Gas found inside carb floats!!! (They don’t float)

I’ve been having some minor problems with getting my ‘00 drz400s to run clean. I added the 3x3 air box mod and JD jetting kit a while back and that helped with performance by loads! (Still running stock header and exhaust because I don’t wanna be noisy when creeping on backroads)...

Anyways recently (few months back in the fall I started to notice starting problems, tools a few extras motor turns to start and some days left me sitting at work til I got a bump start. I have since replaced the diaphragm petcock with a E model hard shut off (seemed to help as long as I remembered to turn it off when I parked).

I have had the bike shut off on me mid ride going 55 on the country highways and had to coast to a stop then wait a few minutes before restarting....

So More recently this winter I have been going through my bike (like 99.9999% do with their bikes when it’s not riding season) and I noticed the insides of the translucent plastic floats in my carb had some liquid/gas on the insides!!!

Could this be the ultimate issue with my starting problems? I will attach pictures of the floats later today (right now sitting down with a cup of coffee and peanut butter toast for breakfast before work)

Any help is much appreciated!!!

I had checked my plug in the fall and it was that semi dry light brown color that seems ideal... not white (lean) and not black and wet (rich).

Float bowls are supposed to float. That is what opens and closes the float needle. Buy a new float and set it to the proper height.

Back in the 70s Honda cars had a run of bad floats from the factory that were not sealed properly from the factory and would eventually allow fuel to seep in... I used to stock several of each style.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If the float doesn't actually float then the "float level" will be off. Then this will change the level of fuel in the float bowl, making it higher than it should be and in turn will eventually cause the engine to run too rich, because the main jet is pulling too much fuel.

So get a new float and find what the float level should be and the factory's method to measure the float level. You will bend the small tab (probably) that the float valve is attached to, to control when the valve is open and closed.

Also it's important to change this for another reason. Once the float has lost all it's air and is sitting on the bottom of the float bowl then it will never close the float valve. This means if your tank doesn't have a vacuum actuated petcock then the fuel can gravity feed into the carb all the time, eventually overflowing through the main jet and dumping into the cylinder. Many engines have been damaged because the crankcase oil was diluted with gas from this happening.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk

Thanks all but everready, that’s probably what I’ll end up doing. Wonder if I can find a used cheap one somewhere in here... also I wonder if the modern (up to 15% ethanol) has anything to do with this.. I had the fuel pressure valve in my 2000 Cherokee gas tank go bad because of the ethanol gas

Everready.. you here in Ohio? Me too!

Yep. Near Cleveland and Akron area.

I’m out in flat land... Findlay. So I pulled my carb off and removed the float. It’s been sitting for a while so I was expecting any gas inside it now.. just to prove to myself that this is the case I pulled the float off the carb and placed it “floating” in a cup of water. I will check it in the morning to see if any got inside. Yes I placed it in the water the same orientation as if gas was in the bowl in the carb.

So just an update. Didn’t see any water inside the float as of this morning before heading off to work. It was left afloat on the cup of water. In the carb if it ever gets filled with gas possibly it submerged the float? So I have the float held to the bottom of the water cup today and I will check it when I get off work this afternoon to see if it then has liquid inside the float.. if not then my theory of the float taking in gas may just have been a figment of my imagination...

That test is not valid,
First off fuel has a lower SG than water so it will seep into smaller holes easier than water.
#2 Fuel usually gets sucked into a float during temperature changes as a float warms up and cools down the internal pressure changes cooling down creates a vacuum inside of the float sucking the fuel in.

The way we used to check floats was to use warm/hot water and a cool or cold float. Submerge the cold float completely in warm/hot water and as the float warms up the internal pressure increases and if there is a leak you will see bubbles as the air inside expands.

Thanks! I will have to try this later...

Guess I could also submerge it in a cup of gas too right?

I take the test a little further... put the float in the freezer for a hour and then dunk in very warm water. Any pin holes will be immediately visible.

Warm water, this will cause the air inside the float to expand and if there is a crack or hole in the float the air will bubble out, don't try warming gas up to do the same thing.
If you get bubbles, remember to take the float out of the water and dry it off before it starts to cool down again or it will suck water into the float if there is any hole.

No! Use water it is safer as it needs to be hot!
The trick is to get the float cold, Room temperature is OK but you can toss it in the freezer for 15 minutes as was suggested. We used to warm water on a hotplate until just about boiling but that was with brass floats with plastic float I would use very hot tapwater.
The idea is to take the float from cold to hot in a short time causing the air in the float to expand and create a little pressure. When it does this the air inside will force it's way out of any holes in the float and you will see the bubbles.
Use a coat hanger to make a hook and put the float on that as the water needs to be hot enough that you will not want to put your hand in it!

Super hot tap water in cup. Submerged float with pliers for grip. No bubbles... flipped float over to try other orientation, still no bubbles.. maybe I’m just seeing things and there was no gas inside the float

If you research, there should be a weight listed somewhere for the float. That will tell you if it has absorbed anything. When you shake it vigorously can you feel anything sloshing on the inside? Also, if there is fuel in it you may not see bubbles for a few heating cycles. I don't use hot tap water but heat it up to just below boiling and I submerge the float entirely and leave it for about 10 minutes. Try wedging it into the tines of a fork, then put it in the fridge or freezer as mentioned then just put it in a pot of hot water and watch it. A cup doesn't give you enough mass, use a small pot.

Can you still see liquid inside the floats?
Another possible source of carb trouble could be the needle valve either not fully closing when the float reaches the proper level or remaning closed when the level goes down some.
Sometimes that happens after the soft tip of the valve hardens or gets deformed or after sediments develop in the seat of the valve.

If you can connect a u-shape tube to a drain valve of the carb, you could see if the specified-by-factory level inside the carb is steady when the engine if working.
You could also have a simple plumbing problem, which prevent the fuel from freely feeding the carb (dirty fuel filter, lack of ventilation in the tank, inverted trap in the hose).