I have a 1977 sportster. The bike been sitting for a while and I thought id get it going again. I went out and got a kit that had all the rubber pieces. I took apart the carb and put in all the new rubber. I also cleaned it. Also when I took off the carb I had to take off the intake, because the upper nut is blocked by the coil. I put it back on and turned on the gas to start it. The bowl filled up and immediately started to pour out of the overflow line. I dont think the pin thats on floater is making a good seal. The pin is new so its not the pin.( I also held it in place and turned on the gas and it didnt leak.) I think the floaters are set too high, but it didnt do this before I took it apart. I dont know what I did. My dads had problems with this before.

 

I've made the bowel overflow a few times....The wife thinks Metamucil might help.


OH wait.....We're talkin' about carbs here.


It sounds like you need to adjust the float level...simple enough to do.
If your dad has had problems with it in the past, it was probably never adjusted quite right in the first place.

 

+1 if the bowl is overflowing and everything else is good then odds on its your float bowl height that needs adjusting. It can be a fine line between just right and just pouring out!

Also check for debris in the final fuel section...ie from where the fuel hose connects to the carb and the outlet inside the base of the unit. I once had a small piece metal in the tubes that would from time to time wedge the seat open and let gas flood out. thing is that everytime i removed the carb to check it dislodged and went back into hiding. I removed the valve and sprayed carb cleaner from the inside and it finall flushed out.

 

Assuming this has a CV carb. You may want to replace the float valve / needle as well as adjusting the float. When they die, they won't seal well.

 

On my CV carbs only the float needle is replaceable.
the seat is not.


I have used a "golf tee" with a little fine valve grinding compound on it
to "polish the seat"

 

Take the bowl off and fill it with fuel and see if it leaks out the overflow port on the bottom of the bowl that the hose hooks to. I have a bowl that did this and it drove me nuts! It leaked out where the overflow pipe was staked into the bowl. This happened after it sat for quite a while. I ended up changing the bowl and all was well.