Topic: separating the carbs on a 77 cb550

[neil young]

im in the process of taking apart a set of 1977 cb 550 carbs.
in the supplemental it says to undo the set screw on the bar that holds the carbs together.then undo the choke valve screws from the choke shaft....no worries there!
the set screw on the main shaft to separate them tho is a little sloppy with the Allan key (loose fit) i dont want to strip the allen set screw,which i will do if i continue to try.
any ideas as how to undo it without stripping it?
everything was going great until this.if i cant get the needle out from the top of the carbs is it really that big of a deal.i have everything else out from the bowls and cleaned.if i put it back together think ill have worries?
the supplamental is on the SOHC home page in mauals uif you like to have a look  fig k3-5
thx  Neil

[Deltarider]

im in the process of taking apart a set of 1977 cb 550 carbs

What for?
Don't.

[neil young]

so your saying just dunk em for a while in carb cleaner and finish said job ?
i really wanted to clean em up inside and out.they are pretty mucky outside and hard to clean thoroughly without taking them apart.

[Deltarider]

Taking them apart is fine and good enough for cleaning, separating them from eachother is something different and, in my view, unnecessary and asking for problems. Just my view.

[neil young]

ya im finding that out the hard way.iv cleaned em before but never took the bank apart..didnt look all that difficult really just the set screw is buggered.

[bwaller]

Go off in search of the proper size metric allen wrench.

I know guys say it isn't necessary to separate them, but to do a complete cleaning job and change o-rings on the aluminum fuel tubes between carbs I always do. It's not an impossible job, but pay attention to spring/shaft placement between 2&3 before you separate them.

[Gordon]

Taking them apart is fine and good enough for cleaning, separating them from eachother is something different and, in my view, unnecessary and asking for problems. Just my view.

+1

Of the dozen or so sets of carbs I've cleaned and rebuilt (and some of them were really bad), I've only ever had to de-rack one set, and that was because the o-rings between the carbs needed to be replaced.  Do yourself a favor, if you don't have to separate them, don't.   

[DaytonGuy]

I too, have a 77 550, and struggled with this same issue when cleaning my carbs.  I tried to figure out the spring/shaft between the two middle carbs and eventually gave up with a little assistance from members on this board.  I realized I don't think I have to take them apart.  I say that...now watch the fuel tubes leak when I get the bike running again.

Can you remove the needle and change the clip position without taking them apart?  I currently have the original 4 to 4 exhaust and will need to replace with new 4 to 1 system.  I think I'll need to change the clip position.

[neil young]

Gordon...man of reason 
ill leave the rack together and use a toothbrush to get at the hard to reach spots.
i was thinking the  same as bwaller since i have 4 new carb kits complete with rubber o rings.
i have another set of 550 carbs that i think ill add the new parts to this winter when i start to get cabin fever,and can take my time.im selling the 550 im working on now and dont want to rush anything and screw the guy over.
the spring that is between the 3 and 4 carb looks tricky.is it a pain to put back together by your self

[Deltarider]

Can you remove the needle and change the clip position without taking them apart?

Yes, you can.
When you have to.

[TwoTired]

The PD carb can be separated in pairs without much issue.  Its the choke plates that have to be dissmantled and the screws re-staked that is a total pain, without causing further damage.  I wouldn't do it unless there is no other choice.  All the internal passageways and bits that touch gasoline can be cleaned with the carbs assembled together. The only real reason to separate them I suppose is to clean the externals.  I think I would take a closer look as soda blasting to take care of external appearance.

[neil young]

thanks Twotired....no damage as of yet
as i said things were going smooth untill the set screw.
ill screw the 2 choke plates back on and clean away.

[TwoTired]

The choke plate screws were staked so they would never come loose and fly into the engine and damage a cylinder/valves.  This is the kind of thing that makes POs so hated.
If you have removed those screws, they have to be re-staked.  Which means rigging up some kind of backing anvil to the support the strikes needed to flare out the screw ends.  You also need to flare the screw ends with a tool long enough to reach all the way through the carb bore.  Or, finding a thread locker that is fuel resistant.

[neil young]

f@$k........1 step to far eh.
live and learn!!!
thx again Loyd.ill see what i can rig up. for now buddy gets the other carbs.

[Flying J]

i use the blue locktite. I dont want to re stake the screws. I have 2 sets of PDs on my bikes and nothing has come loose (yet). I agree that separating them is not always necessary but i have cleaned a whole set, put them back on the bike and then leaked between the carbs and had to pull them back off and separate them and replace the o rings.