I noticed due to the smell of gasoline in my garage that the float valve was stuck open in the carborator of my Sportsman HO. Gas was slowly dripping out of the by-pass line (not the main fuel line) of the carb. Naturally, I was pissed and realize it's probably due to some bad gas that I bought at my local gas station(for the last time) that had dirt in it.

Here's the rub: The dealership said as long as it's not dripping while the engine runs (which it hasn't yet) it's not a safety concern. If it is, get it in for repair ASAP. As long as I shut the fuel valve to "Off" every time I shut the engine off, I'm ok. The dealer said that I may also be able to blow back up the by-pass line and perhaps push the dirt particle further away from the float. I question whether that would work or not, but who knows.

Would you spend the money to get it fixed or just leave it, knowing there's a little bit of an annoyance that you have to remember to shut the valve off every time you stop the engine? I don't see it as that big of a deal, because even when I had a motorcycle, for years I got into the habit of turning the fuel valve off whenever I shut it off anyway. I hate to see such a beautiful machine get it's carb torn apart. I've never had any other problems and of course this could have happened to any atv owner and I'm sure others have had it happen to them.


Please let me know if this ever happened to you and what did you do? Live with it or fork over the bucks and get the carb taken apart?

In advance, thank-you for your comments.

VG
------------------------
2001 HO
K&N Air Filter

 

VG,

Interesting..My 01 Scrambler with the same carb is doing the same thing...Bad part is, I just replaced the needle and seat...Now it just has a drip once in a while, and is annoying from smelling gas...Was peeing out pretty good before I replaced the N&S.


In the service manual for the scrambler, it shows a different float assembly and spec for the level. I am wondering if this is going to become common...Unfortunately, nobody seems to know the float height or how to check it...

I want to open my carb back up, but my machine isn't around..

Rainman

 

My wife drives a 325 mag 2x4 and I have the same problem. I filter all my gas and add sea foam from time to time and it seems to help. Is it a big job to change the neddle and seat??

 

Measure the float height from the float bowl mating surface to the top of the float step. It should be .580" using a vernier caliper. Make sure the spring on the needle is not compressed when measuring. The HOs seem to do this a lot and I have not seen if reseting the float stops the dribble. But the ones I have reset were set a little higher than they should have been but I never saw the machine after that. The BST40 has a different type of float setup than the 34. The 34 float height is .510".

 

Rainman,

That intermitten dripple will drive ya crazy won't it? I will have to try blowing back up the by-pass line as my dealer suggested and see if that freezes up any dirt that may be stuck in there. Who knows maybe it will. I could definately see the gas drippling out while the engine is running as a safety issue. So far, mine does not do that. But, then again, how do you really know once your going? Is it possible the dripple could be so random that while you do not notice it at idle, it could start to come out once your throttling down some trail? I hope not.

VG

 

Charlie,

Thanks for the information. In the picture of the BST 40 in the service manual, the float is a much different assembly. The one in my scrambler has a plastic pivot point and when I measured it, I thought it was so far off that I had the wrong specs.



Jimmy,

Needle and seat are fairly easy to change. On the scrambler, I had to remove my front plastic, fuel tank, and then the carb..About 1/2 hour or so..A magnum, no clue.

Rainman

 

If you blow air up your onerflow line, make sure its just a puff and not too much or you could damage something up there. My 425 exp did the same thing this summer as well as my friends 2002 TB. He blew air up, and it sealed up, I havent gotten around to doing mine yet. But before I knew about the air trick I extended my overflow line so it wouldnt drip on the engine but on the ground. That way if your riding, gas shouldnt drip on a hot engine. But yes its annoying.

 

Anybody know where the location of the over flow line is on a 325 mag is so I can blow it out? Is it on the top of the carb or the bottom?

 

My overflow line hags right behind my clutch cover, check there first.

 

Just so you all know, that overflow/vent line that goes below the carb, it has a check valve in it that lets air or fuel out but not back in. Otherwise it possibly could draw dust or water in. There is a vent line on top that is plugged into the frame on most models that you could possibly blow on but there is no substitute for removing the carb and cleaning the dirt.