The International CBX Owners Association

I went out to fire up my 79 and it immediately began dumping fuel from the overflow hoses. Would draining the float bowls by letting it run out of fuel with the petcock off have caused this somehow? I start (or ride it) weekly and this is the first time this has happened, but its the first time I ran the float bowls empty. How screwed am I? I'm assuming a float is stuck, is the only solution removing the carbs and cleaning them? Thanks for any tips!

Make sure no gas got in your oil.

nsrrider wrote:I went out to fire up my 79 and it immediately began dumping fuel from the overflow hoses. Would draining the float bowls by letting it run out of fuel with the petcock off have caused this somehow? I start (or ride it) weekly and this is the first time this has happened, but its the first time I ran the float bowls empty. How screwed am I? I'm assuming a float is stuck, is the only solution removing the carbs and cleaning them? Thanks for any tips!

Welcome to the site nsrrider......

Follow Terry's excellent advice...... It sounds like the dreaded hydraulic lock scenario hasn't reared it's ugly head....
Guessing.... I would think that one or more of your floats got hung up on something in your floatbowls. There is also a possibility that the float support mechanism is worn or incorrectly assembled. Personally... I think it a good habit to run the bowls dry before a winter or long layover.
It is also wise to install an effective aftermarket fuel filter, I find those factory intalled to be limiting...

[quote="nsrrider"] I have heard from other guys that they were able to tap on the carb bowl of a carb that had a stuck float/needle valve and unstick it.

That is what I do. Put a hammer handle on the side of the bowl where it flanges to the carb and "tap" the hammer head with another hammer. If you can get it down to a slow dribble start it up and rev it. This usually works. Take it for a run and add some fuel injector cleaner to your gas and this will take care of some, if not all of the goo.

Following on Chris's train of thought, there is "some" evidence also that aged (or old) Viton ( the material used for soft seats on the float fuel shut off needles) shrinks when dry, only to reform when saturated in fuel ???.........
This hypothesis may be proven if your fuel overflow problem goes away without any changes.....

Thanks guys!

nsrrider wrote:Thanks guys!

You're very welcome......
If all fails & you do need to remove the carbs, check the floats by weighing them on a powder scale, just to be sure none have leaked...

How come my post came up under Chris`s name???

broook wrote:How come my post came up under Chris`s name???

And my original post vanished.

We have gremlins.

????

????

cbxtacy wrote:????

????

Noooo George, not the AMC Gremlin.....

broook wrote:How come my post came up under Chris`s name???

broook, I thought at one time you had "moderator powers". Could it be you "edited" Chris" post instead of "quoting" it?

EMS wrote:

broook wrote:How come my post came up under Chris`s name???

broook, I thought at one time you had "moderator powers". Could it be you "edited" Chris" post instead of "quoting" it?

AHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!.

Butttttttt then again, I am like a politician. I don`t make mistakes

Just an update...I added carb cleaner, drained the float bowls, tapped on the carb bodies (several cycles of this) and the overflow reduced to just a couple drops of gas. Took it out for a ride and the leaks stopped entirely! (whew!) Will not be without a fuel stabilizer in the X in the future!

nsrrider wrote:Just an update...I added carb cleaner, drained the float bowls, tapped on the carb bodies (several cycles of this) and the overflow reduced to just a couple drops of gas. Took it out for a ride and the leaks stopped entirely! (whew!) Will not be without a fuel stabilizer in the X in the future!

Congrats !!

Thats a lot easier than removing the carbs.