I have a Craftsman lawnmower with a 5.5 hp Honda engine. I'm at my wits end with this leaking gas through the carb! It has a manual gas line shutoff that must be turned off when it sits, otherwise the entire tank will leak out through the float bowl overflow port. I've had the carb apart several times, and the needle valve, hinge pin, and float all look great. Even the needle valve seat looks OK under high magnification and lighting. I did see an epionios review of this mower that said if the manual shutoff isn't shutoff then the air cleaner will get soaked with gas. I'll sayyyyy!!!. Is there an issue with these carbs? I don't understand why the float won't shut it off. It doesn't leak (checked it in boiling water), doesn't stick and the needle valve shuts off the line when I blow into the gas line and push the float up with my finger. The float is plastic, and non-adjustable.

Any ideas out there at all?

Bruce

i would take a close look at the needle valve. some of them have a rubber tip on the end and it gets brittle and will leak by.