a less than vintage GX255 carb question

[micalk]

i have a John Deere GX255 lawn tractor with a Kawasaki 20HP V-twin FH601V-FS15 engine. the PN on the carb is 15003-7114. it floods. bought two chinese replacement carbs that both have the same problem - the gas inlet tube is a 1/4” taller than the original (it’s a 90 deg elbow) and that causes an interference with the air filter bracket.

there is a rebuild kit which basically looks like a float and valve with some seals and stuff.

what i’m not sure about is the jets. even though i’m an old guy i’ve never rebuilt a carb. and this is a small engine, not a car. so i’ve got no experience to fall back on. i don’t expect i’ll be touching them if the kit is really just a float replacement. what am i missing here? is there no jet adjustment on these small engine carbs? are these carbs that basic?

alternatively, a taller bracket would work but i’ve even less of a clue about that. i could probably modify the bracket but that’s a last resort.

or a different carb/bracket setup that fits in the same spot.

if anybody knows more than me (there’s gotta be quite a few of you) i’d appreciate any help.

 

[DaveBN]

You haven't said what you have done so far other than replacing the original carb with a junk aftermarket one. If you haven't done so yet I would take the bottom of the carb off and make sure the float isn't water logged or dragging on the side of the bowl. Take the needle valve out and burnish it with very fine steel wool. Maybe try to clean up the needle seat also. Try to find the spec for the float level and check or adjust that too.
Does this machine have a fuel shut off solenoid? If so, maybe that's you problem.
I have no knowledge of this specific carb so I can't answer your other questions.

 

[Mule Meat]

Those two barrel carbs are a little complicated. They are not made like most other carbs. Once the bowl is removed. You will find the float along with a spacer and a few gaskets, o-rings and other things.

I would suggest that you look on YouTube for videos of how to repair or rebuild one.

 

[micalk]

haven’t opened it yet. was hoping the chinese carbs would work. need to order the float repair kit. i’m sure that’s failed but i don’t know what i can mess up while i’m in there. that’s why the questions about jets.

can’t find any rebuild vids. just a similar carb where they replace an internal seal in the float section that was leaking.

if i clean/burnish the jets, how do i adjust? count the number of turns? trial and error? and until i take it apart i won’t even know if those are valid.

sorry. i hate working without documentation / knowledge. i really appreciate the conversation. thanks.

 

[rustred]

Flooding is either a bad float or some junk the the seat not letting it close off the fuel. I would be checking and cleaning the original carb before looking to replace it with something not as good.

 

[micalk]

tried installing a float kit. despite it being specifically for my carb, it wasn’t complete, didn’t have all the necessary gaskets.

i ended up buying a replacement carb from JD. not cheap but it works.

 

[trackrat]

I bought a carb from jd it was worse than the original I took off, put the original back on after cleaning ran fine