03 rx1 float adjustment

[snowrules]

went to adjust the floats on my sled this weekend and check the fuel level as per the manual. measured floats at 9 mm so adjusted them to about 13 mm figured i'd split the difference of what the manual said. didn't check the fuel level thought i'd try it with that adjustment first ran it out on the lake ran like crap slow acceleration, bogged and sputered all in the midrange. brought it back in took the carbs off used an auxiliary fuel tank hooked one fuel line up and used a clear tube method on those 2 carbs and the fuel level was way high by almost 10 mm. hooked the other fuel line up and checked the other 2 same deal. question is wich way do i want to bend the little tang that contacts the small valve seat down towards the valve or up away from it? from what i can see bending it down will make the valve close sooner in turn shutting the fuel supply off sooner lowering the fuel level in the bowl. however i tried this the fuel level dropped in the bowls slightly but the sled ran worse than before. end result was i gave up on what the manual said and trying to measure the fuel level in the bowls and just kept adjusting the metal tang till the sled ran better. ended up that i had to bend the tang up away from the valve seat to make the sled run well. in the end i had float height measurements of 7-8 mm on all floats. and it still has a very slight hesitation in the midrange. so what gives was i bending it the wrong way am i doing something wrong?

 

[Len Todd]

I would think to adjust fuel level, you would have the carbs installed and have the fuel pressure from the fuel pump applied. I am not sure that hooking to an aux tank is going to give you an accurate reading.

The Float's spec is 11-15 mm. If you can not get there, are you measuring in the right place? Or, ... are your needle valves not shutting off? Maybe, they are still dirty or damaged and they are leaking fuel in causing you to compensate with float adjustment. ?? Or, ...

With the tops of the floats up, if you bend the tang up, the fuel level will be lower. Note that you can also bend the floats versus the tang. Could it be that someone had bent the floats and now you have bent the tang. Consequently, you can not get the right Float measurement. ??

Unless the bend in the floats is severe, the only way I can see you getting the right balance now is by adjusting the fuel level on each carb. So, I think you are going in the right direction.

 

[snowrules]

so just for clarification if the carbs are upside down bending the tang up will lower fuel level? maybe this is why it ran better when i bent the tang up. floats looked in good shape not bent only the tang was bent by me. the manual is not very clear on where to measure on the float i was measuring on the flat edge right before it is kind of rounded right about in the middle maybe i should be measuring at the tallest part of the float where its rounded

 

[Len Todd]

Ya, the Tech Manual does a crappy job on this adjustment. Also, we may be experiencing some problems here casue of varying viewing perspectives.

With the carb upside down, if you bend the tab up, you are going to get a higher fuel level. (i.e. the float will have to be higher to shut off the fuel.)

Think about it this way. The tang pushes up on the needle to force it onto the seat to close the valve. So with the carbs upright, if you bend the tang up toward the needle, it will close faster this lowering your fuel level.

So, If you measured out to the furtherst point on the float away from the bodies flange, what were you getting? If you set the floats at 7mm, then your fuel level should be fairly high. Becasue, you need more fuel level to shut the needle valve.

 

[snowrules]

that is what i thought on the tang part. i'm not sure what it measures to the farthest rounded part i'll have to check next weekend when i go back to my cottage. i will also try measuring the fuel level while on the sled. i suppose if i just turn the motor over a few times before i measure each one that will ensure that the bowl is full to it's max level.

 

[snowrules]

anyone else have any thoughts on my problem?

 

[Len Todd]

You should be able to run it with the tube in place to chack fuel level.

 

[snowrules]

true never thought of that. shouldn't overflow should just fill to float height might just be hard to get an accurate mearurement with vibrations from the motor. thanks for the tip.