Gas spewing from carb drain tubes

 

I ride a 1981 honda cb900c. Love the bike, but the other day i had
some starting difficulties. The problem was the choke cable had slid
down and popped out. Anyways, i fixed this, but to see what it was i
had to remove the carburetor. Now i put everything back together and
voila it starts up, but spews gas all over my garage floor... dad was
happy about the smell.

So i've done some research on this problem and it sounds like i did
something to my float valves. What did i do and how do i undo it?

 

Matt Johnson wrote:

Maybe there was some debris in the passages or lines and it fell into
the openings and made the floats stick open or maybe they were already
somewhat sticky with gum.  It might clear by tapping them with a
screwdriver handle or if you're energetic enough by bouncing the whole
bike from the rear of the seat.

Another mistake I make all the time is draining the carbs before I take
them off and then forgetting to tighten the drain screws, that has
similar effect.

 

paul c wrote:

If the other thoughts don't work right away, I'd just get it outside,
stub my cigarette and then look closely to see where the leak starts,
maybe the hose is leaking at the petcock or above the carbs (I know you
mentioned only one carb but I presume you have four of them) where the
fuel line splits.

 

paul c wrote:

eg., if three carbs are sucking and one has a loose connection, it might
not be a stuck float at all.

 



I suppose there may be carburetors in which you can install the floats
upside down...

If you have to remove the carbs to check the float level, there will
be a tiny wear mark on the tab that pushes the float valve closed.

If you've somehow installed your floats upside down, you'll see that
little wear market facing you...