i have a question about the fuel pump. i just picked up this 88 hurricane that doesent run. ive been pokin around troubleshooting it and the other day i pulled the fuel line running from the pump to the carbs off the carb side, stuck it in a bottle and cranked the engine over. no fuel came out. im not really familiar with a carburator setup but shouldnt the pump be pumping fuel out out this line, even just when the key is in the on position much less when the engine is being cranked over? any help with this would be great as its hard to find a fuel pump for these bikes without breaking my bank.

 

Can you hear the relay clicking? Is the fuel petcock open? Try taking a fuel line and bypassing the pump all together. It will at least start off gravity feed.

 

just by bypassed the pump relay yesterday and she fired right up! but then i noticed fuel leaking out the carbs. from what ive read on the forums that usually means the floats are sticking correct?

 

Depends where the leak is comming from, and not necessarily, I said bypass the pump, not the relay. If you bypassed the pump relay that means the pump is constantly pumping therefor is overflowing your carbs. Go buy yourself a new relay and see if it will wirk correctly. If it still leaks after that, you can then start diagnosing carb problems. But your problem right now is that your fuel pump isnt shutting off when the carbs are full.

 

hmmmm....that does make sense. i will deff get a new relay before anything else,but like i said im real familiar with carbs so this is all new to me.

 

oh yeah and the leak was coming from the underside of the carbs. right where the floats are. dont now if that matters especially if theres too much fuel in there to begin with but just though id let ya know.

 

Its possible that the float bowl gaskets are leaking, OR your fuel pump is causing them to push fuel out of the overflow tubes between 1-2 and 3-4 carbs.

My advice, Step 1 New Relay and confirm fuel pump curcuit is working properly. Step 2, clean carbs very well as per carb cleaning insructions found in many threads on here. (Ensure to have silicone lubricant spray for the bowl gaskets, it will help them swell and seal better) This has saved me many times in the past from paying the 20 bucks a pop for the float bowl gaskets.

 

sounds good dude. thanks for the tips!