Amazon: SU Carbs overflowing

[Relentless]

Problem all sorted! The rear float bowl was full of rubbish from a degraded fuel line, I suspect previous owner had used E10 in there at some point and this had rotted the hose between the two carbs.

Replaces both floats, needles etc after a good degreasing and cleanup with new gaskets, new piece of hose and off she goes again! Thanks for the help and advice folks!

[buick boy]

glad you sorted the problem . This E10 fuel has a lot to answer for . Had a problem with weeping injectors on 2004 Audi . I stripped one and found the inner seals had all degraded, I assume the previous owner had used E10 without realising the damage it can do .Had to replace them all, Also replaced all the fuel hoses for good measure .

[142 Guy]

The comments on E10 are interesting. All regular grade gasoline where I live has been E10 since about the turn of the century. Some premium gasoline is E10 and some is ethanol free depending on the refinery. I have never had fuel system problems on any of my vehicles that ran on regular grade gasoline in addition to my lawnmower, pressure washer and portable generator.

Is your E10 really ethanol blend (E) or are they using other alcohols for the blend? Methanol is more reactive than ethanol.

[Othen]

Originally Posted by 142 Guy

The comments on E10 are interesting. All regular grade gasoline where I live has been E10 since about the turn of the century. Some premium gasoline is E10 and some is ethanol free depending on the refinery. I have never had fuel system problems on any of my vehicles that ran on regular grade gasoline in addition to my lawnmower, pressure washer and portable generator.

Is your E10 really ethanol blend (E) or are they using other alcohols for the blend? Methanol is more reactive than ethanol.

I tend to agree. I live in the UK now, but in the past in Virginia. At that time regular pump gas contained ethanol in the USA and I have not had any issues - including with motors I still own from that era (like my Triumph motorcycle).

I will probably get shot down in flames by my own countrymen for saying this: I think the whole E10 conspiracy theory many Brits like to believe in is bunkum. I use it in my Amazon, Triumph and Royal Enfield all the time with no adverse effects whatsoever.

[Rustinmotion]

Originally Posted by Othen

I tend to agree. I live in the UK now, but in the past in Virginia. At that time regular pump gas contained ethanol in the USA and I have not had any issues - including with motors I still own from that era (like my Triumph motorcycle).

I will probably get shot down in flames by my own countrymen for saying this: I think the whole E10 conspiracy theory many Brits like to believe in is bunkum. I use it in my Amazon, Triumph and Royal Enfield all the time with no adverse effects whatsoever.

I’d look at it like this
Ethanol degrades certain types of Rubber that’s fact
Most cars made after 1995 are made with compounds to take 10% + ethanol for a car manufacturer to say don’t use green fuel means there is a reason it’s not a selling point
Not all rubber is the same so some will be ok others won’t, you take the risk

From my own experience the fuel line from steel tube to pump and pump to carbs went like jelly and was sticky to the touch, they had to be replaced, the short rubber from fuel tank to metal pipe is original and still going strong

[Derek UK]

Being wary of E10 I'm sure many have renewed the feed to the pump and that from pump to carbs. If you did that 2-3 years ago best to check them as there was a glut of cheap non compliant hoses around. They may have been marked with the right codes but if they were cheap and off the Bay may well have been cheap Chinese stuff. Cracking after a year was common. 1 m lengths from Halfords are cheap and should be fine. 8mm from the fixed metal line to the pump and 6mm pump to carb. A decent size branded filter after the pump is useful even if Volvo never fitted one. Beware that the hose just after the pump can rub on the block flange if you are not carful with the routing. I have a clip on one of the thermostat housing bolts and still have a tie wrap to keep it away from the block. Found the old pipe had a groove worn in it but not leaking. Was hidden underneath so just a matter of time. I am tempted to cut a bit off my pump outlet pipe to help the routing, it is a bit too long.

[142 Guy]

I understand the comments about fuel line quality. I run premium fuel in my B20E which is ethanol free and I have suffered from repeated fuel line deterioration. When the car was restored around 2014, over the counter fuel injection hose was used for the fuel system. I think the brand was Dayco. That fuel line deteriorated very quickly. I then switched to another brand, the name of which escapes me at the moment and it lasted for about 4 years. I think three years ago I switched to one of the Gates Barricade hoses - there is a whole family of hoses with the 'Barricade' name and I can't remember the actual product number. So far that Gates hose appears to be OK - no visible signs of deterioration; however, three years is not exactly a long term test. I also have a piece or Goodyear hose on the car, the large diameter suction line on the electric pump, which seems to be durable. All of the fuel hose that I have used on the car was supposedly ethanol rated although E10 was never used on the car.

