New to trikes, why is my Honda 250SX leaking gas?

[Drewdah]

So please be gentle, this is my first trike and my first post. I searched a bit trying to find someone with a similar problem, but didn't find the answer I was looking for.

I acquired an 85' Honda ATC250SX as a family heirloom from my Dad and it's been sitting in the garage for over a year without being started. I'd taken it to the desert a few years ago with my Dad, so I knew it ran (or used to). I decided to try and start today so I put some gas in the tank, opened the choke up, turned the fuel line switch to on, flipped the switch to run and to my surprise it started with the electric starter fairly easily. I let it run for a little while, closed the choke about halfway and pressed the throttle, but when I did that the engine cut out.

After the engine shut off I looked under the trike and I saw gas just gushing out of a small brown tube (the darker one in the picture), which was hanging next to another small brown tube. I don't know enough about how these engines work to know what these tubs are supposed to go to, but I read in the manual that one of these is the "breather tube" and it looks like one of them is supposed to have some kind of cap on the end (neither of them do at the moment) - but I have no idea which one.

I took some pictures and posted them below. Can anyone tell me how I can stop the gas from flowing right from the tank onto my garage floor?

http://i.imgur.com/KJS39l.jpg (http://imgur.com/KJS39)
http://i.imgur.com/RF3QAl.jpg (http://imgur.com/RF3QA)
http://i.imgur.com/TRWunl.jpg (http://imgur.com/TRWun)

Thanks in advance!
Drew

[dougspcs]

Float stuck..this is a breather tube for the float bowl. Tap the float bowl firmly with the plastic end of a screw driver..it may free up the float in the bowl.

If not you may need to remove and clean the carb..

[Drewdah]

Forgive me, but I don't know what the float bowl looks like - can you be more specific?

[fabiodriven]

If you want to stop the gas from flowing for the moment then shut the gas off.

[Drewdah]

If you want to stop the gas from flowing for the moment then shut the gas off.

Thanks, I did do that - otherwise I would have ended up with a pool of gas on the floor of my garage

[tri again]

Thanks, I did do that - otherwise I would have ended up with a pool of gas on the floor of my garage

2nd pic, between the fuel filter and a 'brown down tube'
you'll see an aluminum cube with a screw in it.

That's what dougspcs is saying to 'tap' on.

That's the carb where the fuel sits.
It's like a toilet bowl float that will allow fuel to fill in and then stop when
the float, well, floats.

I had one sx that sat for a long time, put gas in and it poured out like you said.

I turned the gas off, grabbed another trike and let that one sit.

Seems like the new gas in the float had loosened it up and it works now.

You really should look into 'world class help' section and get a manual.

Seems like carbs need to be cleaned a couple times a year, maybe less.
..so be prepared for that eventuality.

Gotta clean the tank to perfection, filter etc and then the carb.
and they'll work for years.
Check your engine oil and rear axle differential oil before you ride too.

[Drewdah]

2nd pic, between the fuel filter and a 'brown down tube'
you'll see an aluminum cube with a screw in it.

That's what dougspcs is saying to 'tap' on.

That's the carb where the fuel sits.
It's like a toilet bowl float that will allow fuel to fill in and then stop when
the float, well, floats.
.

Ok cool, I'll give that a try. I do have an original 250SX manual and it shows the breather tube with a drain plug on the end - mine doesn't have one. Is that important?

[tri again]

Ok cool, I'll give that a try. I do have an original 250SX manual and it shows the breather tube with a drain plug on the end - mine doesn't have one. Is that important?

not exactly sure what you mean.
There's is an overflow tube, which is prob where your fuel is coming from, and then there's
a float blow drain, which is what that set in screw is for.
You loosen that and it will drain the float bowl.

Sometimes they have a little piece of fuel line on them or not.

Kinda helps them from splashing gas all over when you drain them.

I put a longer piece of fuel line on them and let gas run thru the float bowl
to sorta rinse them out.

Really best to clean the carb, do it right, do it once and you'll be set for a long time.

Fuel stabilizer or seafoam helps and I usually drain all my float bowls
every winter.

Keeps them from gumming up when they sit for a long time.
and getting sticky/stuck like yours is.

Then again? you may be lucky and it will simply work.

They DO like attention tho.

[MonroeMike]

Forgive me, but I don't know what the float bowl looks like - can you be more specific?

