87 Marathon Carb Cleaning Surprise

[Full Circle]

Morning Everyone.

The carts been running great, my son and daughter have been touring around pretty much non stop since we've brought it home. Usually one of the first things I do to a new toy is tear into the carb whether it's running well or not. I mentioned in my intro post that I had done it, thinking that I was about to. This time though because the kids were having fun and it's supposed to be a winter project, figured I'd hold off for a bit. Well, yesterday was a rainy day, and I had some time so I thought I'd jump in.

Now, keep in mind that like I mentioned, this cart was running great. No flooding, no fuel spilling out the overflow, no hesitation or flat spots. This is what I found when I opened up the float bowl and pulled the float...
carb1.jpg

...not kidding

Yep, upside down float needle. Still not sure how things were working so well. Good news is the needle tip looks fine as does the seat.

Everything else looked pretty good too, a bit grungy on the outside but pretty clean on the inside. Haven't had a chance to throw it back together, that'll be tonight and now I'm hoping it'll run just as well. We'll see

Anyone ever seen an upside down float needle? ...and have it NOT effect performance?

[LukeL]

That’s crazy! Did it change at all when you put it back correctly? I had one that was so finicky with the carb, but I don’t think I ever put it backwards.

[Full Circle]

...that'll be tonight. Daughter had ringette so I had to pack up and head to the rink.

[Dabble Inn]

Wow, very strange it ran ok. Apparently it was sealing good enough to get by LOL. It's amazing sometimes what you'll find on an old anything mechanical that's been through amateur hands......

I recently acquired an old 78 Harley buggy that looks great but runs terrible. I knew it before I bought it and have begun to tear into it. So far I've came across numerous mickey mouse cobbled together repairs that would be the problem lol, I've decided to do a total rebuild for sure now just to see what I'll come across next LOL.

At least yours will be an easy fix, Good Luck

[CP241]

lol I love those little surprises. I can't believe that somehow managed to work!

This is one of those times, since that cart is old and parts are discontinued and can be very hard to find, that the $20 amazon chinese carbs actually come in handy. Buy one of those, take the gasket, float, and pin out of it and use that in the OEM carb. The rest, I would just clean and use the OEM stuff. But the OEM float is probably more expensive than the entire amazon carb (if you can even find one), just don't use the aftermarket carb itself. they never work very well... a good cleaning should be all it needs.

[Full Circle]

Originally Posted by Dabble Inn

Wow, very strange it ran ok. Apparently it was sealing good enough to get by LOL.



I recently acquired an old 78 Harley buggy that looks great but runs terrible.



At least yours will be an easy fix, Good Luck

Best guess is that the plunger style tip on the end of the needle was the perfect size to seal up the seat but also moveable enough to let fuel flow when needed??

Good luck with the Harley!


Got it all back together and it still runs, lol.

I need to play with the throttle cable a bit and adjust the pilot. She's a little rough a low rpm, I couldn't hold it at a steady slow pace. Bbqing now though, so after dinner and before I head back to the rink tonight.

Seat of the pants, she seems to have more pull at speed, throttles more responsive...maybe. I've been having to choke it to get it going, figured it was just the weather cooling off. No more! Even with an empty new 2nd fuel filter it fired right up and started moving.

Odd one for sure. Wonder what excitement I'll come across next.

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