Stuck Float

[Blonde Healey Girl]

Hey Everyone!
Been driving the 60 BT7 alot! Just the other day the front SU started overflowing.Some times happens if we don't drive it for a week or so. Gave the bowl a quick tap with the back of a screwdriver (usually fixes it) However, this time it didn't. Took the top of the bowl off and the float was floating. The fork was set at 3/8".(I bent it down a little more to be sure)Blew into the threaded part and the cutoff seemed to work fine when I lifted the fork.Still over flowing. Can this cutoff needle thing get trash in it or something? Is this a high wear item? Do they have a rubber tip? Should I replace it? The back carb is happy. Standard Electronic 12VDC SU pump(no high pressure stuff)
Thanks in advance,
Shelly

 

[Dave Russell]

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Blonde Healey Girl:
Hey Everyone!
The fork was set at 3/8".(I bent it down a little more to be sure)Blew into the threaded part and the cutoff seemed to work fine when I lifted the fork.Still over flowing. Can this cutoff needle thing get trash in it or something? Is this a high wear item? Do they have a rubber tip? Should I replace it?
Shelly<hr></blockquote>

Hi Shelley,

The 3/8 setting should be in the ballpark. The needle valve has a small plunger on the float end which is spring loaded. The float setting should be made with the spring uncompressed. Be sure that this plunger operates freely.

A possibility is that the screwed in jet itself is loose & allowing leakage.

It is possible to get dirt between the needle & seat which will allow leakage.

It is not a terribly high wear part but does need to be replaced once in a while. Some folks switch to the aftermarket Gross jet. A different design which may or may not help anything. The early Gross jets worked well, then a later batch didn't. I don't know if the ones now available are ok or not. There are also a few synthetic tipped needles available.

In any event, the standard steel needle works pretty well if it doesn't get dirt in it. An inline filter before the carbs will give some added insurance.

Check the above items & if no improvement, replace the needles & seats.
D

 

[Legal Bill]

If the valve closed when you lifted the fork, but it still overflowed when you reassembled, then dirt and valve wear are probably not the problem. Check for excessive wear at the point where the fork is hinged on the bowl cover and where the fork presses against the bottom of the valve. sometimes the fork wear out such that even when the float has risen as high as possible, all the play in the fork prevents the valve from closing.

Of course, sometimes there is just more dirt in the line, or the gas line is corroding internally and sending bunches of stuff up stream. But when that happens, you can see all the crud in the bottom of the bowl.

 

[Alan Alfano]

Did you remove floats and shake them ?
I had a similar problem and found that there was a bit of fuel that had leaked into the float.
As a resut, it did not have bouyancy to press the valve off.

I replaced it with a 'good' used one that I had..
2 weeks later, had the same leaking problem.

I ended up buying brand new ones from Joe Curto in Long Island. Not a problem since.

 

[Blonde Healey Girl]

Originally posted by Alan Alfano:
[QB]Did you remove floats and shake them ?
I had a similar problem and found that there was a bit of fuel that had leaked into the float.
As a resut, it did not have bouyancy to press the valve off.

You guys know everything about these Healeys. Alan gets the prize on this one. After going through every thing one more time pulling the jet and looking for dirt and checking the fork for 7/16" clearance (Used a drill bit). Finally pulled the metal float, shook it and low and behold it was half full of fuel....Yea, thanks Healey Forum