Silly K301A carb bowl ring gasket question

[MattC]

Thanks for all of the advice guys. I picked up a25 757 01-s rebuild kit, and sure enough the square ring gasket was the same size. However, to my amazement, the original ring had shrunk substantially since I last tried to install it. I was now able to easily install it.

I had soaked the ring in fuel and left it that way before originally trying to install it. Not intentionally - just ended up sitting in fuel while I got distracted and worked on something else. I think the ring swelled while sitting in the fuel. These kits say not for use with ethanol fuel. Well, we only have ethanol fuel available. I think it reacted with the fuel and swelled. I work with hydraulics and have seen this happen before. Usually with solvents though. If it gives me trouble moving forward, I think I'll source a square ring made out of a different material.

[ol'George]

Usually the rings don't give a problem when installed, as they are captivated in the groove.
Watch that the needle stays seated.
Many times it only takes a hair to cause a seepage when setting unused.
but after some usage usually any "stuff" that gets in the line, works itself through without further problems
The neoprene will tolerate the regular 10% alky,
it it the higher percentage blends they speak of, that causes problems.

[MattC]

Originally Posted by ironman

If all else is lost and you have nothing to lose....
you can try trimming a section out of the ring with an x-acto knife,
leaving just enough extra that you can squeeze it into the groove.
When you tighten the bowl it should squish the ends together and seal up,
and the baffle gasket would seal it too.

I've made custom silicone o-rings like this before, but with an extra step. I silicone RTV'd the two ends together after trimming to size. Worked excellent in my case. It also helps to make the cut at an angle, so the two sides squish down on each other.