HELP!!! Carb body, float pin pivot broke

[grinnell]

Fingers crossed but do believe so. Will get the bike back next week.

[CDNRatMan]

 Ok so you are hooked up and fixed in the Carb department ....correct.......

[grinnell]

Check out post titled "Gas Float Pin Post Fix" for details and pic of final resolution.

[Tfrank59]

Hey, great news!  include a couple pics if you can.

[grinnell]

Just a quick update I was able to find aN old cheap HD carb with the same size posts as my drifter and my welder just finished up the work. I will let you know how everything holds up once installed and that way if any others have this issue I can recommend (hopefully) them to this micro laser welder instead of the dreaded drifter carb replacement.

[grinnell]

Agreed Tom staying away from the epoxies as I want a long term solution.

Still on the hunt for a post if anyone can find one, my welder said even if I find one that is close (not shorter though obviously) from a different bike he can fabricate it to work. Anyone w/ an old carb laying around that they could remove the float pin post from? Willing to pay for shipping and troubles.

[Tfrank59]

man that's bad luck, sorry.  If it were me, knowing now the cost of an 800 carb, I'd try to find out if there's any way a machinist could fab up some posts/ears and, if possible, have them attach with very small screws.  I know sometimes carbs can be cast out of pot metal, so this might not be feasible, but if there's a chance to make that happen it might work out better than welding route, as that changes the material's properties and could make things worse in the long run.  FWIW, I'd stay clear of using epoxies or the like, as they tend to fail over time, esp. around fuel.  JB weld I think claims to be strong enough, but again I personally just wouldn't trust chemical stuff to keep a carb together.

[grinnell]

So after hrs of searching I was able to find a couple carbs but all in the $400-550 price range which I am not able to swing. I have found other non-drifter bike owners who had the same issue and one recommended micro laser welding. Read very mixed reviews on half a dozen different kinds of epoxies but want this to be a long term fix not just a band aide so going the welding route. So I found a gentlemen in GA. (I'm in MI) that has done this exact job and when speaking to him on the phone you could really tell he is experienced but my only problem is that one float post was completely missing when I got the bike and I need a donor post. The previous owner used a shaved down nail and some caulk, yes you read correctly CAULK! Does anyone know of anyone that may have another post off a old carb that could be cut off or just laying around that I could buy? Doesn't have to be from a drifter or even a Kawasaki for that matter I would just need to get rough dimensions and will have it modified as long as it is longer than the original.

Thanks in advance. First time bike owner and hoping this is my new road to a trouble free drifter riding future!

[Tfrank59]

That's a big nut shell hey I started looking up Vulcan 800 carbs on fleabay and they are not cheap!  no matter whether it's for a Drifter or a classic so hopefully we can get this gentleman fixed up without having him replace his entire carb.

[CDNRatMan]

  Yes the Drifter 800 has a TPS or throttle position sensor, Ok I had to look it up and learned this:

The TPS is measuring the engine load and feeding that information back to the igniter.
Without the TPS in circuit you have a 2 dimensional ignition advance curve that advances the spark depending on the RPM, no matter what the load, similar to points and centrifugal weights of yesterday.
With the TPS in circuit you have the 3rd dimension. Now the igniter knows if the engine is under hard acceleration, cruising, slowly building speed or decelerating when it cross references with RPM. This is important as the speed of the flame front in the combustion chamber changes as the load on the engine changes and in turn the timing of the spark needs to change in line with the flame front to produce good ignition at the point of maximum chamber pressure.Not using the TPS certainly won't hurt your engine as the igniter reverts to the 100% throttle open ignition map. But you are losing out as the spark timing will be constant at any particular RPM no matter what the engine load/flame front speed and thus you are not taking advantage of performance/efficiency at any part throttle openings. This is why all modern vehicle ignition systems use an engine load sensor of some description and also why Keihin have gone to the trouble of incorporating a TPS on their lovely FCR39's. This also explains why we have seen the comment by many owners "I disconnected mine and didn't lose anything". If you disconnect the TPS, full power WOT will be the same as with it connected. Also a one or two BHP gain is very hard/impossible to detect on WOT unless on a dyno, so a one or two BHP gain on part throttle is definitely impossible to detect, but in everyday riding it'll make a difference.

that is it in a nutshell.......

[Troll]

800 carb should fit just fine, but the drifter has a tps on it to control spark advance, the regular 800 does not. Might not make any real difference, but it could effect drivability.

[CDNRatMan]

   I am not sure but Troll or greenBarn will have an answer there is a difference between the Vulcan 800 and the Drifter something about some TC>>> sensor.......

[Tfrank59]

And you know of course that your bike is a Vulcan not just a drifter so you can shop for Vulcan 800 carburetor even if it's from a Vulcan classic 800.

[Old Drifter]

Sorry to hear about this. Here's one that looks complete for sale. Hope this helps. http://www.ebay.com/itm/112262566960?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

[grinnell]

So my bike is not in great shape right now and I'm hoping for some help from my drifter friends in finding a solution. My mechanic went to re-build my carb and found that the previous owner used a nail to hold the float pin in place when the pillar piece broke off. I was unaware of this issue until this season and attempted to use a metal bonding agent with a make shift pivot but the piece failed and as you can expect I have a serious gas leak. My question is can ANYONE point me in the direction of a used carb body w/ good float pin pivots? Don't care about the jets etc bc I plan on using my existing ones but both pivots have to be in good shape. I really don't want to have to buy a new one since they are super expensive and I'm on a fixed budget having recently had a baby. I really don't want to go this route but is there any folks out there that have successfully tapped out a section of the cast carb body and made a pivot that successfully holds up the test of time? Any and all help anyone can provide would be very much appreciated. This is only the second season (really 1.25 bc I'm in MI) of having the bike and it has been a absolute nightmare so far but I LOVE this bike!

Issue explained below.

http://www.vulcandrifterriders.com/forum/index.php?topic=45377.msg101789#msg101789