1980 kz 550 carbs (TK,s) all kind of problems need

whats up everyone?im new to this site and am in need off some help,i own a 1980 kz550 just bought it,brought it home removed carbs cleaned them,installed back on bike but it leaks fuel out of 2 of the carbs so i removed them again set all float levels to 22 mm, cleaned them again and used compressed air to make sure all passages were clean, i installed them again and same issue i am getting frustrated with these carbs so now i am going to buy new carb kits to hopefully take care of the leaking gas issue??????? also i do not know where the air screws are on these carbs they have little steel caps on the carbs i think they are under them ??????? any help on this issue would be much appreciated thank you.........mike d

Leakage may be from damaged or cracked overflow tubes inside the float bowls. I've found this problem on several sets of these TK22's. Remove the bowls again, fill them with fluid and see if they leak while off the carb. This will isolate diagnosing float settings from damaged overflow tubes.

The mixture screws are probably under the steel caps that you mention.

Good carbs when you get them sorted

ok thanks for the info i will try that right now and will be back on later to update

so when i measure float height i measure from the bowl mount to the line on the floats am i correct or no???

There is a great post on these carbs here kzrider.com/index.php?option=com_kunena&...ew&catid=3&id=407335 that you may want to check out once you sort out the leaking issue.

If the leaks are from the overflow tubes you may able to seal the tubes with jb weld, as I have read other posts that indicate this works.

hey guys. new to this site, not sure how to post my own yet but since youre talking about the kz550, does anyone know if the 550 and the 440 carb diaphrams and slides are the same? i need a new slide with diaphram and im having trouble finding one unless its for a 550. any help would be great thanks

bikebldr86 wrote:

hey guys. new to this site, not sure how to post my own yet but since youre talking about the kz550, does anyone know if the 550 and the 440 carb diaphrams and slides are the same? i need a new slide with diaphram and im having trouble finding one unless its for a 550. any help would be great thanks

Lots of good info on kawasaki.com, including parts diagrams, part numbers, models sharing same part, availability, etc.

Here's a link for help with navigating the site and finding information.

kzrider.com/index.php?option=com_kunena&...w&catid=13&id=376734

Good Fortune!

... and the Tk-22 carbs from the 550 don't use diaphragms. You have to check later 550's with TK-26 or TK27 carbs. I doubt the diaphragms would match since they are a different manufacturer than the KZ440 carbs, (I think the 440 has Keihins?).

moose wrote:

so when i measure float height i measure from the bowl mount to the line on the floats am i correct or no???

with the float bowls removed from the carb body,
and with no gasket or anything on rim of the carb body the float bowl and gasket rests up against, turn the carb upside down and measure from where the float bowl and gasket would otherwise be, to the topmost part of the float itself (which is actually the bottom of the float when the carb's in normal installed state).

What you're measuring is the distance from the gasket rim on the carb body, *while the float's resting against the float needle*, to the highest point (bottom) of the float.

Consult that reference too, the most accurate adjustment comes after you set the float height in the above manner -- you next use a clear plastic tube to make sure the level of gas in the assembled carb is correct.

moose wrote:

whats up everyone?im new to this site and am in need off some help,i own a 1980 kz550 just bought it,brought it home removed carbs cleaned them,installed back on bike but it leaks fuel out of 2 of the carbs so i removed them again set all float levels to 22 mm, cleaned them again and used compressed air to make sure all passages were clean, i installed them again and same issue i am getting frustrated with these carbs so now i am going to buy new carb kits to hopefully take care of the leaking gas issue??????? also i do not know where the air screws are on these carbs they have little steel caps on the carbs i think they are under them ??????? any help on this issue would be much appreciated thank you.........mike d

Something I forgot to mention. 1 month ago I bought a used '81 kz650 real cheap partly due to the seller unable to fix his leaking carbs. He put the bike away in frustration, let it sit for a year then sold it for $50.

I got her home, man them carbs leaked B-A-D.
Took them apart figuring I'd find tons of junk inside and stuck floats -- but the dang carbs were pretty clean in there.

I then made sure in re-assembly I tighted the drain plugs.

Put a towel under the bike, came back the next day -- dang towel smelled of gas.

I figured 'okay carbs off again I missed something' so I took off the seat, then unplugged the gas tank petcock vacuum hose -- then unplugged the gas line itself from the petcock -- and I saw gas drip, drip, drip from the petcock.

I thought "okay this is a vacuum operated petcock, it should automatically stop flowing gas when the engine's off due to no engine vacuum to open the petcock's diaphragm."

I checked the petcock -- it was in the 'On' position. The engine was off, plus I'd just disconnected the diaphram vacuum line on petcock, so the petcock should have *automatically* stopped flowing gas. Drip drip drip comes the gas still.

I put the petcock on 'Reserve' -- same. No gas should flow with no engine vacuum but the petcock still dripped.

I pulled the petcock and cleaned it well and re-installed -- it still flowed gas in 'Res' or 'On' with no engine vacuum (bad).

I rebuilt the petcock after buying a rebuild kit. STOPPED THE FLOW OF GAS in 'Res' and 'On' correctly.

Put the tank back on the bike and filled it with gas.

NO MORE LEAKING CARBS.

So if all else fails, disconnect the lines from your petcock and make *sure* it is not flowing gas when it shouldn't.

Even though the float's needle valve should stop excess gas flowing -- it did not.

So the prior owner spent a lot of time trying to 'fix' his leaking carbs and they weren't even the problem.

Maybe I missed this, but it is possible that his float needle is scored and leaking. My 82 550 has a metal tip on the needle (my 750 has rubber tipped ones) and I noticed when it starts to score or make a ring around that needle, it seems to leak soon after. I have gone through a couple needles already, but never replaced a rubber tipped one yet on my 750.

apbling wrote:

Maybe I missed this, but it is possible that his float needle is scored and leaking. My 82 550 has a metal tip on the needle (my 750 has rubber tipped ones) and I noticed when it starts to score or make a ring around that needle, it seems to leak soon after. I have gone through a couple needles already, but never replaced a rubber tipped one yet on my 750.

Absolutely. Once there is a ring in the needle tip, it can be intermittent. If the needle rotates to the right spot, it may seal, but at other positions it will leak. Also, at different rotations, the fuel level can change. Better to rebuild with new needles and seats. The kits are available.