So, while I remain suspect about E10 being a major source of evil, I can definitely relate to the comments about fuel line deterioration. However, in my case deterioration occurred without E10 being a contributing factor.

[Othen]

Originally Posted by 142 Guy

I understand the comments about fuel line quality. I run premium fuel in my B20E which is ethanol free and I have suffered from repeated fuel line deterioration. When the car was restored around 2014, over the counter fuel injection hose was used for the fuel system. I think the brand was Dayco. That fuel line deteriorated very quickly. I then switched to another brand, the name of which escapes me at the moment and it lasted for about 4 years. I think three years ago I switched to one of the Gates Barricade hoses - there is a whole family of hoses with the 'Barricade' name and I can't remember the actual product number. So far that Gates hose appears to be OK - no visible signs of deterioration; however, three years is not exactly a long term test. I also have a piece or Goodyear hose on the car, the large diameter suction line on the electric pump, which seems to be durable. All of the fuel hose that I have used on the car was supposedly ethanol rated although E10 was never used on the car.

So, while I remain suspect about E10 being a major source of evil, I can definitely relate to the comments about fuel line deterioration. However, in my case deterioration occurred without E10 being a contributing factor.

That is interesting, and does to a large extent debunk the E10 conspiracy theory. I certainly don't want to disrespect anyone here, but the E10 conspiracy theorists do seem a bit 'tin foil hat' to me.

In principle I like the idea of bio fuels. Using plants to capture carbon from the atmosphere and energy from the sun and store both seems much more sensible than burning oil, gas and coal that captured that carbon and energy tens of millions of years ago.

Just the musings of a middle aged man with a beard.

[142 Guy]

I also have a beard; but, sort of past middle age.

Carbon capture and ethanol / methanol fuels are a loaded cannon. Around here, ethanol is primarily derived from wheat and other grains. Its primarily an agri subsidy because the the CO2 generated in the seed to fermentation process generally exceed the reduced CO2 during combustion of the fuel. In Brazil where they use sugarcane as the 'fuel stock' sugar cane at the southern latitudes is a much more efficient photosynthesizer. Depending on how they use the bagasse and particularly if they do not burn the trash I believe that ethanol dervived from sugar cane provides a net CO2 reduction as a fuel relative to gasoline.

There is a process that uses enzymes (like in the guts of cattle) to digest cellulose products like straw and other 'trashes' to create ethanol, generally referred to as cellulosic ethanol. This process would represent a net reduction in CO2 released to the atmosphere. There is / was a company in Canada called IOGEN that was attempting to commercialize the process; however, I am not aware that they have been able to stick wings on this cow and make it fly - yet.

[Othen]

Originally Posted by 142 Guy

I also have a beard; but, sort of past middle age.

Carbon capture and ethanol / methanol fuels are a loaded cannon. Around here, ethanol is primarily derived from wheat and other grains. Its primarily an agri subsidy because the the CO2 generated in the seed to fermentation process generally exceed the reduced CO2 during combustion of the fuel. In Brazil where they use sugarcane as the 'fuel stock' sugar cane at the southern latitudes is a much more efficient photosynthesizer. Depending on how they use the bagasse and particularly if they do not burn the trash I believe that ethanol dervived from sugar cane provides a net CO2 reduction as a fuel relative to gasoline.

There is a process that uses enzymes (like in the guts of cattle) to digest cellulose products like straw and other 'trashes' to create ethanol, generally referred to as cellulosic ethanol. This process would represent a net reduction in CO2 released to the atmosphere. There is / was a company in Canada called IOGEN that was attempting to commercialize the process; however, I am not aware that they have been able to stick wings on this cow and make it fly - yet.

I take your point. As with all arguments about the efficacy of green measures, it depends on what and how things are measured as to whether it makes sense or not. What is undeniable though is that taking some carbon from the atmosphere and some photons from the sun today must be better than unlocking carbon and energy that was captured millions of years ago as fossil fuels.