Topic: Carb cleaning question - lube or grease?

[Vintage Esquire]

Clymers didn't mention any of the following:

Taking some of your advice, I took my carb completely apart on my 78 CB 550k.  It had been sitting unstarted for 13 years.  The fuel which had been left in the system was almost solidified and like glue.  I was prepared to buy new complte kits, but, with many hours of work, I got them all cleaned up and got all of the original gets unclogged and flowing freely (with the use of a dental pick, carb cleaner, and a toothbrush).  The floats and everything move freely.

1.  When I removed the needle from the main float, I cleaned all of the gear leading from the two screws on the bottom of the float to the main throttle bar.  Before putting it back together, should I shoot it with WD40 or some sort of grease?

2.  Figuring out how the choke and throttle springs go back together between carb 2 and 3 was rediculous!  Does anyong have a photo or detailed diagram of how the springs and choke flap linkage all goes back together?

Thanks, First Timer

[Vintage Esquire]

Sorry, I meant to say sliders instead of floats.

[faux fiddy]

A few drops of ATF won't hurt. Do linkage, threads, moving parts.

[Bodi]

The throttle linkage arms all connect with balljointish thingies running in what look like graphite spring-loaded thingies. I don't lube these, and have never had trouble - if the thingies are graphite they will be self lubricating. You need to oil the main throttle shaft at the supporting arms and the overtravel mechanism at the cable wheel. The choke mechanism should be oiled where the lever mechanism is, some grease in the detent ball hole and on the plate it hits is good. The choke shafts are in plastic "bearings" which should probably be left dry - wear is going to be negligible and grease will just gum up with fine dust over time. The felt choke shaft seals in the carb bodies can be cleaned by repeatedly soaking in solvent (acetone works nicely) and pressing dry between cloth or paper towels to attempt to reshape them for a good seal. These are unobtainable from Honda buy you can make replacements from a sheet of felt and two punches (plus a steady hand and good eye!). They should not be oiled in my opinion.
I don't lube the slides at all, I have tried on cable actuated carbs (singles and twins) that have a coil spring for slide closing under a threaded carb cap: one stuck open from a buildup of dust/oil crud so I think dry is best.
I'll try and get a picture of the choke linkages but probably someone else will post one before I manage it.