Spontaneous carb overflow leak?

[Kyhillbilly]

Hello everyone. I recently purchased a very clean 1995 and have been in the process of getting it completely lined out. So far I've added new tires, rebuilt the front calipers, put on new brakes and changed the oil. I thought she was completely diled in, until today. I stopped to take a photo and noticed a strong smell of raw fuel and saw a good amount of gas under the bike. I went home and pulled all the overflow tubes off the carburetors and only the far right carb is leaking.
My question is, can any thing be done other then pulled the carbs? I honestly hate to mess with them because they seem perfect (starts with little choke, runs great, great mpg). I'm in love with the bike so I don't mind having to spend a little time getting it all sorted.

[triton28]

Sounds as though some dirt has gotten past the filter and has gone through the pump into the float bowls, it really doesn't take much. Carefully but solidly tapping the float bowl with the butt end of a screwdriver while the engine is operating may temporarily alleviate the dripping but the bowl/s must be drained to try and remove whatever is in it/them. And I would definitely change out the fuel filter and the jump the pump, with the hose to the carbs disconnected and a separate test length of hose from the pump to a container, to pump out any debris in the pump itself.
If you don't know the history of the filter it could of course be a random sporadic occurrence which may not show up again, but I suspect some preventative maintenance is coming down the pipe at you. Just my 2 cents worth,
Dave

[Kyhillbilly]

I'm gonna try and tinker with it shortly. I called my local kawasaki dealer and they didn't seem to want to work on it. He just kept saying "expensive" and that he was 4 weeks behind. I've rebuild many carbs before but never on a 4cyl bike. It looks like a real pain to remove and replace these.

[SgtSlag]

How many miles on it? The fuel pump in our 1993, died a couple of years ago, 75 miles away from our hotel, in Arkansas... Bike only had 70k miles on it, but it was more than old enough to drink! Rode back to our hotel in a truck, pulling our bike on a trailer, with the tow driver owner driving us. Fortunately, we towed our bike down, on a trailer, so once we got back to our hotel, all was good. Called around for mechanics in the area, but only one would work on it, and he was two weeks out! He did NOT want to work on it, his attitude was loud and clear. Being on vacation, we could not wait, as we had to be back to work within five days. We were super-glad we trailered it down!

Most mechanics do not wish to work on bikes older than 10 years. It pays to search for a good mechanic, who like working on older machines. I found one, and I've developed a very good rapport with the two owners/mechanics there. Haven't taken my bike into them for two years -- it just runs, flawlessly! We tour on it, typically for multiple days at a time, often up to 7-9 days. It pays to be a little pro-active on maintenance, if you tour...

I suggest replacing the fuel filter, preemptively. Go through the floats, making sure they are working properly. Run SeaFoam through the gas tank, around once per month, per the instructions on the can: dissolves minor varnish deposits, throughout the fuel system; absorbs small amounts of water, within the fuel system, removing it; stabilizes gasoline up to two years (fantastic for moth-balling the bike during the winter season, if necessary -- I don't drain the bowls, I just run it long enough to fill the bowls with treated gasoline, which evaporates, over the winter storage anyway, but no varnish!). It is an inexpensive preventative maintenance routine I always follow.

Make sure to only run non-oxygenated gasoline through it! It costs more, but it won't damage your fuel system's rubber components. I run ethyl-gasoline when I can't tank up with the non-oxy formula, but it goes through quickly, to be replaced with the good stuff, usually at the next fill-up.

These bikes are made for long rides. Enjoy your bike! Cheers!

[Kyhillbilly]

My bike has 36,000 miles. I was able to pull the drain bolt and spray carb cleaner up through the overflow nipple, flushing it out of the drain bolt hole. I used a white paper towel to check for debris but the spray was only slightly discolored then ran clear. I put it all back together and no more leak! I rode it around for a few miles and everything is looking good. I put some seafoam in this tank and I'll be ordering a new fuel filter shortly.
Thanks for all the info and advice everyone!