[Dick Boneske]

As many of you have found out, the 50+ year-old brass floats in our trusty Rochester 2 bbl. carbs sometimes develop leaks and don't float after fuel gets inside the float. I've also had one plastic float that became saturated with gas and sunk like a leaking brass one. A few years ago I restored a '59 Tripower for a couple in California--a nice red two-door hardtop. They called last week and said one of the end carbs flooded and they found the float had sunk. They replaced it and all is OK. Not all people have troubleshooting skills that quickly find problems like this, even though the Rochester 2 bbls. are very simple carbs.

After many years of restoring Tripowers, I have two brass OEM floats that leaked and have substantial fuel inside. The leak is so small they've been in my shop for four years and there is still gas inside them. You cannot see the hole with the naked eye.

Yesterday, since I'm building three Tripowers right now, I decided to test a method of checking floats for leaks. I took a glass bowl deep enough to submerge the floats, filled it with hot tap water. I submerged the two floats that I know leak and saw no bubbles. My wife was watching and said "The water's not hot enough!" I've learned to listen to her ideas even if I think she's off base. So, I boiled the water in our microwave, used a little plastic tool with a lockable jaw to hold the floats to avoid burning myself. Lo and behold!!--the leaky floats bubbled like crazy--immediately! I proceeded to check the other 9 floats and found no leaks.

This is my new method which I'll use from now on when restoring Tripowers to ensure the floats have no leakage.

Lesson learned, listen to your wife!!

[Greg Reid]

But never let them know it...
I guess the hot water expanded the brass enough to open the hole. Good tip Mrs. Boneske!

[Kenth]

The principle with the hot water test is that the air inside the brass float expands from the hot water and will show as bubbles if there is a hole.

[Dick Boneske]

Kenth,

Yes, you've got it!

My problem was that the water needed to be hotter to expand the air enough to force it out of the tiny holes. When my wife suggested boiling hot water, I thought it was a waste of time--- until it worked!!

[Tom Vaught]

Very Good Tip, Will do it on both my Rochester 2-bbl floats and a Bunch of Holley 4 BBL, side hung and race bowl stuff. Great Suggestion Thanks.

Tom V.

[Bluesugar]

So if you find that you have a leaking brass float can you resolder,epoxy,marine tex,JB weld
or discard said float because it would be to heavy?..I have had luck with por-15 paint but always 2nd guessed that I should have went another way.

[Dick Boneske]

I would opt for re-solder and re-test.

For those of you that have tried the plastic floats--What has been your success or lack of? As you know, if you buy a Rochester 2 bbl. float today in a parts store, it's likely a plastic one. As I've said above, I had one fail but don't know anything of the history of that one.

[Goatracer1]

I have been soldering floats for 50 years with no problem. First I drill a small hole where the crack is located to drain the gas out and then solder the hole shut. Cracked floats is a common problem on small engine carbs.

[Teej]

I've also got one of those brass floats that leaked and has had gas in side it for years. I'm thinking the same method would work to force the gas out? Hold it in the water, find the leak with bubbles and then turn it downward so the gas is forced out.

I had tried placing it in the sun, but not knowing where the leak was exactly I was kind of shooting in the dark. Tell the wife thanks for the idea!