Hi Gary,
Almost all Ercoupes with the Stromberg carb dribble a bit.
Sometimes it's just a piece of crud under the needle and sometimes
it's just not the best needle and seat seal (metal ones can be lapped).
If you shut off your panel mounted (or behind the panel) fuel valve
after
each flight you won't have a leak. It is more of a "mess" or "wasted
fuel"
problem when the plane sits than a safety problem (we're talking about
a VERY slow drip here).
Just be sure to wipe up any fuel inside the cowl on preflight and make
opening the valve from the fuselage tank part of your starting
checklist.
In the air such fuel is ingested and burned in the engine, and the
amount
is too little to measurably affect range or hourly burn.
When through flying, some of us turn off the fuselage tank valve and let
the engine run the carburetor dry.
Of perhaps more importance is to verify that your mixture control works
properly. Many in the past have been wired rich (or have had internal
mixture parts actually removed), which adversely affects performance.
Also, when the old felt type air filter elements were used and left in
too
long, felt fibers found their way into the holes in the carburetor's
upper
mixture control valve disc. Some of these carbs do not get opened up
for many years...you want to make sure this has been or is inspected
(and cleaned, if necessary). I found it quite educational to watch.
Unless you operate off of grass or dirt strips, these holes should not
require further attention for years.
Welcome to the group!
William R. Bayne
.____|-(o)-|____.
(Copyright 2009)
--
On Feb 8, 2009, at 19:04, alfenta1 wrote:
I am a new ercoupe owner, and I know I have a fuel issue. My newest
finding is my carb is leakng. Since the plane is new to me, would you
suggest rebuilding it just to be safe?
Thanks,
Gary "Doc" Jones,previous Challenger builder
