Topic: The Fountain of Youth or Rejuvenating Carb Rubbers?

[DiscoEd]

Dudes and Dudettes,

I've managed to get the carbs off my 550 by tying one end of a string to the carbs and the other end to an anvil suspended over the grand canyon.
(Actually they came off quite nicely given the stories I've heard)

Anyway, now that their off I've got a couple of questions...
The carb rubbers seem to be in pretty good shape. Their a little stiff but not rock hard. I'm wondering what the best treatment would be to keep them supple?
I seem to remember my Grandfather keeping a bottle of Glycerine and him telling me that it was good for keeping rubber from getting hard and dryrotting. If this is true I wouldn't even have the slightest clue where to find Glycerine. As this was 30+ years ago, perhaps there is some more advanced product available now.

My next question is about the clamps that go around the rubbers. They seemed like they were tightened to their limits. Now, I'm wondering if they are stretched out too far to maintain a good seal. Is there some way that I could shim them up to make sure they tighten around the rubbers? I've had some ideas about using o-rings but I thought I'd fish for ideas first.

Thank you and Best ?Regards,
DiscoEd

[jtb]

Ed -- glycerin -> Drug store.  At least that's where you got it when I was in high school and worked in one.

John

[jtb]

should have added this to the first post.  The clamps on mine close all the way, too.  I think that they are just compressing the rubber.  I replace the phillips screws with allen heads, much easier to tighten with a T handle allen wrench.  I did get new rubbers, which eliminated the engine not wanting to drop back down to idle.

John

[theunrulychef]

Also, have you thought about boiling the boots?  That seems to be a pretty common way to help soften them up.  I haven't done it, but I'm sure many of our more experience posters could help fill in the details as far as how long etc.  I tried searching in past topics, but couldn't find the one that gave the low down.

-Jay in Philly

[DiscoEd]

Eventually, I'd like to get some new rubbers but I will
have to wait until another time.

I have seen some posts about boiling them, but I think that
will just soften them up to get them on. What I am more
concerned about is keeeping them from hardening and drying
out while they are on the bike.

Best Regards,
DiscoEd

[Bob Wessner]

Along the same lines, I've been using 3M silicone spray, even when the bike was actively ridden prior to 22 years of storage. I occasionally give things a spray, or spray it on a rag then wipe the parts. Also experimenting with using it on the semi-polished cases to stave off the gray corrosion. It will not break down at temps up to 350 F. Seems to help, but need more time/miles to convince myself on this one.

[bryanj]

As long asits not a 77 or 78 the manifold rubbers are still available at about £3 ($5?) from david silver so why struggle

[Geeto67]

wintergreen oil. Not sure where to get it since someone gave a bottle to me but try a drug store or a crafts store. Boil the rubber in a mixture of wintergreen oil and water will work wonders. BTW the carb rubbers are available new, if you just want to throw money at the problem and forget it.

[grumburg]

Just spraying a heavy coat of Armorall leaves them nice and supple and makes them slide on easier.

[tatanka]

Oil of wintergreen.....can get at most pharmacies.
use small container....put rubbers in container and fill with water to just over the tops...add 1 tbs of wintergreen oil and boil for 20 min.

CAUTION:  Do this outside or house will smell like wintergreen for 6 months and your OL will make you live in garage during that time (maybe not so bad an idea  )

tatanka

[Zane]

I've settled on using Mother's "Back to Black" for all the rubber, plastic, and black painted parts.  With some rubber (if it's in tough shape especially) I drench it in Back to Black, and cover it tightly and let it soak for a few hours - or even for as long as a day.  (When I can, I save the liquid too - it's not cheap....)  I don't do this with the bigger parts; I just wipe them down and rub them clean in the conventional way.

When I took apart my airbox and cleaned it I took off the caked on residue with a solvent and then I immediatly cleaned it thoroughly with BtoB once or twice (depending on how dried out the spot was).  Unless the rubber was actually corroded and eaten away, it looks like new (or at least it looks really good) now. 

I find this stuff one of the few modern products which actually works as advertised, and I don't mind paying a premium for that.  I can't find a list of ingredients for Back to Black, but it wouldn't surprise me at all if it's mainly glycerine.  (If anyone does find out what it's made from, and glycerine is a major part of it, please let me know and I'll start cutting my BtoB somewhat, with drug store glycerine.)

