Honda GCV160 Carburetor leaking
#1
09-08-14, 03:00 AM
Honda GCV160 Carburetor leaking
I have a Honda GCV160-AS3A on a Craftsman Mower 917-378501. The carb keeps leaking after shutoff. I have tried a new carb and it still leaks. I have the gaskets that go between the carb and the engine installed with the hole on the right and the gasket that goes between the air filter housing and the carb on the right. I have also installed all new gaskets. The original carb leaked gas all over and the new one has gas seeping around the bowl gasket. I am getting ready to try a third carb off a Husqvarna mower and see if that works. The new carb came from a distributor. The original one came with the mower. I have also cleaned the gas tank and installed a new fuel line. I installed a new needle and seat on the original carb. I would really appreciate some help with this one.
#2
09-08-14, 07:00 AM
The problem you have is pretty simple -and common. The float valve isn't seating well enough to close off the flow of fuel. Then the bowl over fills and you have the leakage. But try tightening the bowl nut and see if that takes care of the gasket seeping. Maybe you just have a little seepage and it will stop.
From there, if no joy, you should plan on changing the oil in the engine before running it. Then you have to get the leaking stopped. Take off the bowl of the carburetor and hold a light pressure up on the float against the float valve and see if the fuel flow stops. To get the light pressure use something 8 or 10 inches long to hold up on the float from the side.
If you still get a leakage take the float off and see if some trash is lodged between the float valve and the seat. If so clean that out, flush out the fuel line leading to the carburetor and install a filter in that line. You may have to use a line extension to get that done.
That should take care of the problem, if there wasn't anything at the float valve and and the valve still leaks you might try surfacing the valve seat with a cue tip and some Comet kitchen cleaner. Be sure to thoroughly clean the residue off afterwards.
From there, if no joy, you should plan on changing the oil in the engine before running it. Then you have to get the leaking stopped. Take off the bowl of the carburetor and hold a light pressure up on the float against the float valve and see if the fuel flow stops. To get the light pressure use something 8 or 10 inches long to hold up on the float from the side.
If you still get a leakage take the float off and see if some trash is lodged between the float valve and the seat. If so clean that out, flush out the fuel line leading to the carburetor and install a filter in that line. You may have to use a line extension to get that done.
That should take care of the problem, if there wasn't anything at the float valve and and the valve still leaks you might try surfacing the valve seat with a cue tip and some Comet kitchen cleaner. Be sure to thoroughly clean the residue off afterwards.
#3
09-08-14, 11:03 AM
MarbobJ - thanks for your response. I did put a new needle in the original carb. I also installed a new fuel line. The second carb was brand new and I rinsed it and blew it out prior to install. I think I just got a leaker with the new carb. I ended up installing the carb from the Husqvarna mower and that seemed to not leak at least so far. After some more research, it seems like these Honda carbs are all potential leakers especially if you buy them from a distributor. Heck the new carb was only 18 bucks. How precise could it be ??????
#4
09-08-14, 02:39 PM
It's always a possibility that it's defective out of the box. But as far as a leaker of that type you can check it pretty easy. Sid you change your oil along the way? It often gets contaminated with gasoline with a leaking carb.
Hope your fix is working. There's always something, isn't there?
Hope your fix is working. There's always something, isn't there?
