<VV> Turbo Carb leaking very bad!

[Jim Simpson]

I had a turbo carb float fail just before this summer's CORSA convention in 
Carlisle.  The car was a bit hard starting (harder than usual for a turbo), 
and I smelled some gasoline.  I had my wife stand back and watch the engine 
when I tried starting it and she called out that gasoline was leaking out 
-- EVERYWHERE!

Luckily no fires, but lots of gasoline all over the top of the engine.  We 
got out the rags and towels and cleaned up the spilled gasoline, then I 
pulled the top of the carb.  The float had flooded and there was nothing to 
stop the fuel pump from just dumping gas in until it found somewhere else 
to go.

The float had (and still has) a crack in the solder joint between the upper 
and lower halves at one corner.  This float, just as all the others out 
there, had been fine for 38+ years.  I assume the solder gets brittle with 
time, so maybe it would be a good idea to reflow all the solder on those 
well tested used ones...  The crack is impossible to see, but the gasoline 
inside leaks out at one point on the corner.

Everything turned out fine.  I have a couple of spares, so popped another 
one it, adjusted the float height and drop, and buttoned it all back 
up.  In spite of having almost no time to clean the car up for the Concours 
since my wife Marolyn and I spent all our time doing registration, we still 
managed to score 97+ points.  (We had prepp'ed the car at home but drove it 
up to Carlisle (~150 miles) and had the fuel leak on the morning we were 
leaving -- not the best way to start a national...)

Oh yes, all the turbo carb floats are interchangeable.

Jim Simpson, Group Corvair, '66 Corsa turbo

At 12:43 PM 2/13/2004 -0800, Michael Cassera wrote:
>I put the regulator in but still no luck.  If I set it to anything over 2
>pounds the carb leaks at 2000+ rpm.  Even at 2 pounds, the carburator leaks
>at idle and eventually floods out.
>
>Ted mentioned a damaged float was the cause of his problems.  The car ran
>fine on three occasions before it just stopped working in my garage.  It
>sounds like I may have a similar problem.  Are the floats identical between
>EM and LM carbs?  I have an early model carb that this rebuilt one replaced
>that was working pretty good.  Could I take the float out of that one and
>put it in the one in the car?
>
>Any other ideas on this would be greatly appreciated.
>
>Thanks,
>
>Michael