GS1100GL Carb Rebuild leaking out vents

[Guest]

It's been a while since I posted so I had to re-register. I just rebuilt my carbs on my 1982 GS1100GL with new o-rings according to the procedure here and put them back on. After turning the gas valve to prime to fill the carbs, it seems to just flow straight through the two vent lines. What did I do wrong?

[tom203]

That high up? and that quick? You did put in new o-rings or gaskets on float needle seats? yes, then your floats aren't set right- doublecheck, make sure they aren't stuck down in bowls. try gentle tapping on bowls to see if overfilling stops.

[GS1100GLMLA]

I'll check the floats again. they were all set at 7/8".

[tom203]

I'm sure you saw this link- easy to mess up (ask me how I know!)

http://members.dslextreme.com/users/bikecliff/images/carbspec_float_height.html#A02

[GS1100GLMLA]

How do the vent tubes work on these carburetors. When I pulled the carburetors off, turned them upside down and remove the float covers, the floats are all closed. If I blow through the main incoming gas line, it just blow straight through the vent tubes, whether the floats are open or closed. That doesn't seem normal.

[megatwin]

make sure you have the fuel line on the correct port.
If you have it hooked to the vent side,instead of the fuel port,the float valves can do nothing to stop the gas flow.

[GS1100GLMLA]

Thanks megatwin, thats exactly what I did wrong. I'm going to switch it now. I should have known better.

[gs550rebuildguy]

Floats

My PO had the fuel on a vent line it should had been on the center tee.
gs550 here but yours should be similar outer tees vent them
I had a float stick post rebuild due to the float valve retainer clip catching the swing arm of the float so I rotated them a little bit...it pays to flip the carb a few times and observe the float valve falling down and falling back in the hole. My bike actually ran with fuel going to the vent but who knows the damages ...still about to find out tonight now that I shimmed the valves that were out of spec badly... this might help...I left off my fuel line and set the selector to on which is straight down... then I sucked open the vacuum line yeah using my mouth and walla I got good fuel coming out my fuel line only when applying suction...later I added a CLEAR vac line to carb two so IF it ever did fail id see the gas getting down there and service the diaphragm to the fuel tank. To be cautious I think you might wanna pull out your spark plugs and make sure your spark wires cannot ground out and roll over your engine to blow out the cylinders in case you got a cylinder full of gas right now.

[JTGS850GL]

Did the exact same thing on my GS1000G project the first time I put her together after the rebuild. Making the vent lines a differant color/material then the fuel line make it easier to identify once the tank is in place.