96-98 Polaris/Mikuni Carb question

[swedishpimple]

I have a 1997 XLT LTD. Roughly from 96-98 Polaris was known for having bad "needle and seats" in their Mikuni Carbs. How they avoided a class action lawsuit is beyond me....but that is a different story.

Back in 2000 I got the new needle and seats and have not put them in. Last night I took the carbs apart and and removed the needle and seat...It looks a little different from the replacement part I got. The tip of the needle is rubber. The one I removed is metal.

Are these needles all metal coverd in rubber?? Is the rubber that is not on there the reason for the leaking??

I am wondering if the gas ate the rubber away exposing the metal causing the leak.

[jigeye]

I just replaced the needle and seats in my 96 xlt special. Not sure if the needle tips were rubber or not. They came preassembled and I did not mess with them. Make sure you get the good ones that are OEM Mikuni. The aftermarket ones were not as good. The OEM's will be expensive but worth it.

[swedishpimple]

Not sure what I have....I got them from the Polaris dealer 7 years ago.....they were $25 each...not cheap for what they are.

Just my luck..the dealer does not exist anymore either.

[Surface Tension]

All that matters is the seat and needle came together as a set.

Just happens your replacement has a rubber tip. Neither are better the other IMO.

[swedishpimple]

Thanks.....Surface Tension....good to know.....hopefully they work better. This is my first time tearing into a project like this. It is actually very simple and kind of fun.

[NAMASafetyDirector]

Swede, the older ones where typically metal. The newer ones, including the all the way to 08' are rubber tips. The rubber tips are alot more forgiving than the old metal ones. Once the metal ones wore a groove in them they were likely to start leaking. The rubber ones will also get a groove in them from the seat but will have more of a tendancy to still seat and shut the fuel flow off. I guess the best advice I could offer is to be sure to shut the fuel off when your done riding for the day and always shut the fuel off when trailering as the float tend to bounce up an down during transport causeing the needle to temporarily unseat itself letting fuel pass through. Hope the new parts solve your problem!