Flooded engine after scooter sitting ... now what?

[sunshinen]

Ok, so I have been hurt and not riding for about 6 months or more. I'd kept the battery alive, but didn't anticipate how long I'd go w/o riding, and neglected to prepare my 2006 Buddy 125 for sitting around and not moving.

I went to start it, and had to give it a lot of gas to get it started and keep it from stalling. (It never stayed running when I released the throttle, lots of sputtering and dying.)

I threw in some Sea Foam to the gas, tried again. And noticed that it was leaking gas out of the air filter.

I pulled off the air filter, and the seal around the casing is very loose, and gas poured out of the hose.

So my questions are:

1. I'm assuming I flooded the engine while trying to get it running. Is that likely the case or is there some other cause or issue I should investigate?
2. I pulled the air filter, let the casing empty out and dry, and plan on replacing the air filter. Will just letting it all dry out be enough to clear the leaked gas out?
3. Is there anything else I should do based on this flooded engine incident?
4. Will the new air filter come with the seal for the casing around it? Or how can I ensure that seal is good?
5. I put Sea Foam in the gas, will do an oil change including changing the oil filter ... What else do I need to do to get the engine, carb, etc... back into good running shape after sitting so long.
6. Anything else I should consider???

Thanks!!! My knowledge of engines and how they work is pretty limited, so... any tips and advice are greatly appreciated.

[KrispyKreme]

Drain all the gas out of your scooter. Take it to someone who knows what they are doing.

[DeeDee]

Wrench on it yourself. PM me. I'm in denver. What you're facing is not that difficult. It's pretty satisfying to get it on the road with your own two hands.

[sunshinen]

Drain all the gas out of your scooter. Take it to someone who knows what they are doing.

Oh, Krispy, go back to your pinup thread and leave the commentary to people who know what they are doing (and have something helpful to say). Real women would rather learn about and work on their scooter, than squid or stand around on it in a bikini. (Not that there's anything wrong with modeling or riding in a bikini if that's your thing )

Fwiw, I've done 90% of the work on my scooter over the past 9 years. Thanks to the more helpful members of this forum. I do so enjoy the learning and the hands on project. I usually just need pointed to the right direction of things to try, watch out for, and the relevant tutorials I always seem to have a hard time finding...

[sunshinen]

Wrench on it yourself. PM me. I'm in denver. What you're facing is not that difficult. It's pretty satisfying to get it on the road with your own two hands.

Indeed. My thoughts exactly!

[easy]

Check/clean sparkplug and try starting it without any throttle. My wife's buddy takes about 5 or 6 times of dying and sputtering before catching real good then after at 5 minutes slowly roll on the throttle. I would also check the oil for gas and tire pressure is good. If it
floods again without any throttle than its carb trouble.

[sunshinen]

Thanks, Easy. I've been debating whether to just do a carb clean...

I like easy things to try first...

[skully93]

Another one of us from Denver, eh?

I don't think you'll have any issues, just some cleaning and patience.. The air filter comes as a unit. When the local shop has them on sale I'll buy from them, but Amazon works just as well (and arrives a LOT faster!).

Hopefully this upcoming round of storms still lets us ride the following weekend. Glad you're healing up, PM DeeDee or myself for the season's riding!

[agrogod]

I think what you may be experienceing is a stuck float. Sitting for too long can cause the internals to gum up from today's "modern" gas. Your float is probably stuck in a low position which will cause a flooding condition. Clean the carb CAREFULLY and this should clear up your flooding problem. Just remember that it is a small machine with small parts, so use due care when working with the internals.

[KrispyKreme]

Drain all the gas out of your scooter. Take it to someone who knows what they are doing.

Oh, Krispy, go back to your pinup thread and leave the commentary to people who know what they are doing (and have something helpful to say). Real women would rather learn about and work on their scooter, than squid or stand around on it in a bikini. (Not that there's anything wrong with modeling or riding in a bikini if that's your thing )

Fwiw, I've done 90% of the work on my scooter over the past 9 years. Thanks to the more helpful members of this forum. I do so enjoy the learning and the hands on project. I usually just need pointed to the right direction of things to try, watch out for, and the relevant tutorials I always seem to have a hard time finding...

And we can still be friends.

[Dooglas]

If it floods again without any throttle than its carb trouble.

This would be my thinking too. If fresh gas, SeaFoam, and other easy stuff don't get it done - then probably time for disassembling and cleaning the carb.

[ucandoit]

I had the same problem: gas leaking/pouring from the air filter. I learned to clean the carb (read about the procedure many times and go slowly). I found a bit of gunk in the carb, probably sticking the float, but also the float was too set high. This problem of gas leaking from the air filter is not uncommon. It's also annoying that the darn petcocks can get stuck. This has really been a problem for me, to the point that I may add a manual turnoff somewhere along the gas line.

[BuddyRaton]

You can always try going for a ghetto carb clean. Pull off the air filter and get it started...rev it and spray carb cleaner into the air intake...short little busts.


It will try to stall..keep working the throttle...let it "recover" then hit it a few more times. Sometimes this will work well enough to clean things up and let the seafoam do its thing.

I've had this work more than once...but not all the time. If it doesn't do the trick then you're on to a rebuild. Lots of good rebuild info available. I would just emphasize a few things.

Check the settings before you disassemble
Don't force any fasteners, the metal is soft and threads can strip
Be careful with the diaphragm topic27908.html

If it was running well before I wouldn't change anything like the float level.
Take your time and keep us updated!

[Snap]

Keep in mind that Seafoam takes time to do its magic.
You need to change the gas if it's more than a month or so old, treat it with Seafoam, drain the old gas from the carb, turn it over enough to get the new treated gas it in the carb and let it sit overnight.

Always works for me in many vehicles every Spring after 6 month layup.

[sunshinen]

And it's oh, Snap, for the win.

I'd forgotten about the trick of Seafoam on the air intake (Thanks for the reminder BuddyRaton), but just letting the Seafoam sit for a bit did the trick.

So... before anyone else in this situation feels the need to go jump off a cliff... (or take it the shop or immediately start taking out the carb)

All I did was

• siphon out as much of the gas as I could,
• add some Seafoam to the fuel tank,
• crank it over a couple times,
• let it sit for, ahem, a couple of weeks (been dumping snow around here... ),
• add new gas and more Seafoam, and
• put on a new air filter (this was overdue, anyway)

and voila: she's purring like a kitten, not a hiccup getting started or staying running, no more blue smoke... and my Buddy and me are back together, splashing through snowmelt runoff and dodging all the new potholes on a sunny, Sunday afternoon.

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Much thanks to DeeDee for the PMs with tips and links, and everyone who chimed in with helpful feedback.