K 341 woes

[Wishin4a416 2,399]

I rebuilt the carb on my 416 a month ago or so and it has been running like a swiss watch. Yesterday I started the tractor to warm it up and it ran for seconds and then it shut off. I smelled gas real strong and found it spewed gas out the carb front. So this AM I pulled the carb and found this. A pinhole in the float which I figure would not let it float and shut the needle valve off flooding it. So my question is can I make sure the gas is drained and evaporated out of the float and solder over it? I do have carbs out in the outdoor shed but who knows where and it has wintered up here. The pinhole is at 6 oclock position.

Thanks

Jack

 

[pfrederi 19,463]

Yes you can solder the hole closed...after you get all the gas out.  use a soldering gun not  a torch

[ri702bill 10,965]

Yes, but.... You say the hole is on the bottom.... caused by having the float set too low and it was spanking the bowl?? If so, that needs to be addressed.

You may need to solder two holes. Notice the soldered over hole on the top of the float near the pivot. It is there up top for a reason. The float is made from 3 pieces - the upper half, the lower and the tab. Soldering the tab to the upper is easy, not so doing the middle seam. Without the vent hole, the assembled float becomes pressurized, blowing out the last bit of solder. Better to have to go over the vent a few times to get it right.

Also, opening up the vent allows you to use low pressure compressed air to purge the insides. Is all this worth it - probably not. Replacements are plentiful and reasonably priced...

[Wishin4a416 2,399]

15 minutes ago, ri702bill said:

Yes, but.... You say the hole is on the bottom.... caused by having the float set too low and it was spanking the bowl?? If so, that needs to be addressed.

You may need to solder two holes. Notice the soldered over hole on the top of the float near the pivot. It is there up top for a reason. The float is made from 3 pieces - the upper half, the lower and the tab. Soldering the tab to the upper is easy, not so doing the middle seam. Without the vent hole, the assembled float becomes pressurized, blowing out the last bit of solder. Better to have to go over the vent a few times to get it right.

Also, opening up the vent allows you to use low pressure compressed air to purge the insides. Is all this worth it - probably not. Replacements are plentiful and reasonably priced...

Thanks. The hole is on the top of float. In its previous life it must have been rubbing the part of the carb body at 12 oclock in the new picture. When I rebuilt the carb I adjusted the float to sit level. 

[squonk 45,062]

I have a pile of floats. I could send you one. 

[ri702bill 10,965]

43 minutes ago, squonk said:

I have a pile of floats.

A "Brass Flotilla??", Mike?

[sqrlgtr 1,784]

2 hours ago, Wishin4a416 said:

The hole is on the top of float

looks like the vent Bill was talking about if its on top of float. clean it good and try it but remember there is not much room in there and have to make sure new solder clears everything. Forgot to add I would hit @squonk up for one before spending much time on it

Edited 8 hours ago by sqrlgtr

[Bill D 2,500]

Are you using an aftermarket rebuild kit?  That could be affecting your float height.  OEM Kohler kits usually have a seat assembly that's installed using a thin wall 3/8" socket.

[Achto 30,450]

9 hours ago, Wishin4a416 said:

make sure the gas is drained

 

I found a good trick for getting the gas out of a float. Seal the float in a container to keep the smell in and put it in a freezer for an hour or so. Remove it from the freezer, position the hole so that it is down, and heat the float up with an electric heat gun. The temperature change will force the gas out of the float. It may take few cycles of this but it does work very well.

[WHX?? 53,720]

I actually made the pin hole a bit bigger with a dental pick. Then just shook the gas out and set it in a warm place to evaporate out. Soldered up good to go.