Quick way to check for leaks in a metal carb float

[ohiofarmer 3,265]

  Ok, so you know the drill. you shake the carb float and cannot hear anything that sounds like liquid. You float it in a cup of liquid. is it really OK?  Not necessarily. I was inside an old forrest gump Snapper rider carb and it has sat for years and years. The carb has a little brown goo in the bowl, but it cleaned up well as did the float with a bit of lacquer thinner. I had no reason to suspect a bad float, but this is a sure fire test. If there WAS any old gas inside the float, it probably would be pretty thick anyway, so I did my test.

 

  Just run some hot water as hot as you can stand in a container and immerse the float. The metal heats up quickly and causes the air inside to expand ----. bubbles happen pretty quickly.  Just for fun, i immersed the float into cold water, and quite a bit of the water sucked back inside the float. Very evident that the liquid got inside. It rattled a treat.

 

  I just watched a video that has 35k subscribers and the guy is pretty good with carbs, and the guy just threw the float in a container of gas and it floated. He called it good and went on.  My old float floated just a high as his float did, BTW. That's why I am sharing this here.  BTW, you can repair these floats with solder in a pinch, but I buy new ones if it is possible.  i dry out what is inside by setting them outside on top of an incandescent light bulb well away from a building and then after they boil dry and quit spewing fumes, use solder or gas tank liner to fix them..

Edited January 18, 2020 by ohiofarmer

[bc.gold 3,403]

YT Instructional videos are awesome.

 

It's I showing my age, submerging the brass float in hot water to find a pin hole is how my father did it

 

Edited January 18, 2020 by bcgold

[new2horses 287]

A tiny dab of tank sealer is the much safer route. IMHO

[ohiofarmer 3,265]

5 hours ago, bcgold said:

Your age is showing.

 I am not that old. My mom is only 99