Topic: What do you think of these carbs?

[cbass*gxc]

Just wanted to see what you guys thought about these carbs.  The one on the right side looks shot.  It does not move like the other 3, plus it has all kinds of crap in it.  Can I fix that side or do I have to replace it?  Also the 2nd one has a black tip on the jet ( I think it is the jet), what would cause that?  Just wanted to get some opinions from you guys.

Thanks in advance and again sorry for the noob questions just trying to get all this figured out so that next time maybe I wont have to ask so many.

[Bob Wessner]

I've seen carbs that look a WHOLE lot worse than these. These should clean-up easily.

[cbass*gxc]

Should I take them some where and have them cleaned or do you think I can do it myself?  If they have to be taken totally apart I will probably have someone else do it for me. 

[mkramer1121]

Carbs are easy, just get a manual and a blown up parts diagram and your good to go...Or take bunches of pictures when you disassemble them.

[Bob Wessner]

Carbs are easy, just get a manual and a blown up parts diagram and your good to go...Or take bunches of pictures when you disassemble them.

+1

You can do a search on carb cleaning, there are various favored fluids to soak them. I'm a recent convert to 50/50 Simple Green and water. Does a great job, safe and doesn't stink.

[cbass*gxc]

Sounds easy enough.  So the spring in the right one is frozen, can I take it apart, soak it, and it should be good to go.  Also should i take all of them apart or just that one. 

By the way thanks alot.

[bender01]

Read the faq on carbs. get 4 cointaners for each carb. number them 1-4 .take all apart finding the parts from above mentioned parts diagram. Get a gallon of simple green from home depot. Soak overnight. rinse with water.Blow out all passages with air reasemble set float height. i use a measured L shaped bent paper clip. bench sync each slide to the same size opening. Again i use the other end of paper clip.those rubber gaskets will probably be fine. mine were Much drtier and they survived. The vacuum sync to final adjust i paid 25 bucks at autozone for a pressure/vacuum guage. Then i found some cheap 12 inch hard plastic tubing in the irrigation dept at home depot. Once the bike was good and warm it softened the tubing and threaded right in to read the gauge.

 oh you can do it. The second set i did this way was almost frozen stiff.
 

[cbass*gxc]

Looks like I have a good job for the weekend.  Thank You very much.

[mkramer1121]

Read the faq on carbs. get 4 cointaners for each carb. number them 1-4 .take all apart finding the parts from above mentioned parts diagram. Get a gallon of simple green from home depot. Soak overnight. rinse with water.Blow out all passages with air reasemble set float height. i use a measured L shaped bent paper clip. bench sync each slide to the same size opening. Again i use the other end of paper clip.those rubber gaskets will probably be fine. mine were Much drtier and they survived. The vacuum sync to final adjust i paid 25 bucks at autozone for a pressure/vacuum guage. Then i found some cheap 12 inch hard plastic tubing in the irrigation dept at home depot. Once the bike was good and warm it softened the tubing and threaded right in to read the gauge.

 oh you can do it. The second set i did this way was almost frozen stiff.
 

You vacuum synch'd w/ one gauge?  If so, there is no way in hell that those are all synch'd  unless you went back to each carb multiple times.  Each carbs vacuum changes with every other carbs vacuum (at least 1-2 and 3-4).

[bender01]

 I did go back to them and checked them twice. Each one.They were on a 350 and a 550. I had to set the idle up to @ 2k to get a stedy pull so the neddle wouldnt bounce so much and set them all at 26 hp? I think. Worked good for me. I thought they fired 1-4 and 2- 3. thats how the valves get set.Wrong?

[mkramer1121]

Yes, 1-4 and 2-3, but the 1-2 and 3-4 carbs are linked by a small tube, I think to distribute gas between them.  I am guessing that there are a number of things that factor in to it.  Thus, 4 gauges let you see all of your readings at once.

[KB02]

That #4 carb (and the tip of #2) just look like tarnish (really old gas) has gotten to them. The carbs off of my 750 K8 were a whole lot worse. Two of the sliders were glued shut with tarnish. The inside of the bowls was way nastier than yours. You've got an easy project in comparison. I don't see why you would need to take the rack apart, though. Should be able to keep them all together.

One tip that I found when working on mine: When working on that nasty #4, once you get float pin out, make sure you clean out the holes the pin sits in. The cleaner the holes, the better the float will work.

-Bob
KB02

[bryanj]

77/78 550? If I'm right i'll tell you how i worked it out!

Dont forget to remove the pushed in pilot jets---lots of posts on that and whist they are off fit a new gas line as you can get at the inlet easier

[cbass*gxc]

Ya it is a 78 550.  Sorry do not know what the pilot jets are, but I bet I can find out.  I would really like to do it all myself without having to take it apart, but am pretty illiterate when it comes to this stuff.  But I would like to learn somehow and this seems to be one of the best places to start.  Anyways bryan I would love to hear how you did it.  If you can, I would be grateful for any help.

