its happening again....

This is getting to be embarrasing. I finally got my 14hp ohv from my uncles house. Same fricken problem, put gas in it and it fills the intake and everything..... stupid epa nikki carbs. Took it apart, it was clean, put it back together pour gas in it, it just floods the engine. Changed the needle to where it shuts the fuel flow off and tried to adjust the solenoid thingy. It still floods the engine every time. Newer multi piece intake carb with the fuel shutoff solenoidand fixed jets. And dont say damaged needle seat or tip................................i really need to get working carbs....

crafsmankiller wrote:

And don't say damaged needle seat or tip.

Well- I can avoid saying it, but then, I don't know what to tell you. It's not a bad battery, and its not your wheel bearings. There are three individual components that affect this. The float, the inlet needle and the seat Its really that simple.The anti-afterfire solenoid has not a dang thing to do with whether it floods or not, and it's flooding terribly by the sounds of it. You need to look for the following:

*Float- hold it to your ear and shake- is there fuel inside? If so, replace it
        - Is the height adjusted correctly? If adjustable
        - It it sticking in the hinge pin or binding against the bowl or gasket?

*Needle- Look very closely (magnifying glass). Is there any dirt or debris on the tip?
           -Is the tip damaged? Should be perfectly conical, no step or notch in the tip.
           -Some needles have a viton (rubber tip) is it degraded or missing?
           -Is the spring clip (if so equipped) installed correctly?

*Seat-    Again, whip out the magnifier. look for even the slightest speck of dirt or debris.
         -Are there any nicks, pits, gouges or other signs of damage?
         -Some carbs feature a rubber seat. If it is degraded or missing, replace it.

Basically, there's only so many things that will cause flooding like that, and you're looking at them.

Sometimes those rubber tipped needles get all swelled up. I had one carb that kept flooding in and it fixed it replacing the needle and seat. Stuff looked good to me, I don't know what the difference was.

Do you have a fuel pump or is it gravity fed?

i had a 5 horse flatty on my push mower, the needle was all metal, no rubber tip. the seat was a cork seat. we sent it out to get serviced in the begining of the year, and got it back a week later, didnt get touched until the middle of summer, when our main push mower went down. (landscaping company so we have to have spare everything) it was doing the same thing, pissing fuel from every possible orifice on the carb, and filled the engine full in minutes. turns out, when the guy cleaned the carb, he blew compressed air through it, and blew out that cork seat. the needle wasnt sealing at all. check that, see if your needle is rubber tipped or all metal. then check the seat

i dont know much about motors but very little i know are you sure the jets are clean can u spray carb clean straght threw them because my atv was doing this and i saw the jets were cloged and as soon as i cleaned it it never floods anymore

i know for a fact the float is empty, i actually checked it this time. the original rubber tipped needle didnt do a darn thing so i replaced it with a slightly longer (1mm) metal needle and it stops the flow. willis i dont remember if it had a cork or rubber seat, i guess ill try to make one tonight. ill report back 2morow

I dunno about making one. If you want this problem solved for once and for all, I suggest tracking down the specific needle and seat for your carb. Randomly mixing and matching parts, and making stuff, is inviting further trouble. The factory setup- in good condition- has a popoff spec of upwards of 5psi. This means you should be able to put that much fuel pressure in before the needle allows ANY flow.

well, i found the problem. these plastic floats apparently crack the tab that pushes the needle up, the tab looked fine out of the carb, but broke off in the bowl. im gonna get a float from my friend and hopefully that fixes the problem. i did use vise-grips to pinch the fuel line so i could drive it a bit, goin from a worn out 8hp to a like new 14hp is a huge difference. i gassed it and spun out, im gonna be havin fun once i get it runnin good

crafsmankiller wrote:

these plastic floats apparently crack the tab that pushes the needle up, the tab looked fine out of the carb, but broke off in the bowl.

That would do it...

Yes it would... it looked fine but was broke

Nice work troubleshooting! It's very hard for anyone online to help without actually being there.

The only other thing I can add to this conversation about Nikki carbs is: The o-ring gasket that seals the bowl to the body should be replaced. They are notorious for letting fuel leak past, which bypasses the float needle entirely, and cause the same flooding issue.

B440 wrote:

Nice work troubleshooting! It's very hard for anyone online to help without actually being there.

The only other thing I can add to this conversation about Nikki carbs is: The o-ring gasket that seals the bowl to the body should be replaced. They are notorious for letting fuel leak past, which bypasses the float needle entirely, and cause the same flooding issue.

I didn't think about that, it looked fine so I reused it, but ill replace it since you brought it up. hopefully once I replace the float and that gasket itll run right