where does all the oil go?

[rdr952]

My 6 runs great...I suppose that's why the carbs seem to lose enough of their damper oil to cause a poor idle.Any thoughts on why or what causes the oil loss?

 

[RomanH]

What year is it?
If you have the adjustable needles with fixed jet version of the ZS carb then you are probably having the same problem I have.
The adjusting screw which adjusts the mixture needle is supposed to have a "O" ring on it to prevent the oil from leaking around it and down the meetering needle. It needs to be replaced.
The Bently book does not address this and the Haynes carb manual states that the adjusting screw should not be reomved. But you can and the "O" ring and and the screw retaining ring are available from Moss or Victoria British.
There is a good article on how to do this in the "Technical" section of this site under carb rebuilding.
https://web.archive.org/web/20021203144249/www.buckeyetriumphs.org/index.htm
I am waiting for my parts to do this job. Should be here in a couple of days. I will let you know how it turns out.

 

[piman]

Hello rdr952,

I can't see why damper oil or the lack should affect your idle. The other thing is that it seems that it is commonly expected that the damper remains full of oil, it doesn't and does not need to be full. If you remove the damper piston and then replace and feel resistance as you re-insert it then it has enough oil.

Alec