# GCV160 Carb Flooding problem



## mdubby (Nov 16, 2019)

I couldn’t find anything after searching the web so thought I’d ask my honda peeps here. I’ve cleaned the carb, jet, emulsion tube and bowl, and verified the needle seats and shuts off fuel with the carb on the engine and fuel valve on. But, I’m still flooding the engine. When I turn on the gas, even with an empty bowl, gas immediately starts to bubble up through the emulsion tube, running into the engine and air filter. I actually hear it and see it with the choke open. I found some stuff about tecumseh vent holes on the carb which if blocked, could cause this to happen. Any other thoughts? I may just slap a new carb on it, but cant figure it out. This is actually on a free hrr216 lawn mower that was junked, but figured id ask here. It does run and I ran it for 20 minutes after initial clean, and i put new gaskets on too in the correct order, and new bowl gaskets, and trying to figure why its still flooding like that and leaking. Thanks!


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## orangputeh (Nov 24, 2016)

mdubby said:


> I couldn’t find anything after searching the web so thought I’d ask my honda peeps here. I’ve cleaned the carb, jet, emulsion tube and bowl, and verified the needle seats and shuts off fuel with the carb on the engine and fuel valve on. But, I’m still flooding the engine. When I turn on the gas, even with an empty bowl, gas immediately starts to bubble up through the emulsion tube, running into the engine and air filter. I actually hear it and see it with the choke open. I found some stuff about tecumseh vent holes on the carb which if blocked, could cause this to happen. Any other thoughts? I may just slap a new carb on it, but cant figure it out. This is actually on a free hrr216 lawn mower that was junked, but figured id ask here. It does run and I ran it for 20 minutes after initial clean, and i put new gaskets on too in the correct order, and new bowl gaskets, and trying to figure why its still flooding like that and leaking. Thanks!


sounds like you did everything right. you eyeball the float shutting off gas flow with bowl off and lifting float to shut off position?


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## mdubby (Nov 16, 2019)

Yea exactly which is why im confused. And the carb really wasnt that dirty and the needle looked good too. I heard the bubbling when i turned on the gas valve so thought oh, thats odd.


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## tadawson (Jan 3, 2018)

Make certain that the bowl is indexed correctly. If not, it can interfere with the float.


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## crazzywolfie (Jun 2, 2014)

sounds like a sticky float or needle if gas is flowing right out of the carb. you can try cleaning things and it might help slow the leak but if you don't have access to ethanol free fuel you will likely have the same issue in the future. the carbs for them are so cheap might just be better off to replace it


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## orangputeh (Nov 24, 2016)

maybe @JLawrence08648 knows. he's the carb guru here. I just tagged him.
I will learn something also. yes. that bowl can interfere with float if not on right.

If it were me I would start at square one and remove / install and double check gasket orientation , missing gaskets ,bowl orientation , or whatever, sometimes that doesnt help , sometimes it does.


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## mdubby (Nov 16, 2019)

yep thanks all for the replies. ive taken this carb off like 10 times now, feel like im on a pit crew at this point, ha. I thought it may be the needle so cleaned the seat a few times with a q tip and everything. I think I’ll probably just put a new carb on at this point. But hey it ran, transmission works, just needs a little tlc and paint.


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## orangputeh (Nov 24, 2016)

mdubby said:


> yep thanks all for the replies. ive taken this carb off like 10 times now, feel like im on a pit crew at this point, ha. I thought it may be the needle so cleaned the seat a few times with a q tip and everything. I think I’ll probably just put a new carb on at this point. But hey it ran, transmission works, just needs a little tlc and paint.


NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! You cant quit now!!!!!!!!!

kidding......good luck. I've seen this question before but my dementia keeps me from remembering causes and solutions....


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## crazzywolfie (Jun 2, 2014)

ok ya if you have opened it and cleaned it as good as possible and it still leaks you definitely need a new carb. i have been seeing it a lot more with carbs. with how cheap new carbs are i haven't tried wasting money on a new needle but once the needle on new new carbs start leaking i have not had much luck getting the needle to start sealing again. it definitely makes me miss the replaceable needle/seat like the old tecumseh have since this is a common issue. i have had to replace perfectly good carbs because i just couldn't get the needle/seat to seal.


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## tabora (Mar 1, 2017)

I'm betting on a mis-indexed bowl as said in post #4...


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## mdubby (Nov 16, 2019)

Ill try to make sure the bowl is on right first before giving up. IlAlthough it looks like a honda oem carb too Im really not sure. My wife said the same thing, you cant give up!


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## Freezn (Mar 1, 2014)

It's a long shot, but I encountered this exact scenario once before. Remove the float and examine throughly with a magnifying glass. Look to see if the float has a pinhole or hairline crack. You can also submerge the float in a bucket of water and look for tiny air bubbles. As previously mentioned it could also be that the carb bowl isn't clocked correctly on the carb. Always a good idea to mark or scribe the bowl and carb base so you can realign both pieces in the exact same position as they were removed. Don't throw in the towel just yet. You're close!!! If you do end up replacing the carb, go with an OEM Honda carb. The Honda clones have really cheap and inferior internals when compared to OEM. Just my $0.02


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## mdubby (Nov 16, 2019)

Thanks all for the help. I took the carb back off, the bowl off and tested the needle and seat to ensure it was working by blowing through the fuel inlet valve, (using a spare piece of fuel line) carb upside down, and no issues there-no air getting through. Lined up the bowl as required and no leaks! I dont fully understand what exactly interferes with the float/needle if the bowl is mis-aligned, but appreciate the replies!


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## crazzywolfie (Jun 2, 2014)

i don't think testing the carb like that will work. sometimes a new needle will be able to get it to seal up since the rubber on the old needle will dry with age but a complete carb is so cheap i would sooner just go that route.


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## CarlB (Jan 2, 2011)

take the float out again and dry it off. Shake it and see if you can hear gas floating around inside.
if gas gets in the float it will cause the engine to flood.


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## mdubby (Nov 16, 2019)

I meant to add too that I did test the float in a bucket of water. No bubbles and it floats, so I think the float is okay too.


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