Topic: cleaning carbs with out a teardown/rebuild

[apostrophe28]

ive got my carbs out cause i was hemragging gas out fo my airbox. if i tear them down i need a gasket set correct? what can i do to cleam them without having to replace the gaskets (they're maybe a yr old)


ive searched around and read about the simple green then finish w carb cleaner and blow dry w compressed air...what aportion should i remove before i dunk them in the simple green bath?


any and all advice is appreaceated

[tomsweb1]

Simple green shouldn't destroy your rubbers, but it will discolour the aluminum, so don't leave it in too long. If you're serious about getting those carbs clean, take as much apart as you can, within your ownm limits, of course. this will allow the cleaning agent to get into as many places as it possibly can. Simple green does, in fact work, I've used it myself, NOTHING got the carbs cleaner. You must rinse them afterwards, however. any remaining simple green will crystalize on the surface of the aluminum. This may cause problems, it may not. I wouldn't take the risk. I rinsed mine in water, then blasted the crap out of them with carb cleaner, making sure every little orifice was clear as I went. Soaking them for two hours I hear, is enough.

Now, if leaking fuel is your issue, I would get ahold of some new float valves, if you haven't replaced them already. They are pretty cheap, and are readily available on the net.

  Good lord, do I ramble...

[masonryman]

pull the bowls off use a syringe and squirt "the works"(toilet bowl cleaner) in every hole the needle will fit in

[apostrophe28]

so take off the top caps and let them soak for 2 hrs in the simple green solution, rinse, then blast with carb cleaner? my friend told me that because it sat with gas in it for so long they prolly have a "varnish" that needs to be soaked off

[BobbyR]

I was the one that reported simple green as a cleaner. While you did not sat what bike you have, you really can;t get a good clean without taking them off. You really will not need new gaskets unless one is torn, and they are chaep anyway.
The best thing to do is Simple Green the bowls for about an hour and u will have no discoloration. You will need to take a strand of copper lampcord wire or a high e guitar string and work the solidified crap out of the passages. I tried every way you can think of including running 95% Seafoam, Techtron and everything else through them via a hose directly into the carb inlet and atthe end of the day you gotta bust up the crap by hand and spray the particles out with a spray. 

[TwoTired]

any and all advice is appreaceated

Any information about what bike these carbs mount onto would be appreciated.

[apostrophe28]

77 750k

[edbikerii]

Might be worth pulling off the bowls in place if you can get to them.  At least then you'll see how bad it is.  I like Berryman's B-12 Chemtool spray.  I've sprayed it into the orifices in the jets, let it soak for several minutes, then blown them out with compressed air.  I used the blow-gun attachment on my air hose, with the rubber tip that can seal around the jet holes (except the main jet, which has a slotted head that prevents making a perfect seal.  It is still pretty good enough to blow through the main jet hole.

Now the pilot jets on the 77-78 550 K models must be removed by pulling them out carefully with vise-grips or pliers while wrapped in something soft like a rag.  I'm not 100% sure, but I think the 77 750 K has similar jets.  These jets have horizontal aeration holes that are nearly guaranteed to be clogged.  Pull these out, and clean the holes out after soaking in chemtool.  Blow each hole out with compressed air.  Make sure you can see through all the holes when held up to a light.  They can then be re-installed by pushing them back in as far as you can by hand, then follow up with a small hammer to tap them back in.

[Gordon]

pull the bowls off use a syringe and squirt "the works"(toilet bowl cleaner) in every hole the needle will fit in

"The Works" is an acid isn't it?  Acid dissolves aluminum, quickly.  It's not something I'd ever want near my carbs, let alone inside the fuel passages. 

[masonryman]

pull the bowls off use a syringe and squirt "the works"(toilet bowl cleaner) in every hole the needle will fit in

"The Works" is an acid isn't it?  Acid dissolves aluminum, quickly.  It's not something I'd ever want near my carbs, let alone inside the fuel passages. 

Then rinse, so is orange juice

[ekpent]

+1 Gordon- The "works" will really give those carbs a workover. Ruined a petckcock on a gas tank clean out once before I learned that it does not mix well with aluminum -hell you can make a bomb out of it with tin foil and a pop bottle. Stay with some Gunk dip,carb cleaner or simple green which I have never tried.

[edbikerii]

Sorry, forgot that you already had them out of the frame.  Personally, I've never had a problem with the gaskets, even 30+ year old gaskets sealed well even after the carbs were cleaned.  However, if you were to do the full dip method, your rubber bits absolutely would be toasted.

I suspect that toilet bowl cleaner would also ruin your gaskets, seals, o-rings pretty quickly.  I don't know, I've never used it.  I'm not really sure why someone would.  For the same price you can get a product that is purpose made for cleaning carbs, and works very well without damaging.

Berryman's B12 Chemtool works beautifully to dissolve all sorts of junk, especially varnished up fuel.  It will make your seals/o-rings/gaskets swell up, but don't panic.  Once the extremely effective solvent in the product evaporates, they will all shrink back down to normal.

Might be worth pulling off the bowls in place if you can get to them.  At least then you'll see how bad it is.  I like Berryman's B-12 Chemtool spray.  I've sprayed it into the orifices in the jets, let it soak for several minutes, then blown them out with compressed air.  I used the blow-gun attachment on my air hose, with the rubber tip that can seal around the jet holes (except the main jet, which has a slotted head that prevents making a perfect seal.  It is still pretty good enough to blow through the main jet hole.

Now the pilot jets on the 77-78 550 K models must be removed by pulling them out carefully with vise-grips or pliers while wrapped in something soft like a rag.  I'm not 100% sure, but I think the 77 750 K has similar jets.  These jets have horizontal aeration holes that are nearly guaranteed to be clogged.  Pull these out, and clean the holes out after soaking in chemtool.  Blow each hole out with compressed air.  Make sure you can see through all the holes when held up to a light.  They can then be re-installed by pushing them back in as far as you can by hand, then follow up with a small hammer to tap them back in.

[BobbyR]

77 750k

The slow jets are pressed in on the 77-78. They only need a  slight twist while you pull up on them to get them out. You will find some of the holes will be at least partically or completely plugged. If it is white crud, we are told it is from the MBTE they had in the gas. This suff does not seem to disolve so needs to be gently chipped away. The slow jets just simply tap back in. Just line them up and gently tap.

[Gordon]

pull the bowls off use a syringe and squirt "the works"(toilet bowl cleaner) in every hole the needle will fit in

"The Works" is an acid isn't it?  Acid dissolves aluminum, quickly.  It's not something I'd ever want near my carbs, let alone inside the fuel passages. 

Then rinse, so is orange juice

Doesn't matter how quickly you rinse it, you've still eaten away a decent amount of the body of the carbs.  From what I can find it's 20% Hydrochloric acid.  Just a little stronger than orange juice.

[masonryman]

The works is not really that strong, I use it on alot of things, and if we are talking about carbs that are seized or very dirty it works really well.

I usually go from "the works" to clean water with a little baking soda then to lube them up to mineral spirits or WD-40  with no etching.

I have even left cruddy E-bay carb in it over night