leaking fuel

[danhatchet]

just pick up a voyager 12 this afternoon. while limping it home (front tire is slightly weather checked new one already orders) i noticed fuel leaking from an overflow hose figured it would stop eventually but that is not the case. traced the hose to a white plastic container in front of the fuel tank on left side of bike as you sit on it. about 2 drips per second while motor is running the a small gusher when engine is shut off. any insight would be appreciated

[Scott-(Altoona, PA)]

Dan, welcome to the forum and to the amazing world of the Voyager!
I can't offer any help except to hang in there as a few of these good folks will provide you with suggestions and tips!

[davidl]

Welcome to the forum. Chances are you will need to overhaul your carbs. It sounds like one or more of your carb floats are stuck open. You might want to try to SeaFoam in the gas. There will be others that will have more insight than me.

Good Luck,
davidl

[Mr Jensee]

If it is leaking from that white plastic piece that is the fuel filter. The hoses attached may have cracks or the filter itself is probably cracked. If the fuel is coming from the carb overflow you have a needle valve sticking open. Time to open the carbs and clean them and maybe replace the valves. If 1 is leaking I would replace them in all four carbs.

[bikerking.biz]

It does sound like a leaking connection on your fuel filter which is that little white container you are talking about. It would be a great idea to just replace that filter and maybe even the hoses that are connected to it if they are cracked or wore out. Maybe the hose clamp just needs tightened or replaced, but I would replace the fuel filter regardless.

[danhatchet]

actually the white container i was refering to is called the "catch tank" according to the IPB that was in the manual Mr Jensee provided with his reply (thank you for that by the way good sir) upon further tracing of hoses to said leaking culprit i discovered a hose that came from the airbox and that the aribox was where the fuel was coming from. so it turns out it was a stuck open float. so i used the seafoam as suggested and also the old tap the bowl of the carb with the back end of a screwdriver trick i remembered from my old motocross days and low and behold the leak stopped. i will continue to closely monitor the situation. but for now it seems to be remedied

[Steves]

Just had the same issue. I went thru a tank of fuel in 100 miles. So I checked everything out. Low and behold the needles would leak riding down the rode. Best thing to do is replace all 4 needles and be done with it.

I ordered a set of 6 K&L needles off ebay for 25 bucks shipped. Pulled carbs cleaned them out. Drilled out all 4 mixture screw caps. Set all 4 butterflys with a pin as a gauge. Set all 4 mixture screws 2 1/4 turns out. Replaced fuel filter. Replaced all fuel hoses and clamps. Bike purrs now. Now to see fuel mileage.

[bikerking.biz]

actually the white container i was refering to is called the "catch tank" according to the IPB that was in the manual Mr Jensee provided with his reply (thank you for that by the way good sir) upon further tracing of hoses to said leaking culprit i discovered a hose that came from the airbox and that the aribox was where the fuel was coming from. so it turns out it was a stuck open float. so i used the seafoam as suggested and also the old tap the bowl of the carb with the back end of a screwdriver trick i remembered from my old motocross days and low and behold the leak stopped. i will continue to closely monitor the situation. but for now it seems to be remedied

Ok, the white container being the catch tank would make a difference in diagnoising the problem. Glad you found it, hope it continues to not leak.

[Kawiguy0311]

since we are on the topic of leaking fuel, filled up this morning and drover to work came out at lunch an smelled gas around the bike opened fuel door and there was a little bit of fuel in the black tray, did i over fill the tank? i soaked it up then came out after work and the same thing was going on. HMMM.... any thoughts?

[Scott-(Altoona, PA)]

That sounds exactly like what you have done. And to be honest I've done it myself. Best advise is tough to swallow, get on it and ride an hour or so. It will burn up some fuel and blow away any worries and stress you may have from work today!

[Kawiguy0311]

Thanks I figured that's what it was just making sire I'm not going crazy over here

[tonystinnett0]

I have fuel leaking out of the top t in-between carb 3and 4 I cant figure out why the over flow tubes are not leaking

[Nails]

I'm guessing one of the connectors between the carbs -- maybe an o-ring. Recommend pulling the carbs and taking a close look at how they're connected to each other. Look for the fuel circuit that's hooked to the fuel line coming from the fuel pump.

[triton28]

tony;
when you say "top t" do you mean where the "once clear", open ended plastic hose for venting the float chambers is/should be connected? These 2 tees are up on the side of the carb body under the flat diaphragm top lids, between carb #s 1 and 2 and between carb #s 3 and 4. By your description it does sound as though this is where you are speaking of.
This location/system is supposed to be for atmospheric venting of the float chambers only and the "once clear", (your hoses may still be clear and new looking I can't tell from here but most have gone orange/gold colour by now) hoses go over top of the lower airbox and point down at the ground. The only other tee is the fuel inlet located down at the bottom of the carb throat opening.
So, if you have fuel leaking from the vent tee definitely something is amiss here.
If you have a smudge of fuel vapour buildup on the carb bodies then that would be bad o-rings of the tee against the interior wall of the port on the carb body and this smudge of vapour buildup is fairly common.
You are correct the overflow drains inside the the float bowls should be showing evidence of a bad/dirty/stuck float valve by dispensing liquid fuel from the cast nipple on the bottom of the bowl and showing up as a leak. This leaking fuel could also be due to an incorrect float level but this occurs much less frequently than a bad/dirty/stuck float valve.
The fact fuel is not leaking from the bowl overflow ports could be due to blocked overflow tubes if what you are seeing is in fact liquid leaking fuel from the "top t".
Nails' recommendation to pull the carbs and do a thorough rebuild of all the o-rings, and additionaly an ultra sonic cleaning sounds like a good idea based on your description IF you have not already done so. BE SURE to use only genuine OEM o-rings and bowl gaskets and NO after market float valve hangers- reuse the original hangers for the float valves if they are known OEM.This last recommendation is courtesy of Mr. Carl Leo.
Sorry we can't be of more help on this distance forum but this is something you will have to figure out with only our suggestions; hopefully we may have been of some help.
Regards,
Dave