Topic: simple green vs carbs

[gmonkey]

Decided to clean my carbs by soaking them in simple green.  Seemed to have worked well on one sitting overnight except some discoloration on the body and the bowl.  Second carb has been sitting in a tub of roughly 1:1 concentrated SG/water mix since last night.  Find out today that plain simple green hurts aluminum.  Did i screw things up?  I don't care if the carbs are discolored but is it going to hurt things?

[Frankenkit]

I don't believe so. 

[flybox1]

probably not, but it might remove the clear coat on the bowls. 
the bowls will shine up with some 0000 steel wool and/or some metal polish, but be sure to rinse them well.  you dont want those wool bits floating around in your carbs.

[TwoTired]

Lot's of advice about simple green and carbs have been posted on this site.
In summation using menory, more than a 2 hour soak will discolor carbs.  It is the onset of a corrosion of some type.
There is also a Simple green formulation intended for aluminum use, different from what is often stocked.

The discoloration is a sign of metal conversion.  Meaning, the surface ain't what it used to be.  A little probably won't hurt the function.  Aluminum is microscopically porous, so you may not be able to polish it off.

I don't like the recommendation of steel wool on aluminum.  Tiny bits of steel wool get embedded into the soft aluminum.  Add a little impure water between steel and aluminum and you get galvanic corrosion.  Meaning, it will require far more frequent polishing or maintenance in the future.

[gmonkey]

Thanks for the replies.  This and my dealings with the RMV have me unhappy today.

I'm not too bothered that it won't shine.  I'm more afraid that the carbs won't work as well.  The bowl I soaked overnight had some bit of white crusting but it came off easily.  The carb body gets rinsed off after the simple green and then gunked for a few hours. 

[Simpson]

I wonder if pressure washing at 2600 psi would remove the dis-coloration 

[greenjeans]

I left my carbs in too long as well.  They were clean, but discolored.   I kinda like the darker color as it hid dirt a bit better and still looked fine.   You didn't ruin anything.

Listen to TwoTired - don't use steel wool on aluminum. 

Polish those float bowls and the top caps....looks really sharp and won't take too long.

[motorhead55]

What ever happened to buying a gallon can of carb dip at the auto parts store? That's what I use and no discoloration. If I have a carb with any water scale in it, I use vinegar.

[gmonkey]

What ever happened to buying a gallon can of carb dip at the auto parts store? That's what I use and no discoloration. If I have a carb with any water scale in it, I use vinegar.

Nothing happened.  I've been dipping the carbs into simple green first to get the grime and dirt off then into the gunk for a few hours after washing the simple green off.  I've been leaving them in the simple green for longer and carb cleaner less because I was afraid it might melt the plastic bits you can't remove (throttle valve guide) but I guess it backfired on me.

[gmonkey]

Carb bodies haven't melted and the bowls discolored but otherwise fine.  One of the throttle valve slides looks like its texture changed.  The other 3 are shiny and smooth but this one is matte and feels different to the touch.  Don't know if it was the simple green that did this or what, I hadn't noticed this when I first pulled it out.  Should I try to polish it up with some brasso or barkeeper's friend or something or does it not matter?

[eurban]

BTW, carb bodies are "pot metal" or some such material, rather than the "aluminum" of the bowl.  They will react to cleaning agents quite differently.  I find many of the dip type carb cleaners to be extremely noxious, stinking up the house very easily.  I have found that placing a rack of carbs (not separated but all practical parts removed, including the the slow jets in the late bikes) in a metal container with a mix of simple green and water, and bringing this mix (maybe 1 sg to 2 water) to boil on my grill works very well at cleaning things up.  Total elapsed time in the solution is about 20 minutes.  This is followed by a water rinse and a compressed air drying.  Finally, I use spray type carb cleaner to clear out all passages, and perhaps a bit of WD40 to protect steel parts. Works well for me . . . .

[bucky katt]

soda blast the exterior of the carbs. i just did the spare set i have in anticipation of recalibrating them to work with the cb750 f2 cam and ported head.

[Laminar]

Soda blasting kicks ass.

30 seconds of work:

[gmonkey]

Tried soda blasting with my 120 psi electric tire pump (don't know CFM off the top of my head) and about all it did was fill half the basement with soda.  Might try it outside at some point but for now don't think my carbs need it that much.

Anyone know what thread the bowl drain screw is?  One of the bowls and screws could use a refresh with a tap.

[KeithB]

Add a little impure water between steel and aluminum and you get galvanic corrosion

Excellent point!