|
Glad the fix was an easy carb flush to unstick the float valve, for now. No carb removal required. Don's videos are worth every penny. The question remains why did the float valve stick?
This is another reason why I am keeping my mechanical fuel pump. You can manually flush the float valve briefly without electricity, before starting. No danger of sparks in fuel vapor as when bypassing the OPSS with the power switch on, a situation you wisely avoided. Also, no fumes or spills are created trying to direct fuel into a jar from the main passage, although that is a good way to look for fuel problems. You didn't report any particles in the gas you pumped through the carb for 20 seconds, so that's good.
Using the hand bail underneath the mechanical pump forces gas past the float valve until the floats rise to close it. I like to pressurize the fuel line this way before starting, as it starts with less cranking. This acts as a priming bulb, but is USCG approved. You can hear the gas squirting through the float valve until the bail has no resistance and the fuel pressure gauge goes up. I believe this flushes the valve and helps keep it from sticking. That, and the use of MMO in non-ethanol fuel. IMO, the MMO keeps the rubber tip of the float valve needle lubricated, and non-ethanol fuel doesn't degrade the rubber.
|