Hello People: This is my first thread as I am a newbie. I recently purchased a 1975 Case 580 CK series B loader/backhoe. The engine was running good until I decided to clean the fuel water trap as the manual suggested. I drained the bowl , put it back on and turned on the fuel. After a minute or so I noticed the gas (gas engine) was just pouring out the carburetor. Is it possible that something is now lodged in the carb holding the float open? If true, is there any way to dislodge it? I thought about draining the carb and then turning on the gas again to release the pressure. Can I open the carb to get some carb cleaner in there or do I have to remove the carb from the tractor? Also now the fuel water trap fills up with gas as soon as I open the gas valve. I thought gas should not drop through the filter. Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks
Yes, yes, yes, and no. Not at all unusual for a needle to stick open or closed. You can try your way, or rap the carb with a screwdriver handle a few time to see if it stops the leaking. Might want to check the tank and see how bad it is inside, rust, water... if it's bad, clean the tank, lines, carb and start clean. I'm not familiar with a Case fuel water trap, but usually the water bowl should stay full, and the fuel goes down the middle into the bowl, then flows up through the filter and out to the carb. Your's is looking different because the gas is leaking out, which it shouldn't do when the carb isn't leaking.
Do you know what brand the carb is? It might have a tag on it. Some have a drain valve that you can loosen to drain the carb letting it fill and drain several times. Hopefully this might clear the trash that is stuck under the needle valve. Otherwise you will need to take the carb apart and find out what is wrong. It easy to get trash into the carb when working on the cutoff or the filter bowl, especially if the tank is rusty inside. Tapping the side lightly with a hammer might let the float drop but if it's stuck open you may have trash inside. Floats get bent so they stick on the inside but if no one has taken it apart this would be unlikely.