Reddog said:
Lake, That is not what I think. I believe they do not move with or with out the limiter cap.
I am trying to understand your comment of just cutting the tab off. How is that diffrent than just removing them?
Thanks for the input. Reddog
The limiter caps in the HD carbs have a series of tiny detents (little spurs) cast into the plastic. It's these that hold the cap in (and make them a PITA to get out) and the caps hold the needle. The detents get damaged when the caps are removed and that's why you are supposed to replace them with new caps after each removal. The o-ring, IF positioned correctly (it stays/moves with the screw when you wind it out) give some friction, but is completely unreliable over time. If I has my way, I'd mount springs back on the needles (not so easy on these carbs) and dump the caps, but slicing the tab seems to work fine.
Sure, I've seen saws where the caps have been removed and they seem to stay in place, but more often I see them move. As an example only, this same type of carb is used on many other engines such as the BR420 series blowers. The caps get "left" out, the needles move rich and the blower runs really badly, so the user turns them back in, leans the blower out (you can't tune it like a saw ans when it seem to run best it's way too lean) and the piston melts.