[jakewhiskey]

I would be careful using ARMOUR ALL on rubber.  I know it is bad for dashboards and tires because it clogs the pores and the material cant breathe.  This leads to drying out and cracking.  I find baby oil is a pretty wonderful cure-all for anything rubber or vinyl. I have used it to keep old seats from cracking.  It soaks in and keeps stuff soft.  If anyone has had a negative experience with baby oil let me know!  So far so good for me, 2 wheels or 4.

[Gordon]

I was just thinking about this problem and I'm wondering if soaking old, dry rubber parts in engine oil seal conditioner would soften them back up?  I'll look around the garage to see if I have anything I can use to try it out on. 

What exactly is it that happens to the rubber or evaporates out of it to cause it to harden? 

[cb650]

I would be careful using ARMOUR ALL on rubber.  I know it is bad for dashboards and tires because it clogs the pores and the material cant breathe.  This leads to drying out and cracking.  I find baby oil is a pretty wonderful cure-all for anything rubber or vinyl. I have used it to keep old seats from cracking.  It soaks in and keeps stuff soft.  If anyone has had a negative experience with baby oil let me know!  So far so good for me, 2 wheels or 4.

I have also heard this of armor all.   Also dont like the look of extra shiny tires.  Funny  cause I also use baby oil on seats.


             Terry

[Zane]

I've never used ArmorAll.  Most of that companies' tire and rubber care products seem to be made primarily with silicone as well as petroleum based distilates.

http://householdproducts.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/household/brands?tbl=brands&id=13008009

And I don't use anything on my tires except a squirt of mild dishsoap and lots of water, and that only on the side walls.  I use warm water and a bristle brush on the tread sometimes - usually after I've noticed riding through (or hopefully around) broken glass and plastic on the roadway.

I'll probably try some baby (mineral) oil though.  Could work, and it's economical to boot.

As for boiling water - I would consider doing that for something really hard, with lots of vinyl in it, but I don't know about doing it for rubber stuff generally.  Even though this site doesn't talk about our kinds of rubber specifically, I think there's some good info in the answer part of the first question ....

http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasci/gen01/gen01545.htm

[MRieck]

As long asits not a 77 or 78 the manifold rubbers are still available at about £3 ($5?) from david silver so why struggle

I agree.

[DiscoEd]

As long asits not a 77 or 78 the manifold rubbers are still available at about £3 ($5?) from david silver so why struggle

I agree.

O.k. so how about byanj and MRiek pool together and send me $20 USD + enough to cover shipping from U.K. to U.S. and I'll order up myself a set of new one from DSS.

The point of my inital post is that the existing rubbers that I have are not in bad condition. I was simply trying to determine the best way to maintain them in good condition.

BTW... Thanks for all of the good ideas. I'm still not convinced about what I should try though.

[Hop on a Honda]

Love these tasks.
Try some ATF Dextron 2 and simply soak the rubbers in the goo.As long as possible.
There is a red grease which is especially made for rubber cups in the older brake slave cylinder applications.
Apply some heat if possible god strong UV  lamp will do.

Cheers
Dave

[MRieck]

As long asits not a 77 or 78 the manifold rubbers are still available at about £3 ($5?) from david silver so why struggle

I agree.

O.k. so how about byanj and MRiek pool together and send me $20 USD + enough to cover shipping from U.K. to U.S. and I'll order up myself a set of new one from DSS.

The point of my inital post is that the existing rubbers that I have are not in bad condition. I was simply trying to determine the best way to maintain them in good condition.

BTW... Thanks for all of the good ideas. I'm still not convinced about what I should try though.

I tell you what....I'll buy them from my dealer and you pay for shipping. You figure out how to repay the favor.

[DiscoEd]

As long asits not a 77 or 78 the manifold rubbers are still available at about £3 ($5?) from david silver so why struggle

I agree.

O.k. so how about byanj and MRiek pool together and send me $20 USD + enough to cover shipping from U.K. to U.S. and I'll order up myself a set of new one from DSS.

The point of my inital post is that the existing rubbers that I have are not in bad condition. I was simply trying to determine the best way to maintain them in good condition.

BTW... Thanks for all of the good ideas. I'm still not convinced about what I should try though.

I tell you what....I'll buy them from my dealer and you pay for shipping. You figure out how to repay the favor.

Darn! Where the heck is CBJ, he's taking care of all my favors!

[Geeto67]

thought i'd mention this but if the rubber is not too hard, just stiff, you can try cleaning with some soap and warm water, then rinse with warm water and cover in WD40. wd40 is a penetrant oil and it helps to keep the remaining moisture in. Did some NLA mukini rubber parts like that (the cable covers) and they came up pretty supple, at least better than they were.