need some help with leaking carb.

[bradinar]

Hello everyone,

I am new to the site. I bought a 2007 lifan GRX200 galata a few weeks ago. Someone let the bike set up for a long period of time and now it has alot of corrosion in the tank. The bike was running but had a bad hesitation and I took the carb apart and cleaned out all the rust and debris. I also took off the fuel petcock and while trying to take out the bottom part to clean it out it broke because it was rusted out.

So i ordered a new one and after installing it I found that the carb is now leaking all of the fuel out of the drain on the bottom of the bowl. I checked to make sure that the screw for the drain was tight and it is. The carb wasn't leaking before I cleaned it out.

Was there a seal or gasket that I misplaced some where or was the rust in the bottom of the bowl keeping it plugged up? I really don't know what could be causing this leak but the bike won't run because it doesn't get any fuel. Anyone know what is going on?

[Cal25]

Welcome to the forums!
I'm not familiar with your bike but in general, a leaking carb can be due to the float level set to high or debris in the needle and seat area.

[bradinar]

Would these conditions cause it to leak out of the bowl drain though? It is leaking a steady stream of fuel.

[katoranger]

You might have disturbed and o-ring that was dried out.

Allen

[Weldangrind]

The answer is yes, a worn needle and seat (or debris between them) would cause fuel to pour out. Think of the assembly like a toilet valve. If you hold the float down in a toilet after it's full, the water has to go somewhere, and begins to flow down the overflow tube. Same principle.

Pull it apart again and inspect the needle and seat. Perhaps you can blast it clean with some carb cleaner. Good luck.

[bradinar]

You guys were right. I took it apart and the float itself was moving freely but I guess that the needle was sticking in the open position causing it to fill up and go into the overflow tubes. I cleaned it with carb cleaner and compressed air and it isn't leaking fuel anymore. Thank you everyone for your help.
I have another question/issue maybe someone can help with. When I bought the bike the previous owner said he just put a new battery on it and the battery does look to be brand new. But it went dead. I jumped it off my cars battery, let the bike run for a while but it didn't charge up and still won't start the bike. I checked the volts with my DMM and only show about 11.8V while running.
How long should it take the bike to charge up the battery?

What kind of voltage would you expect to see with the bike running?

Does it seem to be a problem with the battery or the charging system?

[Cal25]

Check voltage with the bike running at a fast idle and again with the engine off. 11.8 is low but if the battery was completely discharged, it will take a while to recharge on the bike. You should see a higher voltage with the engine running.

[Weldangrind]

Don't tax your charging system like that unless you're stranded. Pick up a cheap trickle charger and allow the battery to charge for about eight hours. After you charge it, measure the voltage of the battery with the bike off (expect to see around 13.5VDC). Connect the battery, start the bike and measure voltage again, and you should see over 14 volts with the throttle opened a bit.

Good luck.