Mully 19 Posted May 21, 2022 Hello again I'm working on a 04 fortrax 350FM and the petrol is leaking out the drain. I cleaned out the bowl and replaced the float needle valve. I set carb up on the bench and filled with petrol and about 1 in 3 tests leak. I shaped up the float to put more pressure on the needle valve but no improvement. Any ideas? 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Misterclean 400 Posted May 21, 2022 Get a q tip and polish the seat with toothpaste of something else that is a little abrasive. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mully 19 Posted May 21, 2022 Hi Misterclean Do you mean poilish the brass seat down where the needle valve sits? I have copper grease would that Do the job? 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Goober 1,547 Posted May 21, 2022 (edited) The manual says to look carefully for and avoid scratches. the floats should be nonadjustable. i would use a cotton swab wetted with carb cleaner to ensure the seat is clean. did you use a Honda float valve? careful! Those seats are not replaceable! it is possible you need a new float. I recommend Honda, Shindy or K&L float valves. Edited May 21, 2022 by Goober Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mully 19 Posted May 21, 2022 Yes I used a honda valve. I didn't think anything could go wrong with the float? I look it over a it seemed ok. Do the floats give trouble? Great to get the feedback 👍 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Goober 1,547 Posted May 21, 2022 What’s the history? Been sitting a long time? oxidation on that brass seat. Floats can deform after sitting a long time but not usually Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Goober 1,547 Posted May 21, 2022 Other thing that will cause leak: you didn’t use a rebuild kit. Are you sure the carb bowl seal and drain screw seal aren’t leaking? If the overflow stem into bowl is cracked that will also cause leak out carb drain Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mully 19 Posted May 21, 2022 Bike is in regular use. I drained the carb a few times using the drain screw to see if it was working OK and all appeared ok draining stopped when screw tightened. I will take a close look at overflow stem when I'm back at it . 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Misterclean 400 Posted May 22, 2022 18 hours ago, Mully said: Hi Misterclean Do you mean poilish the brass seat down where the needle valve sits? I have copper grease would that Do the job? Yes, polish the brass. Look down in the seat with a right light and magnifying glass and look for something wrong. O have seen the taper wear out on the seat. My fix for that was to drill the hole out with the next size drill bit which narrowed the seat area allowing for greater psi on the valve. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mully 19 Posted May 23, 2022 A result. I used a cotton bud and some copper grease to polish out the seat. Irs holding fine now. Thanks for everything Misterclean 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mully 19 Posted May 23, 2022 A result. I used a cotton bud and some copper grease to polish out the seat. Irs holding fine now. Thanks for everything Misterclean 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fishfiles 17,099 Posted May 23, 2022 I never knew about copper grease , I have some copper based anti-seize , wonder if that is close to the same thing ------ Toothpaste on a swab will also work 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mully 19 Posted May 23, 2022 I spoke too soon, fault returned when I put carb in bike and took it for a spin. After it was sitting for a few minutes it started to drain again. I drilled out the hole in the seat like Misterclean suggested and I'm just back from a test spin and its holding so far. Going to keep a eye on it . I'll but up a update later. 🤞. Going for tea 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jeepwm69 6,601 Posted May 23, 2022 Sweet iced tea right? Hope you can figure it out. Tbose 350 rancher carbs are notorious for leaking and can be very frustrating to fix Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mully 19 Posted May 23, 2022 Just a little milk and no sugar thanks. Anyway it appears to be sorted this time. The drill do the trick. I polished it again after drilling incase there was a burr left. Test it in the bike with a full tank a number of times and it perfect. Thanks everyone. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fishfiles 17,099 Posted May 23, 2022 Is the tank , petcock and inside of the fuel hoses clean ??? No grains of dried up gasoline crystals or algae ??? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mully 19 Posted May 23, 2022 I looked into tank with light and appears ok but hard to be sure. There seems to be a few specks shining back at me. The carb is OK at present. If it leaks again I better clean out tank. How should I go about cleaning tank? What would you use? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fishfiles 17,099 Posted May 23, 2022 If you find any trash in the tank then I would try and take the petcock out , but if the bolts are frozen , then I might not , cause the nuts are embedded in the plastic of the tank and can spin and not come out causing problems, there is a screen (# 2 in the print ) inside of the tank over the petcock tube , I have seen them get all cracked up ----- Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mully 19 Posted May 23, 2022 That looks OK from what I can see . No sign of any leaks now so I'm going to leave it alone. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Misterclean 400 Posted May 24, 2022 9 hours ago, Mully said: Just a little milk and no sugar thanks. Anyway it appears to be sorted this time. The drill do the trick. I polished it again after drilling incase there was a burr left. Test it in the bike with a full tank a number of times and it perfect. Thanks everyone. Great news! It's a good feeling when perseverance wins isn't it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
