"Shiny sided" Needle in ZS Carb. Replace?

Over the weekend I renewed the ZS's Dashpot O-ring seal. I noticed that down along one side of the needle has a shiney, almost polished look to it. Not around the needle but a streak down the side for most of its length. In my searching here on the forum for a how-to, I ran across a comment in one post to look for flat spots on the needle and to replace the needle if any are found. Never having done this before and, for that matter, never having seen a needle before, was I looking at a flat spot? Do I need to replace the needle?

As an aside, wasn't that difficult a job to replace the o-ring and, boy, did it make a difference in pushing the plunger down after filling with oil.

Joe

The needle is "biased" in the jet. This bias is toward the air cleaner IIRC. The shiny spot that you see is probably caused by the contact between the needle and jet as a result of the bias.
Any worn or flat area would cause a rich running condition.
You should be able to tell by feel, or mic the needle to see if it is badly worn.

Bob

if you know the carb has about 50 K on it its time to replace the needle. If you can see a wear pattern with your naked eye its time to replace. Anytime I rebuild a Stromberg this part is always replaced along with removing the main jet from the body to check for wear and corrosion.

If the carb has about 50 K on it its time to replace. If you can see a wear pattern with your naked eye its time to replace. When I rebuild any stromberg This part is always replaced along with removing the main jet to check for wear and corrosion.

Can you just buy a new needle? I recently cleaned the carb but did not replace the needle and I am now thinking I should have.

paul