86 VF500F interceptor gas spewing headers

[chsherbie]

I cleaned out my carbs, installed them back in the bike with 1/2 gallon gas in the tank, started it after a minute or two, tweaked them, rode it 20 miles and it had power throught the whole range of normal driving (didnt want to push it to hard). I put the fuel valve to off, woke up this morning and went to the garage and it smelt horribly of gas.
I looked at the bike and the 2nd carb in from the left of the bike, when sitting on it, had gas leaking out the bottom of the float bowl. I know the seals are gone but cant find a kit to replace them. I am thinking about applying that 10 minute curing high temp silicone gasket in a tube.
Anyways not only is it leaking a little bit from there but when I followed the header from the 2nd cylinder down to where it meets the junction of the other headers it is dripping gas every 5 seconds or so where they clamp together. You can see the video of the carbs and the header dripping here.
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Can someone tell me why there would be gas leaking out of this one header? Im hoping it is because there isnt an airtight seal on that carb and not a blown head gasket or something. Thanks a lot

[Craig in Alabama]

Hi chsherbie,
Sounds like gas is getting into that cylinder, then leaking out the exhaust valve to the header. Probably due to a stuck open float valve in the carb.
That probably also means that there may be gas in the oil as well. Check the oil to see if it smells of gas and also to see if the level is too high. If you even suspect that gas got into the oil, don't crank the bike. Drain the oil and make sure there is no gas left in the cylinder.
Probably when you cleaned the carbs, some small piece of grit got stuck in the float valve. Sometimes the smallest thing can cause huge problems.

Cheers!
Craig

[chsherbie]

thanks craig. I cleaned the carbs before this problem happened because gas flowed into the crankcase. I was informed that it was probably the floats. I took the float chambers off the carbs and cleaned out all the jets and floats and entire chamber with cleaner and air. I thought everything was squeaky clean but I guess not :-\ I did an impeccable job cleaning them too. Maybe the float level is somehow off.

[masonv45]

You have to make sure the float valve rubber needle tips are "flexible". If you see a ring around the black rubber tip that won't rub off, or if the tips are hard, you need to replace them.

[chsherbie]

thanks mason, the actual float valves looked real clean with no gunk around them. I did not actually check to see if they were hard or not. When you say not hard do you mean you can bend them a little and they arent brittle like?

[masonv45]

I'm talking about the needle on the other end of the float. It dips into the recess and shuts off fuel to the carb when the gas rises in the float bowl.

If the tip of the needle does not make a good seal, gas can leak into the combustion chamber, past the cylinder rings, and into the crankcase...