float needle leak

o0norton0o · Jun 12, 2015

Ugh..... All of a sudden one of my float needles isn't seating properly. I took it apart 10 times, adjusted the seat height, checked the float and tickler, changed the needle, looked for gasket interference,... etc. Annoying since other things are really coming together on my bike.

I used the search function and read a few threads on float needle seating issues. I ordered a new bowl just in case I can't make this one work. I saw on thread about resurfacing the seat. I am going to give that a whirl and see if I can at least learn something by definitively locating the problem, even if I just eventually switch to the new part.

Anyone know if the seat hole needs to be a crisp squarely returned hole or if a slight bevel works as well?? needless to say it would be easier to grind a tiny bevel than resurface the flat bottom of the seat and the roundness of the hole....

Nater_Potater · Jun 12, 2015

o0norton0o said:
Anyone know if the seat hole needs to be a crisp squarely returned hole or if a slight bevel works as well?? needless to say it would be easier to grind a tiny bevel than resurface the flat bottom of the seat and the roundness of the hole....

Brass needle should have sharp shoulder, but the Viton tips are much more forgiving to edge condition. What type are you running?

o0norton0o · Jun 12, 2015

I'm running the viton tipped float needles. I had 2 extras and swapped themj with the original to see if that helped and it didn't help. I'm gonna mess with it again today since I have the time.

Nater_Potater · Jun 12, 2015

Possibly a sunk/leaky float.

o0norton0o · Jun 12, 2015

I changed the float to a brand new one, but that's how it's behaving,...... like the needle wont seat or the float won't rise..... From having searched the forum, I think either the float is sticking somehow or the brass needle is sticking or the brass seat is ruined... crazy as it sounds, I am going to take it out again and look at it under a magnifying glass. Maybe I am not seeing some hunk of crap lodged in the seat area..

DogT · Jun 12, 2015

Don't know if you saw my very old post on this, but I successfully got one to work with the viton tips and a beveled seat. I used grinding compound on an aluminum beveled rod with the same angle as the viton. I didn't have another choice other than replacing the seat, the seat had already been beveled. I'd check it carefully on the bench for leaks though after doing anything, other wise the gas all ends up in your engine unless you turn off the petcocks and they do work.

o0norton0o · Jun 12, 2015

DogT said:
Don't know if you saw my very old post on this, but I successfully got one to work with the viton tips and a beveled seat. I used grinding compound on an aluminum beveled rod with the same angle as the viton. I didn't have another choice other than replacing the seat, the seat had already been beveled. I'd check it carefully on the bench for leaks though after doing anything, other wise the gas all ends up in your engine unless you turn off the petcocks and they do work.

I did read it, Awesome info.

I think I may have damaged the seat tapping it out with various drifts before I ground one down to fit exactly. I just pulled the bowl out and had another unsucessful attempt to make it work.... soldier on..

o0norton0o · Jun 12, 2015

took it all back apart, punched the seat up higher. In fact I purposely put the seat a little high to make sure the needle would make contact, and therefore if it still flowed then I would know that the seat and needle weren't creating a seal. Well, rasing the seat worked, and it stopped the flow. The bike started and ran normally although I did readjust the idle air screw on that side. I assume my seat is a little high now, so I wonder if it will effect my top end speed now that my fuel height is probably lower in the bowl... we shall see.

o0norton0o · Jun 13, 2015

Finally, I got a new bowl. I mounted it and it leaked like mad. I took it off, punched the seat up and mounted it again. It leaked like mad again....

OH FUKKIN" K, this is Bull$hit.... I gave the bowl a good WRAP with the fuel taps on and it stopped leaking, and the bleeder works normally... So I figured it out...

The God Damn float for some reason sticks when there's NO fuel in the bowl, so when you turn on the tap, it doesn't rise. One good WRAP and it free'd itself and is working fine...

I think I took the bowl on and off 20 times... Now let me see if it works when I ride it...

pete.v · Jun 13, 2015

o0norton0o said:
Finally, I got a new bowl. I mounted it and it leaked like mad. I took it off, punched the seat up and mounted it again. It leaked like mad again....

OH FUKKIN" K, this is Bull$hit.... I gave the bowl a good WRAP with the fuel taps on and it stopped leaking, and the bleeder works normally... So I figured it out...

The God Damn float for some reason sticks when there's NO fuel in the bowl, so when you turn on the tap, it doesn't rise. One good WRAP and it free'd itself and is working fine...

I think I took the bowl on and off 20 times... Now let me see if it works when I ride it...

Maybe offer photo of your bowl, float, float pin and gasket orientation.

Hobot · Jun 13, 2015

o0norton0o » Sat Jun 13, 2015 11:56 am
Finally, I got a new bowl. I mounted it and it leaked like mad. I took it off, punched the seat up and mounted it again. It leaked like mad again....

OH FUKKIN" K, this is Bull$hit.... I gave the bowl a good WRAP with the fuel taps on and it stopped leaking, and the bleeder works normally... So I figured it out...

The God Damn float for some reason sticks when there's NO fuel in the bowl, so when you turn on the tap, it doesn't rise. One good WRAP and it free'd itself and is working fine...

