Why Is the World in Love Again?

It's like déjà vu all over again. A couple years ago we needed to take Gertie on a trip but I found a huge fuel leak underneath her hours before we were gonna leave. Two years later, nearly to the day, I was getting ready to take Ludwig on a trip and what do I find but a huge puddle of gas under him.

Where the Hell is all this gasoline coming from?

Tater Tot was concerned.

It was coming from the passenger-side carburetor, way up on it someplace. Off it comes.

Gingerly handling a gas-filled carb.

E took this one.

Look at all that gas (it's not supposed to be that way). It had filled everything from that carb down with gas, including the "top" of the head and the crankcase. If you ever have something like this happen to you, be sure you do an oil change before you try to drive or even start it. But don't put the oil in until the problem is licked or you'll just be changing it again.

Carb Basics 101. This is the carb (right) with its top (left) off. That brass nut (top center of the picture) with the poky thing poking out of it is the float valve. That round black thing with the brass flap attached to it is the float. When the carburetor is put together, the brass flap can contact the poky thing on the float valve. Gas comes into the carb via the float valve. When the float bowl (the chamber where the float lives) has a certain amount of gas in it the float floats, pushing the valve shut so no more gas comes in. Then when some gas is used up out of the float bowl, the float sinks and the valve can open again. Essentially, it works just like a toilet. The problem was, apparently this float valve got stuck open, resulting in a flood.

Everything seemed to be fine and it was thought that maybe a chunk of crap lodged itself in the float valve and stuck it open (I'm told it happens). So I put it back together with a new gasket. You have to love how much care these aftermarket companies put into making sure the holes on their gaskets line up with the holes in the carb, don't you? 

Next: Will it work? No, it won't.