Fuel coming out the carburetor air intake

[Breakhard]

Hey guys, Breakhard here, I'm new, but from what I've been reading it appears that a lot of you know more than I'll ever know, so please bare with me. I recently purchased a Fox Helix 150cc which I believe to be Model 6150. The kid I purchased (stole) it from had rode it hard and put it away wet, dirty and full of sand. Needless to say it wouldn't start, so after a year or so of it sitting around his back yard he put it on Craigslist. Once I cleaned the carb and charged the battery it fired right up. Then I noticed fuel flowing out a short hose coming out the side of the carb. Took the carb apart again and found a small piece of what looked like wood shaving in the float needle. Put it back together and it fired right up. No fuel coming out the overflow hose on the side on the carb. But after doing that this evening I came in and ate dinner and when I went back out I found fuel flowing out the air intake part of the carb. Actually it was coming out the air filter but once I took the air filter off, it was coming from the carb air intake. So what have I done and what do I need to do to fix it?? Thanks in advance.

[MASTERBATES]

well it sounds like one or two things. the "wood shaving" cound have actually been setting pressed against the float needle after you removed it. i could have left a dimple in the needle,"only if its a rubber tipped needle" or..... second guess.... from the time of it sitting still,it is possible that the petcock on the bottom of the fuel tank went bad. there is a daiphram in there. im betting to guess with the commonality of ethonal fuel these days that the diaphram has dried and cracked. so id look there and replace it. congrats on the new toy!

[Breakhard]

Thanks for the quick reply Mr. Masterbates. So.....I do believe the float needle is rubber tipped. The "dimple" will it go away in a couple days or do I need to see if I can find a new one?? I had noticed while working on the carb that the vacuum lines going to the petcock would have fuel flowing out of them when not connected to the carb or intake manifold. Is that a good indication too that the diaphram has gone bad?? BTW, all new fuel land vacuum lines installed yesterday. Again, thanks for the quick reply. Breakhard.

[xlint89]

Welcome to the site.

Did you check or alter the float height by any chance?

May want to lose the vacuum operated petcock in favor of a regular/non vacuum operated valve.

[Breakhard]

xlint89, thanks for welcome and suggestion. The float looked good and level when in the "up" position, but I'm not real sure what to measure it against. If I go with a regular/non vacuum petcock what do I do with the two vacuum ports on the carb?? I'm going to guess that they get plugged with some sort of cap or pinched hose. Help me out here. Does not have a vacuum petcock change any carb settings, or just plugging off the two ports take care of it all?? If going with a regular/non vacuum operated petcock is a possible solution, why the two vacuum lines to begin with?? Again, thanks for your time and help.

[Breakhard]

Masterbates.....duh, I thought about your reply after you graciously responded, but then didn't do anything about removing the vacuum lines coming from the petcock as I had already removed the fuel line. Well, during the night I kept waking up to the smell of gasoline (our bedroom is adjacent to the garage) but didn't get up to see what was causing it. This morning when I got up I found gas on the garage floor, the rag I had set down just in case to be soaked and gas was still flowing out of the carburetors air intake. After unhooking the vacuum lines and plugging off the one attached to the petcock, miraculously, the gasoline stopped coming out of the air intake. I guess I should have read more into your note than what I did. May I suggest next time you respond to me you start off by whacking me with a 2x4 or something stronger. Gasoline on a garage floor with a hot water tank not 10 feet away does not make for a good marriage. I may have to sleep in the garage tonight. Did you see xlint89's suggestion about going with a regular/non vacuum operated petcock. Too new to all this to know what's best (and cheapest) but it does sound like a good idea. Breakhard.

[bear]

First off let me welcome ya here too! I can't tell you how much this forum has helped me with my buggy's, but I'm sure you'll learn as you go along! as for the petcock, it's just kinda the norm for most of us that when the diaphram one goes bad that we just replace with a regular petcock and cap off the vac nipples in some way. Hope you have a good time "scoping" on this site, I know I have!!!

[MASTERBATES]

Yep I'd have to agree with xlint. U could just block off the other hoses. But with the main fuel line goin to the Carb,I would add a shutoff inline with that. We're all here to help and inform

[xlint89]

Yep, cap off the hose fittings. With them being vacuum hoses though, you want to use a really good "cap" to seal them.

I wouldn't just fold over the hose and pinch it off.

[Breakhard]

Thanks guys for all your help and suggestions. I'll replace the petcock with regular/non vacuum operated petcock. I'll also see if I can't find one with a built in shut off. Then on the carburetor.....if I connect one vacuum line to both of the carburetor vacuum nipples, making sure that they're both clamped on real good, would that be better than capping off each nipple individually?? Would doing that lead to other problems such that it's better to cap them off separately?? Thanks, Breakhard.