I've got a 02 Sportsman 500 I cannot seem to get right. Last year I started getting gas in my oil after setting over night and it would not idle so we put in a new needle and seat as well as a new float which did not help much,after a week or two playing with it we took it to the stealership and those dummies drilled the limiter cap to adjust the air screw,they ended up drilling into the mixture screw head and then could not get the mixture screw out, they said we adjusted the mixture screw to tight to cover their asses and caused them trouble ect.. I never touched it nor did I remove the limiter cap.I got it back from them not running and got the tip of the mixture screw out and ordered a new one,the threads were screwed up but I got the new one in,they also installed a new needle and seat which I done a week prior to taking it to them.I got it back and rode it for a while turning the gas off after I finished riding.Last month going up a steep incline it would pour black smoke and stutter and would never get up the hill,roll back down it would idle and run fine.I decided to replace the carb with a new one $375, it runs like crap going up hill to but fine on level ground and it still leaks gas from the overflow at the carb when riding,same as the old carb,I bent the float tang a bit to where the float shuts off fuel,I did it with the carb bowl off with the carb level just to verify the float was shutting off the fuel but it still leaks.I drained my tank to be sure there was no water as well as checking the vent tube and the filter is clean.Any tips on adjusting this float or am I missing something??

 

if the float is level with the cast part of the carb its level,if the drain screw is tight look for dirt between the needle and seat or defect,thats the only reason it comes out the overflow.....

 

After replacing the carb with a new one and still having the same problem I will guess the problem is not the carb. (I am a Visionary aren't I) The only reason I even dare to reply to this post is I had a similar problem. Check all the carb vent lines to see wich ones are plugged. (Try running it without them, but replace them after you are done, fire hazard if you don't) If you have a plugged vent line it will cause the carb to siphon fuel out of the fuel outlets in the carb. Hope this helps!!!!!

 

well now that you have exhausted carb tshooting,[new carb]. pull the rocker cover and look for a worn ex. lobe and camollower, that will cause all kinds of drivability problems and they change some as the lobe wears down.