Look at page 130 in this thread.

http://www.3wheelerworld.com/showthread.php?126168-ATC250-(es-sx)-amp-TRX250-Service-Data

[Drewdah]

Look at page 130 in this thread.

http://www.3wheelerworld.com/showthread.php?126168-ATC250-(es-sx)-amp-TRX250-Service-Data

Awesome thread, that has way more detail than the little red booklet I have (which actually shows a picture of a black "drain plug" at the end of the breather tube)

So despite my best efforts tapping on the side of the float bowl and trying to shake the float loose I couldn't get the gas to stop flowing. A friend told me that sometimes there is a screw on the side that opens and closes a valve so you can drain the float bowl, so I tried loosening and tightening the screw at the bottom of the float bowl near where the tubing is connected - still no dice, couldn't stop the flow of the gas.

I'm really new to working with engines, but I am interested in learning. I'm going to start scouring that manual that MonroeMike linked, but in the meantime does anyone happen to have a link to a walkthrough (maybe with photos?) of how to remove & clean the carburetor?

[Drewdah]

Separate, but possibly related issue: When the engine starts (choke is wide open) the engine revs to pretty high RPM for about 10 seconds before finally settling down to a sporadic idle. I let it sit running for a few minutes and noticed that it occasionally does this without touching the throttle. I hopped on and pushed the choke slider to about halfway (which is as much as I could do without the engine dying) and when I pressed the throttle the engine would actually die instead of revving. Does this sound like a symptom of the same carb problem I'm having?

Thanks for the help so far by the way!

[ailll1]

In the service manual, it explains step by step how to remove the carburator with quite a good amount of pics. To clean your carb, you will need some carburator cleaner and probably compressed air. Follow the steps, clean everything, blow every jets and passages and you should be good. I heard that putting your carb in boiling water works well to clean small passages. You might want to pay special attention to the float valve and valve seat as its probably what's causing your leaking issue.

The second problem you described might be related to your carb being dirty. Old gas gums up the carb when drying. Idle problems are, most of the time, related to the pilot jet.

Here's a link to the manual: http://72.52.143.80/~trikes/atc250sx_85-87_servicemanual.pdf (Fuel system at section 4)
Make yourself a copy and keep it on your computer.
By the way, your SX is an 85 model in case you didn't know.

Hope this helps!

[dougspcs]

Mine did exactly the same thing..tapping didn't help either.

So I removed, cleaned and reinstalled..runs like a charm.

While you are at it, change the oil and filter, drain the fuel tank completely, and replace it with fresh fuel.

One more thing though unrelated..replace the differential oil too.

It will run as good as it looks..details on all that stuff is well documented in the manual link 'ailll1' gave you.

[Drewdah]

Fantastic, thanks so much guys. I'm downloading the manual now and once I read through it and get the balls to start taking the thing apart I'll update with my progress.

[MonroeMike]

Read this too.
http://www.3wheelerworld.com/showthread.php?23819-Your-carburetor-is-FINE!!-Carb-cleaning-101..

[tri again]

It's not bad. Just time.
I've been thru at least 10 this winter getting ready for
our busy springtime and will be perfectly happy if I never do another one.

Take the gas tank off and clean it to perfection.
I pressure wash and/or rinse with gas, sometimes muriatic acid if it's bad,
Following directions to the letter, of course),

dry them in the sun, on a bbq, with a hairdryer and blow the rust dust out with compressed air for 10 minutes.
Always keep it full and your gas tank is now perfect for another 25 years and will not recontaminate all the work you put into your carb.

Make sure you have a nice place to take the carb apart.

I use a new clean metal garbage can lid, or shallow box.
make sure there's no wind or cats jumping around.
And some good light. It would also be nice to find small parts if you happen to drop something, so gravel driveways are not my favorite.
.
If it's really gummy you can dip them into boiled water.

Some people clean jets with guitar strings, altho not recommended.
There IS one brass tube underneath one of the jets.
It's called an emulsion tube and easy to miss and prob coated with
mud.

If you can remember???
If that trike was really a pain to start when cold, you may want to address
a 'cold start recall' bulletin.
It was mainly the Keihin QA01 carbs and lots of them were actually fixed
before they got sold.

But anyway, keep us posted.

I got hooked on these things after trying everything else out there.

[tri again]

Separate, but possibly related issue: When the engine starts (choke is wide open) the engine revs to pretty high RPM for about 10 seconds before finally settling down to a sporadic idle. I let it sit running for a few minutes and noticed that it occasionally does this without touching the throttle. I hopped on and pushed the choke slider to about halfway (which is as much as I could do without the engine dying) and when I pressed the throttle the engine would actually die instead of revving. Does this sound like a symptom of the same carb problem I'm having?

Thanks for the help so far by the way!

Seems like the choke is compensating for a lack of fuel thru one of the jets, usually the slow jet.
They are only like .010" or like the thinnest guitar string so almost hard to even see through.
Sometimes the crud that builds up is a little like fighting concrete.

You'll be so happy when it's fixed.
You'll get it. We all do.

That's why we're here.