How Do You Fix A Reed Valve?

Author: E. Silva (aka Mr. Awesome - The Niche Specialty Expert)

I’m happy — we finally decided to talk about this one, you guys. I am sure you wanted to know more about how to fix this, right? Well, it’s your blessed, lucky day ; that is what I am going to speak to you about next. Please stay right here ….

Now, then, the first point I would like to mull over is the sweet ( and very true, he he he he heh ) fact that body leaks are one of the most common ( and yes, uberly annoying, too, he he he he heh heh ) problems that do tend to come up here. With that being said, I am not talking about leaky petals, which is another issue on its own. In fact, I am talking about plain and simple reed valve body leaks leaning out your fuel mixture, which in turn causes over – heating, stalling at full throttle and other kinds of painful little problems. If you happen to have an internal pulse port in there ( like with paramotors, for instance ) , then you have got quite a night – mare on your hands, to say just the very least. But don’t worry … I am going to share some more insight on this so as not to leave you in the dark ….

Now, then, I want you to also know that this kind of leak can also mess up your carburetor’s internal fuel pump ( another big no bueno kind of problem, as I like to call these, he he he he heh heh ) . Perhaps you have some loose screws ( like in terms of the ones that are supposed to correctly, tightly fasten your engine to your valve body, all in all ) ? Start your fix by assessing that. If that is the case, and the leak stops after you have properly tightened the screws ( and anything else around this that is coming loose or has been loosened for awhile ) , then pat yourself on the back, take a deep breath, and look up and thank God that it’s over … it was a very simple, minor problem to fix. And this time, you got quite lucky and found the quick and easy solution.

But if your crank face and body face are flat ( and you can tell by looking ) , then you have a deeper problem on your hands. Oh, boy. Perhaps your dry gasket was not able to properly seal the full variation. In any case, try to further diagnose ( and fix ) this by buying some soap sud, or perhaps a gas – leak detection fluid ( yes, these do exist, he he he heh heh ) and applying it right where your engine’s crankcase and valve connect. Apply it to the gasket’s two sides equally ( yes, both of them ) . Follow all instructions on the label.