[Alberg30] gas leak from carburetor

[Kevin Blanc]

It's amazing how little crud it takes to keep the float valve from 
closing. replaced my old fuel pump with a new fuel pump once and the 
thing started leaking. A rebuild kit from Moyers solved the problem. And 
its fairly easy to do. On the other hand, a new carb from Moyer is only 
$150...

Mike Lehman wrote:

> I have an idea - remove the carbeurator and take it to John Vosbury. I 
> have had to chase down leaks [sometimes successfully sometimes not] 
> it's too important not to get right.
>
>
>
>
> Mike Lehman
>
> "Gilleleje" #505
>
> "One can never enter the same river twice. The river is always new; 
> the man is forever changed."
>
> ----Original Message Follows---- From: J Bergquist Reply-To: 
> public-list at alberg30.org To: public-list at alberg30.org Subject: 
> [Alberg30] gas leak from carburetor Date: Mon, 17 Jun 2002 09:50:11 
> -0400 Dear Albergers, I have a gas leak. I thought I would be able to 
> fix it myself, but I am pretty stumped at this point. My atomic4 has 
> an early model block with a late model carburetor and ignition system. 
> I have a diaphragm fuel pump that I did not rebuild or otherwise 
> monkey with when I had the engine removed for the stuffing box service 
> this spring. I kind of wish I had. I DID rebuild the carburetor, 
> including having it cleaned thoroughly by a friend who has an 
> ultrasonic parts washer (very cool machine). After reassembly and 
> installation of the engine, when I hooked up the fuel lines and opened 
> the valves, everything seemed fine. No gas leaking. However I was not 
> able to get the engine running due to operator error in assembling the 
> ignition system. ;-) Once I got the ignition system fixed, the engine 
> seemed to run fine, but I was leaking gas from the carburetor. It was 
> dripping from the drain plug at the bottom of the sediment bowl. 
> Admittedly, I was not sure if a loose plug was the problem because 
> it's a low point and gas would collect there before dripping, so I 
> took the carburetor off for checking. And I discovered that I actually 
> have two drain plugs at the bottom of the bowl and one of them was 
> indeed not screwed in all the way (although it did not seem 
> particularly loose). I tightened it and the fuel leak seemed to stop 
> (the bowl was still full). So I though the problem was solved, and I 
> happily reinstalled the carburetor, cleaned everything up and gave it 
> a whirl again. It seemed fine and everything remained dry and sweet 
> smelling, until I turned the engine off. Then it started dripping 
> again. This time I was able to feel that the gas was actually leaking 
> down around the sides of the float bowl, so couldn! 't be comin! g 
> from the plug(s). It must be either from a crack in the bowl (which I 
> was unable to see, and which seems unlikely since there is no leakage 
> when the engine is running) or from overflow somehow. My current 
> theory is that I have some gunk stuck in the seat of the float valve 
> and it is not shutting off the gas line running into the float bowl 
> and so gas is running down the line and into the float bowl (however, 
> I am currently closing the gas line valve every time I turn off the 
> engine to prevent this, which seems to work). This doesn't occur when 
> the engine is running because the gas level in the float bowl remains 
> consistently lower since the engine is consuming gasoline as it flows 
> into the bowl. I have also been told that the two mating surfaces of 
> the carburetor can tend to get warped and that perhaps the top and 
> bottom half are not mating sufficiently well to get a good seal at the 
> gasket. I guess this could also be the problem. Does anybody else have 
> any other ideas what might be causing this kind of gas leak? Has 
> anybody had a cracked float bowl before? I know it's very dangerous, 
> and I am doing my very best to get it fixed ASAP. Thanks for all the 
> great advice! J Bergquist Calliope #287 
> +---------------------------------------------------------------+ | 
> Boatowners Mechanical And Electrical Manual by Nigel Calder | | 
> http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/007009618X/alberg30-20 | 
> +---------------------------------------------------------------+ 
> _______________________________________________ Public-list mailing 
> list -- Public-list at alberg30.org 
> http://www.alberg30.org/mailman/listinfo/public-list To unsubscribe: 
> email to Public-list-request at alberg30.org Include command "unsubscribe 
> " in subject or body. Use command "help" for more options.
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> MSN Photos is the easiest way to share and print your photos: Click 
> Here <http://g.msn.com/1HM505401/46>
> +---------------------------------------------------------------+ | 
> Boatowners Mechanical And Electrical Manual by Nigel Calder | | 
> http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/007009618X/alberg30-20 | 
> +---------------------------------------------------------------+ 
> _______________________________________________ Public-list mailing 
> list -- Public-list at alberg30.org 
> http://www.alberg30.org/mailman/listinfo/public-list To unsubscribe: 
> email to Public-list-request at alberg30.org Include command "unsubscribe 
> " in subject or body. Use command "help" for more options. 


-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.alberg30.org/pipermail/public-list-alberg30.org/attachments/20020617/af8b6b4b/attachment-0008.htm>