Topic: Those little felt washers

[soonerbillz]

When it took apart my carbs/split them., the little felt washers fell apart.
 Not finding any online and really want it to hold me up on reassembly.
  How important are they and/or what solutions has anybody found on this issue?

[newday777]

Year and model??.

Needs to be included whenever you ask

[soonerbillz]

Year and model??.

Needs to be included whenever you ask

Ok.. sorry
 75 CB400F

[bryanj]

If you go to the uk site and look up member oddjob he was doing his best to cut them.
They are however a swine to fit as they are so small, makes it easier if well soaked in oil

[scottly]

  How important are they

They are not absolutely necessary, and will not affect the way the engine runs.

[fizzlebottom]

https://motorcycleproject.com/

Mike Nixon over at The Motorcycle Project has them in stock. Check to see which ones you need and order away.

Or do what I did years ago, which was buy some medium weight felt at a craft store and make my own. They've been in my carbs for the last ~10 years and have had no problems. The only thing they do is shield the throttle shafts from dust. They don't seal from air or fuel or anything. So long as they're there and not so tight that the throttle shafts are binding, you're good to go.

[RAFster122s]

They keep grit from working its way into the bushes the throttle shafts ride on in the carb body. That grit leads to air leaks.

[newday777]

Year and model??.

Needs to be included whenever you ask

Ok.. sorry
 75 CB400F

Looks like they are out of stock for your 400F with Mike....

https://www.motorcycleproject.com/parts/felt_seals.html

[soonerbillz]

Ok great.
 Thanks for the help.
 There's a little craft shop in town. I'll go there and get some material to make my own.

[MauiK3]

Gasket punches are helpful to make them

[bryanj]

You will find them an incredibly odd size and you need a punch that cuts both inside and outside at same time or they tear

[grcamna2]

Might be better to wait until Mike gets them back in stock.

[fizzlebottom]

They're easy to just cut with scissors. Felt will stretch just enough that you don't need the inner cutout to be perfectly circular or sized. Like I said, so long as they fit in their little channels and don't bind up the shafts then you're fine.

[HondaMan]

I make my own, too.

[soonerbillz]

Turns out Walmart carries squares of the correct thickness felts, different colors if it matters.
I bought just tan. I used my gasket punches to make the shaft hole then some small sharp scissor ✂️ to cut the outside profiles.
 Thanks guys for the tips!

[CycleRanger]

I recently got some of those felt washers from an ebay seller who makes them.
https://www.ebay.com/usr/rideforjesus
I needed them for my CL350 carbs. (I also got some for my 750 carbs from the same seller a few years back.)
They're a little pricey, but they fit perfectly and I'll only need them once.

[RAFster122s]

There are different grades/densities of felt. For our uses you need a dense industrial felt so it holds up to the wear and conditions it will see.
Sewing felt at Walmart is craft grade and I do not believe it will last a long time.

[fizzlebottom]

There are different grades/densities of felt. For our uses you need a dense industrial felt so it holds up to the wear and conditions it will see.
Sewing felt at Walmart is craft grade and I do not believe it will last a long time.

Walmart stuff works fine. The washers in mine were cut from some stuff I got at a Michael's like 10 years ago. There really isn't much wear they experience. So long as the area of shaft that they surround has no burrs and they have some grease on them, then there's nothing at all to worry about. No need to overthink it.

[grcamna2]

He 'felt' they're good enough       as long as they protect the throttle/choke shaft from pulling dust in

[Redline it]

are they supposed to be lightly oiled or greased or dry. i always wonder about them on both the carbs and brake hubs. like the ignition advance plate, it supposed to have some kind of dab of grease? what kind? what else did honda put those things in, there's gotta be something. front brake master cylinder?

[newday777]

are they supposed to be lightly oiled or greased or dry. i always wonder about them on both the carbs and brake hubs. like the ignition advance plate, it supposed to have some kind of dab of grease? what kind? what else did honda put those things in, there's gotta be something. front brake master cylinder?

On the carb felts, a dab of dielectric grease works good
On points felt a little light machine oil.
On brake rubbers a light coating of fresh brake fluid.

[Jore]

Could an O-ring be a good substitute for the washers?

[bryanj]

Too much drag if tight enough to seal air

[soonerbillz]

So here's my washer installed.
 2 are oem, 2 are the ones I cut from felt. Test fitted with the shaft and no drag at all. I'm happy.

[BenelliSEI]

Nice work. I also add a few drops on sewing machine oil to the felt, once installed.