I think I took the bowl on and off 20 times... Now let me see if it works when I ride it...

ah so the good ole traditional wits end WHAP. Worked well for turn signals that otherwise would not wink no matter what prior. So unless you do not know what you are doing this is so refreshing not me this time. Double disgusting if others say they never had that issue or just a float bump fixed it - implying its you not parts issues. Still takes a certain level of sucking it up to get a fully fettered example, for how ever long an
indeterminate interval - so many others do so why not you...

Oh yeah now you have polished down the Amal pot metal threads rather well expect to have screws vibe out on the fly unless dabbing some RTV and loctite but do not use real loctite or you will be swearing at the chewed out x heads as driver spins but not the screws.

o0norton0o · Jun 13, 2015

pete.v said:
Maybe offer photo of your bowl, float, float pin and gasket orientation.

The thing is pete, it hung up every time I assembled it with mulitple different parts so something must wedge itself against the float or needle with the float down when I tighten up the bowl. When I take it off after it's pissing like mad, everything is moving freely without interference. The fact that the WRAP I gave it free'd the float and now the needle seals the flow of gas when that set up was pissing fuel like crazy 2 minutes earlier, tells me that either the float or the needle was stuck... so now that it's un-stuck, I'm going to leave it be and enjoy it

.... hobot,..... yeah it's a relief to have it fixed, and to have a good idea what the issue probably was too. I think the most frustrating part is taking it apart and inspecting it to make sure everything looks good and is working, then bolting it back up and having it piss all over necessitating starting the same process over and over... At least when you dissassemble something and find a broken part, you're half way through the process of getting back on the road,..... but taking something apart 20 times and seeing nothing sucks...

Douglass Harroun · Jun 13, 2015

Float bowl gasket can catch the float if not perfectly sized. Are you using genuine Amal? Adjusting seat height can be done with a cut off 1/8" drill bit and using the banjo bolt to tighten/ raise seat, lowered with a spacer on the seat and squeezed in with a vice, no hammering needed. It will affect running mixture throughout the range
Doug

johnm · Jun 14, 2015

Douglass Harroun said:
Float bowl gasket can catch the float if not perfectly sized. Doug

Yes. Gasket shape, thickness. ( It can squash over time) Variation in accuracy. Getting a leak is extremly commmon and the first answer is alway to give the bowl a sharp whack with the plastic handle of a screw driver.

Sorry I didnt answer earlier but Im in Romania and Jerry banned the whole country because of some fraudsers and I can only see the website from my work ISP which he white listed

Frankie17 · Jun 15, 2015

check the float pivot pin is also dead straight , they often get trapped on assembly

if they pop out the retaining groove when the bowl screws are tightened they trap between the upper body and bowl

Any slight bend will prevent the float from pivoting smoothly and cause flooding

o0norton0o · Jun 24, 2015

I decided to readjust the float bowl seat height because the bleeder was taking a long time for gas to overflow when I pushed it. I suspected that I had the needle seat too high from all the experimenting I had done previously with the seat height setting. Lately, the bike was starting and idling differently than before I had the fuel leak . I removed the bowl carefully and the fuel height was low as I suspected. It was nearly 3/8ths down from the top of the bowl, so I tapped the seat down so the fuel level would rise...

I reinstalled it turned on the fuel tap and it pissed like crazy out of the bleeder.... this time I didn't turn the tap off. I RAPPED the bowl with a screw driver handle and the needle seated and the flow stopped. I wiped everything dry so I could see if there was a leak or see if the bleeder was dribbling at all.. It doesn't leak! I put the key in, bleed the other side, It fires up on the first kick like it did before I got the leak, and idles much better... No leaks, starting normally again.. idling fine

Lesson learned: When adjusting amals, sometimes the handle of the screwdriver works as good as the blade... 8)

CanukNortonNut · Jun 25, 2015

o0norton0o said:
I decided to readjust the float bowl seat height because the bleeder was taking a long time for gas to overflow when I pushed it. I suspected that I had the needle seat too high from all the experimenting I had done previously with the seat height setting. Lately, the bike was starting and idling differently than before I had the fuel leak . I removed the bowl carefully and the fuel height was low as I suspected. It was nearly 3/8ths down from the top of the bowl, so I tapped the seat down so the fuel level would rise...

I reinstalled it turned on the fuel tap and it pissed like crazy out of the bleeder.... this time I didn't turn the tap off. I RAPPED the bowl with a screw driver handle and the needle seated and the flow stopped. I wiped everything dry so I could see if there was a leak or see if the bleeder was dribbling at all.. It doesn't leak! I put the key in, bleed the other side, It fires up on the first kick like it did before I got the leak, and idles much better... No leaks, starting normally again.. idling fine

Lesson learned: When adjusting amals, sometimes the handle of the screwdriver works as good as the blade... 8)

o0nort,
There is a small mod that can be done with the gasket in the location of the float crossbar pin. Take an x-acto knife and cut the 90 degree corners to 45degree but make sure the pin is still being covered by some of the gasket on both sides. The float at the pivot point sometimes gets caught in this area. Hope that helps.
Cheers,
Thomas
CNN

float needle leak

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