well, my '03 500 HO is leaking fuel from the drain hose when the gas is turned on, whether it is running or not. from reading the posts it sounds like i have a float/needle seat problem. i've got the carb apart, but how do you remove the needle seat, does it just pull out? its got some play in it, i can move it side to side and up and down, but i tried screwing it left and right and it stays in there, so do i just yank it out? is there any way to tell if its bad?

 

If you have the float pin out, the needle comes with the float, the seat , some have a small screw that hold them in, others just pull out with a pair of needle nose pliers, the float pin usually needs tapped with a small punch to get out.

 

by float pin, do mean the pin holding the float in on bst34 carbs? mine is the bst40 which just has an o-ring on the float holding it in. is the seat supposed to have some play in it? how can you tell if its bad?

 

bump

 

In the seat can you see wear marks running up and down the inside bore where the needle sits? If so, replace it. If not, borrow or buy a Mityvac. It's a vacuum gauge, but you can get an adapter for pressure too(which you will need) Put the carb together, turn it upside down(float bowl pointed up. Hook a hose from the mity vac to the fuel inlet nipple and pressure it up to 5psi. It should hold 5lbs pressure for 5 minutes(it's been my experience that if it holds pressure for ten seconds, it will hold for 5 minutes) If not, replace it.

 

no wear marks on the seat or needle. i dont have a vac or i would try that. i did go ahead and replace the seat o-ring because it had lost its flexibility. when i went to replace the float, i noticed it was not staying set when i pushed it down, so i think i need to replace that o-ring also. when i first removed it, it was difficult to remove, now it just slides up and down.

 

update, replaced seat o-ring, and o-ring that goes on float, it does not leak anymore when not running but gas turned on. however, it still leaks when atv is running, not a lot, but a steady drip. any ideas??