late bs34 bowl drain screw...

[deadchef]

any leads on a better option than mikesxs? i went to buy a couple of these and he wants like $14 shipping!

tried looking on ebay and can't find anything. anyone come up with a local hardware store fix?

thanks!

 

[whynot2]

If it is just the o ring you need to replace try the hardware store. The screw on the other hand, good luck. You might get the right one's from mikes, or not. Email them and ask about a reduced shipping rate for two screws. I have done that with other suppliers and they were very fair about it. Maybe someone here has some in their hoard of old carb bodies.
whynot2

 

[deadchef]

yeah, it's the whole screw i need. i've inherited some boogered up ones. and i'll admit i've boogered up some too. they are, as many of us know, made of a soft french cheese so it don't take much before you're swearing up a storm after making a mess of the head.

 

[deadchef]

i did notice partzilla has them but it's 6 and change for one and about 7 for shipping. another moment i wish i had a lathe...

 

[FB71]

my drillpress has been an improvised lathe and mill on many occasions.

 

[deadchef]

i'd love to see one with a spade head or knurled head thumb type screw. as many times i've had my carbs off it would be nice to have a quick way to drain the bowls 'tool-free'.

 

[gggGary]

Just tossing out that I think they are soft by design so the tapered end and the seat conform to each other and seal even with some corrosion and float bowl mung trapped in there.
Socket head would be nice but then someone will drive it through the seat and strip the threads over-tightening it.

 

[xjwmx]

You can use a dremel to cut a screwdriver slot but it needs to be fixtured somehow or the slot will be v-shaped.

But it occurs to me the drain is pretty useless. You need them for the clear tube method of setting the floats, but that's not the best way of setting the floats.

 

[gggGary]

Hmm I seem to have found them to be the ideal way to get the gas drained out of carburetor float bowls but I'll bow to your superior wisdom.

 

[deadchef]

You can use a dremel to cut a screwdriver slot but it needs to be fixtured somehow or the slot will be v-shaped.

But it occurs to me the drain is pretty useless. You need them for the clear tube method of setting the floats, but that's not the best way of setting the floats.

i disagree with them being useless. anytime you are tuning and changing jets i find it quicker and cleaner to drain the bowl first using the screw.

mcmaster has a shouldered screw that might do the trick...

 

[xjwmx]

Hmm I seem to have found them to be the ideal way to get the gas drained out of carburetor float bowls but I'll bow to your superior wisdom.

They are. The wisdom is that there's no reason to do that. I never have, anyway.

 

[5twins]

How long have you owned that bike? Who's wisdom? I drain my bowls every fall for winter storage. I drain them pretty much every time before I take them off (to avoid a gas spilling mess). XJ, you're a mystery to me. Sometimes you give good advice, other times you're so far off the wall I don't know what to think.

 

[xjwmx]

^ I tend not to do things that don't need to be done

After I take the carbs off I hold them up and down and the bowls empty out through the throat. If I did this professionally I surely wouldn't use the drain screws because I wouldn't want to risk having to fix the screws themselves in addition to the actual job.

To each his own. Even on such a major point as this.

 

[5twins]

If you use a properly fitting screwdriver and the o-rings are in good shape, and if you don't over-tighten the screws, there is nothing to fix. The sealing here is a combination of the tapered tip and the o-ring. If both are good, the screw doesn't need to be very tight, just like all the other carb parts, a bit past snug.

 

[xjwmx]

^ Screw with the screws then if you like.

 

[weekendrider]

There are some scooter carb drain screws on e-bay(sans the o-ring) that give the diamensions of that screw. You might compare with what the OEM measurements are.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/GY6-50cc-Sc...her_Vehicle_Parts&hash=item2580fa30f4&vxp=mtr
Or these Kawasaki screws look to be compatible eyeballin them.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/KAWASAKI-KZ...Parts_Accessories&hash=item565a9f0505&vxp=mtr

Just searching e-bay will give you some possible solutions.

Like 5twins mentions the screw seals in two places. The taper and the o-ring.
But the taper would be the important one. It keeps the fuel in the bowl.
Like all tapered or flared fittings it doesn't require a lot of umph to do its' job.
The o-ring just keeps it from coming out both holes instead of the one.
Important if you are using the sight glass method of measuring float level.
Not so much if you are just draining the bowls?

 

[deadchef]

this is something i'm gonna work on. i'd like to find a economical replacement but even more so i'd like to have it so it can be opened by hand. i think if it had a knurled end you could still tighten it enough to keep everything plugged.

who's got a lathe and wants to make a prototype?

 

[5twins]

Wow, $53 and change for 4 Kawasaki drain screws, lol. Must be gold not brass, huh.

 

[weekendrider]

Maybe not even brass? Just bronze colored?
Ever wonder if the combination slots (straight/phillips) contribute to the problem of them rounding out?

 

[TwoJugs]

Is there enough metal in the bowl area to tap it with a small pipe NPT thread and put in an allen head socket crew?