carb leaking out of air filter

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Ecstasy

New Member
Oct 1, 2014
17
0
0
Chicago, IL
So for the past few weeks my bike has only been running with the choke on. I just ignored the problem and kept riding with the choke on. Everytime i stop riding i turn off the gas to stop the chance of leaking. But about a week ago my carb started leaking. At first i thought it was the fuel line so i swapped them out and the leak was persistant. I scoped it out a little more and i figured out it was the air filter. (Im very new so excuse my terms) so once i figured that out i took off the air filter and put some gas in the tank to figure out where the leak was coming from. This is my best description. The leak apprears to be coming from the bolt that controls the choke. Its the bolt that holds the lever and circle air flow block thing in place. Any help would be very appreciated and please be descriptive. Ive looked up solutions and nothing has been helpful due to my lack of knowledge. I do not know what a float or needle is. Thank you very much
 

Slogger

Member
Sep 8, 2014
544
4
18
nohio
If the engine is a China girl, maybe this will help you.
Running only while the choke is on would indicate a bad air leak.
The first thing to check is that the carb is pressed onto the end of the manifold all the way. Loosen the clamp screw and press it forward, maybe give it a little twisting action, and get it all the way on. The slots in the throat will make bad air leaks if this isn't done right. Tighten the clamp. If this was already on all the way, then I would check and seal the intake manifold (pipe) to the cylinder joint, put a new gasket and a little gasket sealant on there.

Carb flooding and excess gas: Take off the float bowl, (the cup on the bottom of the carb, held by two screws in the body) and make sure the plastic donut in there is dry on the inside, it is supposed to float on top of the gas in the bowl. It pushes up against the fingers that pivot on a pin at the top of the bowl. That piece opens and closes a valve that allows gas into the bowl. It is a square needle in the base of the gas inlet tube. If that needle or the tube it goes up into has dirt or grit, the gas won't stop flowing and it floods the carb and even the engine. Clean this and put the float back in. Make sure the slide and needle (in the carb's throat) rise up and down fully with the throttle twisted.
If all else fails, buy a new carb. They are pretty cheap.
Good luck!
 
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Ecstasy

New Member
Oct 1, 2014
17
0
0
Chicago, IL
So the bike actually wouldnt start for me on my way home from work so i pedaled all the way home once i got home i took everything apart and it all looked superb everything was clean the float was fine throttle response was perfect and best of all i put it all back together and the leak stopped. The only problem no is the bike wont run uless the choke is on. Any suggestions?
 

Slogger

Member
Sep 8, 2014
544
4
18
nohio
It's getting air to run on from somewhere.
Look for a leak. You can spray carb cleaner at the manifold/cylinder gasket and at the carb throat/manifold. If the rpm speeds up or if it quits running, that's the leak. It might be the case seals. Spray there, too.
Hope you fix it. ;)
 

crassius

Well-Known Member
Sep 30, 2012
4,032
158
63
USA
if, after starting, you can run normally with no choke & no leaks, then I wouldn't worry about it - because of gearing, some bikes are harder to start
 

2door

Moderator
Staff member
Sep 15, 2008
16,302
175
63
Littleton, Colorado
Are you sure the choke is open (on) or closed (off)?

We haven't yet determined which engine or carburetor you have but if it is the NT on a Chinese 2 stroke, the choke lever is supposed to be down (choke open) when the engine is running.

If the engine only runs with the choke lever up, then you have a massive air (vacuum) leak somewhere downstream of the carburetor. The most common place is the intake manifold gasket where the manifold attaches to the cylinder. The kit gaskets are notorious for failure and leaks. You also want to assure the carburetor is sealed to the manifold correctly.

Give us a little more information to work with. Photos help a lot when you don't yet know all of the terminology. We can see what you have and make better recomendations to help you.

Tom