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		  MAXIM-X FLOAT LEVEL ADJUSTMENT & LEAKY FLOAT VALVE REPAIR
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Rebuild kits always tell you to adjust the floats by measuring a certain distance between the float
and carb body, but that can be very inaccurate.  Your best bet is to get the carb rack off the bike,
clamp them into a WorkMate style bench, level them out, hook up an external fuel source and then use
a float bowl fuel level gauge to measure the level of fuel in each bowl.


If, however, you don't have a WorkMate type bench or you don't want to remove the carbs from the
bike just to check the fuel levels in the bowls, the checking part can also be done with the carbs
still on the bike.  Find a level spot and set the bike on the centre stand.  Then prop the front
tire up on something like a piece of 4"x4"... whatever you can find to raise the wheel to its limit.
Then remove the seat and, using a carpenters level across the left & right frame rails, check the
bike for level left to right.  Shim one side of the centre stand to get the bike perfectly level.


After the carbs are leveled on a WorkMate or on the bike, you can start the float bowl fuel level
testing.  On a WorkMate bench you'd have to attach an external fuel source an make sure fuel was
available.  With the carbs still on the bike, you'd have to make sure there was gas in the tank
before switching the petcock to PRIME (not Reserve or ON).


The "gauge" is just a clear hose with an appropriate end to fit into the Maxim-X's Mikuni float bowl
drains without leaks.  I've posted plans for one possible way to make your own on the Maximum Maxim-X
web site at this link:

			 [www.maxim-x.com/fuel_level_gauge.html]


You simply insert the fitting into the float bowl drain then hold the hose up alongside the body of
the carburetor as you loosen the float bowl drain screw.  Fuel will climb up the hose to the same
level as inside the carburetor.  Make sure you don't have any air bubbles in the hose or you won't
get an accurate reading.  Here's the sort of thing you're looking for:

	[www.maxim-x.com/pix/carbs/sm-maxim-x_mikunis-bad_fuel_level.jpg]
	[www.maxim-x.com/pix/carbs/sm-maxim-x_mikunis-good_fuel_level.jpg]


Holding the hose alongside the #1 and #4 (outer) carbs is easy but doing so for the #2 and #3 (inner)
carbs is difficult.  But that's why you took the time to level the bike perfectly.  To test the inner
two carburetor float bowl fuel levels (ie #2 and #3) you don't have to try to get the hose up next to
each of those carburetors.  Because the entire rack is level, it follows that the top of each float
bowl is at the same elevation and therefore any carburetor could be used as a visual reference
regardless of which bowl level you're testing.  So when checking the fuel level in the #2 bowl, just
hold the hose alongside the #1 carburetor body.  And when checking the fuel level in the #3 bowl, just
hold the hose alongside the #4 carburetor body.

After you've recorded the various float bowl fuel levels, you'll almost certainly have to make some
adjustments to the respective floats.  Just drain the fuel from the carburetors, unclamp the rack from
the WorkMate bench, flip the carb rack upside down, open the float bowls where the levels were off and
needed adjusting and CAREFULLY bend the respective float tangs in the proper direction to make the
required adjustment to the fuel level.  Make VERY SMALL adjustments or the job will be more difficult
because you'll be making too many corrections.  Remember that the carbs are upside down when you're
bending the tangs - consider that when you're trying to achieve more or less fuel in the bowl you're
working with.  And I also recommend marking the #1 carb with a BIG piece of making tape because it's
strangely easy to lose track of the carb you're working on.  You might want to adjust the float in the
#4 carb but find yourself mistakenly adjusting the float in the #1 carb - that sort of thing can be
really frustrating when you realize what you've done.


Anyway, after you've made your SMALL adjustments to the float tangs, reassemble the bowls, remount the
carbs in the WorkMate bench, relevel them and reconnect the external fuel source.  Then use the float
bowl fuel level gauge to check the levels again.  After your first adjustment you'll already have a
very good idea of how much the fuel level changed based on how much you bent the float tang.  If you're
good, you could have the levels set perfectly in 2 or 3 tries.  But for first-timers it might take as
many as 4 or 5 tries, I would think.  But it's not as tedious as you might think.  Since the carbs are
off the bike, they're easily accessible and they're easily mounted and leveled.  The hardest part about
the whole job is getting the fuel out of the carbs each time before you have to open the bowls again.
I recommend a clean oil drain pan - one of those really big ones (2 ft diameter or so).  That way you
can just dump the fuel from the carbs haphazardly without taking too much time to try to be tidy about
it.  When it's all over you can recover what you dumped if the pan was clean.


One thing to note is whether you have leaking float valves.  You can see that by watching the level in
fuel level test hose over a period of time.  Although at a glance the level may look fixed, if you give
it some time you might see the level creep higher.  If it does, it means that the respective float
valve is leaking.


If you find leaking float valves, they can be repaired using a nifty Golf-Tee trick.  Float valves
leak either because the tip of the float needle is damaged or if the valve seat is damaged.  And that
"damage" doesn't have to be big.  It can be nothing more than the tiniest of nicks, barely visible to
the human eye, and that's what it often is.  Seats get scratched and float needle tips get nicked or
distorted but both problems can be resolved with the aforementioned Golf-Tee trick.


To fix the leaky float valve and save yourself the trouble of buying a new one, first remove the
problem valve.  Then cut the head off of a wooden golf-tee and insert the remaining piece, point out,
into a power drill (an upright stationary drill press works best). Pour some form of fine abrasive
like hand cleaner into the brass valve seat then work the golf-tee into the seat as it spins in the
drill.  The rotation with abrasive between the two parts polishes any scratches out of the valve
seat.  And if you polish long enough, the angle of the seat slowly begins to approach the angle
of the tip of the golf-tee.  That has the added benefit of creating a new point of contact on the
tapered tip of float needle which might also have been the cause of the leak.  The end result is
two fresh mating surfaces between the needle and the seat and hopefully no more leak.  This trick
has been used successfully by many XJ owners, including me.


After the leaky float valves have been polished and repaired, reinstall them and verify fuel levels
again.  With any luck, the levels will be accurate and fixed.  Then all that remains is to reinstall
the carb rack.

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