6.5 clone barfing "fuel" out the air cleaner?

[8fishpimp8]

I just bought a 4K generator from Northern about three months ago, and was starting the thing just as a matter of good course.

Anyway after pulling WAY too much I got it to run as I fiddled with the choke.

From full to half and back again over and over, I got it to run for several minutes ..a couple of backfires and I let it sit.....

Moments later I saw what I thought was oil leaking out the breather/air filter.

Turns out it was fuel , funky funky fuel..in three months?!!!!!

So I am reasonably sure that I have fuel quality issues, but I would like an explanation of what the hell happened and some assurance that this thing wont burst into flames if I should get all this crap out of the fuel system..


In East Tennessee we have always had good fuel, I have never had to use stabilizers or additives. I'm getting the feeling that those days are over.

If this thing had a bunch of hours on it I wouldn't bother you guys with it.
But I ran a total of 8 hours across two days so I would think that it should just be breaking in.

 

[Motra]

Leaking float valve. As fuel flows into the carburetor there's a float in there that rises up and closes a little valve which stops the flow of fuel. If that little valve doesn't seal properly guess what, you've got probably 3 to 4 gallons of gas up above the carb that gravity's pulling down on pretty hard. Could be a piece of debris in the valve, could be a stuck float.

 

[Strigoi]

Leaking float valve. As fuel flows into the carburetor there's a float in there that rises up and closes a little valve which stops the flow of fuel. If that little valve doesn't seal properly guess what, you've got probably 3 to 4 gallons of gas up above the carb that gravity's pulling down on pretty hard. Could be a piece of debris in the valve, could be a stuck float.

what he said.

 

[The_Ruppster_86]

Your engine is just sick. It needs rest and care.

 

[8fishpimp8]

Would this be the kind of thing that I could fix with carburetor cleaner, or will I need to replace parts ?

Let me restate that, since this is not a board for psychics, should I try carb cleaner and fuel system flush first.....or should I just do a carb rebuild on this #@$^ new engine.

Either way thanks guys ..seriously


I guess a little barf is better than bleeding from the anus, which was my second pick for the title to this thread..:scared:

 

[buckeye]

You should be able to remove the carb and clean that baby. As has been mentioned sounds like the needle seat isnt sealing and its allowing fuel to just keep flowing. Search the good ol google. There are good vids and instructions on carb rebuils and cleanings I have cleaned and,rebuilt my carb 10 times this week. Finally figured out my carb is a junker. Good luck and if ya can show some pics of what you are dealing with it might help.

 

[65ShelbyClone]

It's a one-wrench job to take the float bowl off. Do that, take the float and needle out, spray everything clean with carb cleaner, and reassemble. It's realistically a 10-minute job, maybe 20 if you've never done it before.

I suggest investing in a bottle of fuel stabilizer, too. If you're using gasoline with ethanol like most of the country, then look into the "marine" stabilizers. If you can still get ethanol-free gas, then use that for anything that will be stored more than maybe a month, less if it's humid or there are wide temperature variations.

 

[8fishpimp8]

Thanks to everyone for your help ...

So let us close the book on this little saga..
I call it "A dumbass and his Clone"

If you have a gravity fed fuel system and leave the fuel on for three weeks it will leak down on top of the piston and eventually below down into the crank case.

You might check your oil level, and upon discovering it is mostly fuel throw a tantrum.

Resist, the urge.

Merely, drain the oil, replace with proper weight oil...use 100% gasoline and ..most importantly TURN THE FUEL OFF AND RUN IT DRY..

I seem to remember my grand dad telling me that.......I hate it when that happens.:doah:

 

[65ShelbyClone]

If you have a gravity fed fuel system and leave the fuel on for three weeks it will leak down on top of the piston and eventually below down into the crank case.

Not if the float valve is working properly. It does introduce another problem: fuel constantly evaporating out of the carburetor is likely to cause deposits to form. That's why it's a good idea to run them dry or drain the bowl before storage.

 

[8fishpimp8]

Alright, so I guess I have a leaky valve or maybe i had some crap in the valve.

I let fuel run through it with the float valve out, if the valve does not seat properly in the hole...what then?

If the thing runs,it IS on a generator, and I continue to turn the fuel off when not in use...would there be any problem with running it as is?

If not, is this a problem with the whole carburetor or is that valve seat replaceable?

" I know things...just not these things"

 

[SAFETYpin]

You really should have it seal correctly. While you might get away with just shutting off the fuel when not in use, the needle and float correctly set the fuel level in the carb bowl. If the fuel level is too low the engine can run lean, too high and it will run rich. After you remove the needle and float, make sure the float doesnt have fuel inside it. Not much of a real issue these days but metal floats would sometimes develop a hole and fill up with fuel. Next use a use a cotton swab and carb cleaner and clean out the needle orfice. It should be clean and free of debris. Finally make sure the tip of the needle is clean and smooth.

[YOUTUBE]Honda gx160 carb rebuild part 1 - YouTube[/YOUTUBE]

Obviously you dont need to remove the carberator, you just need to remove the fuel bowl on the bottom of the carb.

 

[8fishpimp8]

Thanks Man .............I was a little unsure what to stick up there to see if the pathway was open.

I settled for a bamboo skewer..thinking that it couldn't damage anything.

Then opened the shut off valve and let it run free for a few seconds.

The end of the valve looked new and free from defect...as it should.

I hope that it was just those jellyfish from the ethanol blend.

Anyway thanks for the push.