New needle sticking

[rednax]

I'm rebuilding a zenith 68 and I put the new needle and seat and the needle was sticking. There's a little clip (pictured) which I think is supposed to hold the float to the needle. The problem is that the clip doesn't fit. The rebuild kit is from hamiltonbobs.

[outdoors4evr]

Bend the clip to fit the needle. The clip should sit in the groove of the needle with a pretty sloppy fit. (able to move generously)
If the needle has a Viton tip, you may want to find another needle that is all metal.
The Viton Tipped needles have a habit of getting sticky.

[rednax]

Is the pin the correct way and am I supposed to attach it to the float? Sorry about the photo being out of focus

[Eugene]

The pin fits over the float near the anchor pin. So that when the float drops, the pin pulls the needle valve down.

[john2189]

The clip didn’t fit mine either. Carb didn’t have one when I took it apart. So I put it together with out it. Runs great, no problem.

[rednax]

Yeah, mine's got a tab that sticks out and it didn't have a clip before. I'm going to try to bend the clip around the float because the needle's sticking, but maybe I'll leave it off and see how it works.

[Eugene]

To prevent the needle valve from sticking in the seat, shut off the fuel, let the carburetor run dry, then shut off the ignition.

[feg7846]

I have not had good luck with the new Viton tipped needle valves. The last few Farmall cub carbs that I have rebuilt, I used the old needle valve and not the new Viton tips. The first time that I used the new tips, it liked to run me crazy. I know I was doing everything rights, but finally narrowed it down to the new tips.

[Don McCombs]

Yeah, mine's got a tab that sticks out and it didn't have a clip before. I'm going to try to bend the clip around the float because the needle's sticking, but maybe I'll leave it off and see how it works.

Use the old needle.

[rednax]

The old needle also has a viton tip. Is there a place that sells metal needles for these carburetors?

[Don McCombs]

You could check with Morgan at McDonald Carb & Ignition.

[rednax]

I put the carburetor back on and found where it was leaking. It looks like a plug made of a bunch of little rods. I don't see it on the parts diagram. Should I cover it up with JB weld? It ran really rough with the choke on.

[Dale Finch]

No, don't block that up. It is doing its job, by draining the fuel that the updraft carb draws up when you are trying to start the engine. If it does not start, that fuel needs to drain back out.

[Don McCombs]

Dale is absolutely correct.

[Gary Dotson]

There are basically 3 locations, in these carbs, where a leak may occur. No. 1 is, of course, is a non-sealing needle and seat, we've all experienced that. No.2 is the gasket under the needle seat. If the pot metal surface is rough, the gasket may not seal. No.3 is the gasket under the fuel discharge tube, the same reason as No.2. The fuel level in the carb. is higher than the base of that tube and fuel in the metering well will leak, if the gasket does not seal. In all of these cases, the fuel will drain out through the sintered drain filter circled in your picture.