Jay

[mmtsquid]

The "thingie" that stick out the farthest is the main jet and main jet emulsion tube.  the "Other thingie" that is brass is the pilot jet.  it doesn't screw out - you have to gently pull it out with pliers (wrapped in cloth or leather to avoid marring).
Compressed air is your best friend - most gunk will come out by shooting air through it.  If not, try a small steel guitar string (approx. .011") and push it through the pilot jet to clear any debris.

[cbass*gxc]

Word.  Kind of figured thats what those were but werent for sure.  Looks like i have alittle work cut out for me this weekend but also looks like fun.  My new bars and seat will be in today so hopefully i can get that all put together this weekend also.

[mmtsquid]

Another word to the wise - I don't care how clean you THINK your gas tank is, there is still crap in there.  Go buy an inline fuel filter and install it!  As much work as it takes to get carbs squeaky clean, it only takes one bit of gunk to ruin all of your hard work.

[cbass*gxc]

Ya that is on my list of things to do.  I want to get everything cleaned and put back together and then go through and run new hoses for everything.  After all the time I have spent cleaning everything I wouldnt want to have to go through and do it all over again.

[cbass*gxc]

So if I take all the tubes off of the carbs can I soak the whole thing in a bucket with Simple Green/Water as long as I blow out all the holes and let it dry for awhile?  More than likely I wont be running the motor for another few months, so it would have quite a while to sit and dry.



edit---As far as simple green goes, do i get the cleaner or degreaser?

[Bob Wessner]

I just used the more common cleaner version of Simple Green rather than the stronger degreaser. I suspect both would work. Don't forget to thoroughly rinse them afterward, then blow everything dry. I'm assuming you will address the emulsion tubes, etc. as well.

[cbass*gxc]

Cool just wanted to make sure I got the right one.  As far as the emulsion tubes and everything else, do you mean cleaning them?  If so, yes I plan on cleaning every part in the carbs.  Do you think i should clean all the carbs or just the #4 carb?  All the rest of them look pretty decent except the #2 main jet, which looks easy enough to take out.  Bob can I put the whole assembly in a bucket of simple green and water or should i take it apart and do each section, in parts, in seperate containers?  Like I said in my earlier post I am not going to be running the motor for a few months, so can I do the whole thing as one part and just make sure to dry it the best i can with my air compressor and then let it sit for a month or so off the bike?

[Bob Wessner]

I've never tried cleaning a whole set as a unit. Maybe someone else can comment on that. Mine were pretty bad after sitting for 20+ years so I disassembled them keeping the parts together for each carb in Tupperware containers as suggested. Once cleaned, rinsed and dried, once assembled I see no reason they can sit on the shelf until you are ready to install them.

[dkruitz]

Heck, those look GOOD compared to what mine looked like!   

Do one at a time and take notes or photos if you need to or want to.  That way if you get confused you have the other original carbs for reference.

[Bob Wessner]

Just thought of one other thing. If they are going to sit for a while after cleaning, drying, etc. I might be tempted to give each of the float pivot pins, where they go through the posts, a quick squirt of WD-40. You want to make sure these pivot freely when you go to install them. Not sure it's necessary, but...

[cbass*gxc]

Ya that sounds like a good idea. 

[bender01]

I didnt seperate mine from the bank. I have a rectangular drywall mud pan that I used to soak all four after the parts are out. Ive used simple green half with water and straight. I saved it the last time (straight) to re use it at some point. I also left the needle and slides in the bank and they cleaned up fine.

[cbass*gxc]

Sweet thank bender.  I went ahead and took 2 apart last night just to see how they look and they are pretty simple really.  I think I am going to try cleaning the whole thing with all the guts out and see how it works.  I figured if I let it sit in the simple green for a day or 2 then used my compressor on them really good then let them sit open for a few days that everything should be ok.  Anyways I will post some pics when they are done.  Again thanks for all the help everyone.

[bryanj]

OK then, how i worked it out

(1) You can see the pilot air screws sticking downwards outside the float bowl

(2) you can see the carb top has a screw at the end

(3) Screw in main jet and push in pilot jet

Now all those also come on the 750 F2; F3 and Auto BUT

(4) No accelerator pump on No2 carb.

Those carbs are the ones with least detail available in any manual, the ONLY place i have found info is in the Genuine Honda Supplement for the 77/78 CB500/550 K3 and that is sparce with bad pictures

[TwoTired]

Ya that is on my list of things to do.  I want to get everything cleaned and put back together and then go through and run new hoses for everything.  After all the time I have spent cleaning everything I wouldnt want to have to go through and do it all over again.

While it is pretty lame to feed clean carbs with tank cr@p, The 78CB550 has a wonderful fine mesh filter on top of the petcock.  If that is still in good condition, an axtra inline filter is redundant, almost useless, and adds another maintenance item to routine replacement.  Also, due to the gravity feed fuel system, extra fuel tube routing (often required to add the filter) adds peaks and valleys that can make odd carb behavior as the the fuel in tank level gets lower.

Cheers,

[newcbguy]

those carbs look cleaner than mine, AFTER I cleaned them.