New float valve disassembly?

[supergnat]

I have a brand new vinton type float valve which leaks and would like to check that it is clear of filings. How do I get it apart withour damaging it? Also, how do the original type valves come apart? I think mine is sticking or not seating well.
Thanks,
Supergnat

[Tom Wesenberg]

I've had a few original valves that I couldn't get apart, but was able to push some toothpast into the seat area and grab the end of the needle just enough to spin it in my lathe or drill press. By spinning the needle with toothpaste and gently lifting the needle on and off the seat, I was able to lap it in and have had no leaks in 10 years.

Remember, the small screen added to the top of the gas tank valve is the first line of defense against rust and junk problems.

[Mitch//pa]

just buy a new viton valve. also if you have the glass style sediment bulb put the filter that goes inside of it, they work really well holding any particles back.

[Tom Endy]

If it is type that Bratton's sell that has a 1\2" wrench flat with a small hole on each of the four sides use a small screwdriver to push the plastic washer through the holes up and out. Quite often you will find brass machine chips inside and imbedded it the viton tip. Bratton's is at the mercy of their supplier with this part. The valve is easy enough to clean.

Tom Endy

[supergnat]

Thanks for the help.. The new valve I have is as Tom Endy described. I will try the suggestions including the toothpaste idea. I am also going to try a new float since mine has a dent in it and I had to add three washers under the valve to get the initial level correct. That just seems excessive to me.
Supergnat

[Brian T]

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supergnat,
Do not use the toothpaste on the Viton tipped float valve, that is ideal for the steel type valves only, just remove the nylon keeper as Tom described, when removing the keeper it may spring into the air and get lost so have a finger above it to prevent this, ask me how I know, you may need a magnifying glass to inspect the seat for metal particles, also flush out the brass seat then blow clean.

[Tom Endy]

Originally Posted by supergnat

Thanks for the help.. The new valve I have is as Tom Endy described. I will try the suggestions including the toothpaste idea. I am also going to try a new float since mine has a dent in it and I had to add three washers under the valve to get the initial level correct. That just seems excessive to me.
Supergnat

You may also have a float that has been molested. The float itself should never be tweeked to adjust fuel level. However this often is found to have been done in the past. A molested float often will not come up straight an cause the valve needle to not seat properly. Also when molested the proper height is no longer there and you have to add a stack of washers.

My experience has been that a new viton tip float from Bratton's properly cleaned and a new repo float from Bratton's (not molested) will install with good results and close the valve at a nominal 5\8" with just one washer installed.

Tom Endy

[Tom Endy]

A fellow fordbaner asked about the photos I submitted in a previous post. Anyone is free to download them off this post. Please be my guest.

Tom Endy

[supergnat]

Thanks again Tom,
I will check my vinton valve (which came from Brattons) again more closely. I ordered a new float from Brattons and will have it Monday afternoon. I am sure the float had been molested in the past. Our weather should be good on Monday so I'll try again. I rebuilt my carburetor per your proceedure and it works except after a period of 45 MPH driving it starts to sputter. I thin the float issue may be causing the sputtering problem.
Thanks,
Supergnat

[supergnat]

I finally got the car working properly again after rebuilding the carburetor. I damaged the first Viton trying to disassemble it. I ordered a new one and cleaned it thoroughly. I also replaced my dented float with a new one allowing me to correctly set the float level. That fixed the carburetor leak problem. I also discovered problems in the distributor which I finally figured out was being caused by a bad point block. The problem was similar to the mystery problem being discussed currently on the barn. The car would run fine until fully warmed up then would sputter and stall. After a period of time it would start and run again for a short period of time and sputter again. I suspect that the heat caused the point to become loose in the point block resulting in a very poor connection and causing low HV spark voltage. The locking screw would never really lock the point in place. I installed a new block assembly last night and tested the car today. Other than some fine tuning of the carburetor the car is running fine again. Thanks for all your help.
Supergnat

[Mitch//pa]

glad to hear that your problems are solved. maybe you can share how you diagnosed and determined that your HV spark was intermittently weak. i use a spark tester at the cap inline of the coil wire. i also use my oscilliscope at work but most dont have access to them.

[supergnat]

In answer to Mitch’s question I used a volt meter.

After I adjusted the points to (.020) I proceeded to adjust the timing with cylinder one at TDC by turning on the ignition and measuring the voltage when the points were open versus when closed. This was done by rotating the cam clockwise by hand m to open the points as described in the Les Andrews procedure. I discovered that the voltage did not always return to zero when the points closed again. I also checked the spark by manually opening and closing the points to see the spark jump to the engine block The spark (sometimes yellow) was not as good as I thought it should be. I rechecked my point gap again and it seemed OK. In the process I discovered that the fixed point was moving while I checked the gap even though the locking screw on the point block was tight. I pulled the point block and filed some of the material on the clamping portion of the block to allow it to close further. That did not help. A closer examination of the point block revealed that some of the threads were missing allowing the fixed point to move even when the locking screw was tightened. I got a new point block from A & L and installed it. Using the same process to adjust the points followed by setting the timing using the meter eliminated the small voltage present when the points were closed. Checking the spark manually as above revealed a good healthy blue spark to the block. I put everything back together and went for a on hour test drive this morning. No more sputtering.
I hope this description makes sense.
Supergnat

[Mitch//pa]

Supergnat
Good job on a proper diagnosis of determining that you had a problem in your ignition system due to a poor ground of your points, which was causing an intermittent weak spark. See it can be done without replacing everything from fuel system to ignition system.
Kudos