Right Carb overflow tube dripping gas

[hawk248]

Hello fellow FJOwners,

Last week bought 1985 Fj1100, 13K miles, looked good and ran good as well.
Today I added a gallon of fresh gas, started fine and I let her warm up then idle for good 15 mins ( to run old gas off).

Afterwards, I shut the engine off and put her away in the garage. Soon started noticing gas dripping from right side, near the foot brake.
I took the right fairing off and noticed right side carb overflow tube keeps dripping. The other 3 carb tubes seem OK - not dripping.

Any idea? Is the whole carb shot? Did I buy a lemon?

Appreciate feedback ...

[Arnie]

The carb that is dripping probably has the O-ring which mounts and seals the needle seat split or perished.  Could also be float height level is too high on that carb and/or that there is crud between the inlet needle and the seat.
Best advice I can give you is to get the SS socket head screw and O-ring kit from RPM (see vendor area).  The carbs could likely use a full clean and adjust.

Arnie

[ribbert]

Nice buy with that sort of mileage.
No, you didn't but a lemon and no, the carb isn't shot and 15 mins is waaaaaaay too long to leave an FJ idling with no air flowing over it.
This is a common and minor problem.
If you are in a country with ethanol in the fuel the carbs will be gunked up and will need a thorough clean.

A ride and a rev may see it come good, a tap on the bowl of the offending carb will fix it, removal and cleaning is probably the best long term fix.
Mine did this intermittently for a couple of years until I got around to overhauling and cleaning the carbs. It was no big deal I would just tap the bowl a few times with something metallic and it would go 5Km's or 5000k'm's before doing it again.

Noel

[Pat Conlon]

Welcome. 15 minutes is a long time for a air cooled engine to sit and idle. You will cook your valves.
Perhaps you just to need to clean your float needle seat.

[Steve_in_Florida]

Hawk,
Welcome to the show!

Do you have any idea how long the bike may have been sitting unused? Did the previous owner ride it much, or recently?

13,000 miles huh? Could it be 113,000 or 213,000?

What kind of shape is it in?

Pictures?

As previously stated, rap on the carb to dislodge any crud on the float valve seat, check/change the oil/oil filter, then take it for a spirited ride!

Don't panic. Follow the advice given, and we'll help get it sorted.

Steve 

[FJmonkey]

You didn't change the muffler bearings did you?

[baldy3853]

You didn't change the muffler bearings did you?

WTF are muffler bearings

[craigo]

You didn't change the muffler bearings did you?

WTF are muffler bearings

Those are the bearings that are attached to the muffler that spin when you ride......

CraigO

[FJmonkey]

Craig, we ride on Sat in your nick 'O' the woods with a new member (Frank form Long Beach, custom 84') if you can make it...

[hawk248]

Hawk,
Welcome to the show!

Do you have any idea how long the bike may have been sitting unused? Did the previous owner ride it much, or recently?

13,000 miles huh? Could it be 113,000 or 213,000?

What kind of shape is it in?

Pictures?

As previously stated, rap on the carb to dislodge any crud on the float valve seat, check/change the oil/oil filter, then take it for a spirited ride!

Don't panic. Follow the advice given, and we'll help get it sorted.

Steve 

Thanks for good feedback. The tube kept dripping until I tapped the carb with a screw driver - now it is almost stopped. I think letting it idle for 15+ mins was way too long. Hopefully I did not cook anything else. The bike is in good condition - does not appear 13K mileage to be tampered with. PO was a mechanic type - rode it every summer. The bike had been sitting in his garage (heated) - although riding season is over in MI by mid to late September. I will post the bike picture in my profile.

I contacted a local mechanic and hopefully tomorrow he will pick it up and get carb cleaned.

[yamaha fj rider]

Hawk welcome to the forum. A simple carb clean and fresh gas should fix this also use a fuel stabilizer like seafoam. If the bike sits for only a month modern gas can plug the carbs. Don't forget to have the carbs synced after cleaning. Hope this helps.

Kurt 

[craigo]

Craig, we ride on Sat in your nick 'O' the woods with a new member (Frank form Long Beach, custom 84') if you can make it...

I'm in  Where do we hook up and what time?

CraigO

[FJmonkey]

Craig, we ride on Sat in your nick 'O' the woods with a new member (Frank form Long Beach, custom 84') if you can make it...

I'm in  Where do we hook up and what time?

CraigO

Check your PM

[ELIMINATOR]

Tapping the offending carb. didn't work for me, but blowing down the overflow pipe seems to have "cured" it now. Should I have just said that? Will the bike know?

[Steve_in_Florida]

...blowing down the overflow pipe seems to have "cured" it now.

I had a couple of issues like this with my `92 FJ, after I had the carbs rebuilt. Picked the bike up following service, and the next morning, a puddle of gas when I started it.

This was my fix back then. No problems since.

I had the same issue recently, and tried all the aforementioned with no joy. (`92) After considering the fuel flow pattern, I disconnected both fuel lines at the electric pump, ran the float bowls dry, and applied a gentle shot of compressed air to the fuel line to the carbs.

Hooked everything back up and it's been running fine ever since. No carb removal necessary.