle and seat.

Roger Moore

[Anonymous]

re carb flooding

thanks everyone. some good ideas . I'll try looking into the petcock ,I inspected the oring on the needle valve seat it was old but seemed ok.

I did notice that in the prime or the run position the carb flooded while sitting still but in the resevre postion it did not . but while running ( really poorly)it didnt matter what position it was in it ran badly

[Anonymous]

Does it idle poorly and run poorly unless you speed it up a lot-soes it clear up under higher rpms??

[Anonymous]

Let me ask you something... Did you possibly install the intake boots wrong? If the carburetors aren't level enough they "will" do this. It's happened to me after a late night installation. It's worth a check.


Tim

[Anonymous]

re carb flooding

boots are ok the bike was running ok yes it does run better at higher rpm as that cyl. leans out a bit

[Anonymous]

Re: re carb flooding

boots are ok the bike was running ok yes it does run better at higher rpm as that cyl. leans out a bit

do the petcock check as patrick advised--that is the easiest to do and the most likely problem

[Anonymous]

Replacing my petcock solved that problem for me, as a crack in the petcock vacuum diaphram was drawing fuel into the inside left intake. I'm sure that the secondary problem of float/needle/seat oozing still exists, but not enough to cause any problem when running (and the petcock shuts down the flow of fuel when not running). I'll put in all new needles and seats if/when I have the carburators apart. In the meantime, I'm planning to pinch off the fuel line at the beginning of each storage season to guard against the petcock leaking.

[Jay B]

Do the petcock check and save yourself some time and effort.


Hey Roger Nice Effie.

[Anonymous]

re carb flooding

does anyone one know if I can change this vacuum operated fuel petcock to a to the more common mechanical on/off/reserve style. I have never had any problems with this type.

Is there a compatible bolt pattern from an older/newer Suzuki. If so I could use it and just cap the vacuum port on the carb/engine end and I'd be all set :?

[argonsagas]

Sure you can put in a straight mechanical open/close type. Many people have done it. Someone will surely tell you more details as to what they did.

Suzuki engineers actually thought about this, it seems, as so many of us forget to turn off the fuel when we stop riding, and we can end up with fuel in the oil sump if the floats allow any fuel passage. With the petcock design they used, it doesn't matter if you forget, because it shuts itself off, as soon as the engine stops. But here we are, twenty years later, dealing with parts that have become defective with the passage of time.

The simplest solution would be to leave the present one on prime, and install an in-line ball valve ahead of the carbs. Turn the handle, it's open. Turn it back, it's closed.

Alternatively, you can block off the vacuum line at the carburetor and then replace the petcock with an open//close mechanical one and use it as you did in the past.
OR
You can rebuild the existing unit
OR
You can buy a new unit. (usually the most expensive option)

Back to your problem...you said it leaks in the prime position, but does not leak in the reserve position. That is how it is supposed to work, and if your engine runs while in the reserve position, your petcock is working correctly, so you should put the handle on either Run or Reserve, and look for the leak in the carb. That problem can only be one, or more, of four things, which were all identified already: the base o-ring; an incorrectly set float; a faulty float; a needle not seating correctly.