Topic: 1976 CB550 carb rebuild dilemma

[SigEpRider]

I pulled the carbs off my 1976 cb550k to clean and rebuild them. I separated the entire bank (perhaps a rookie mistake) so I could clean them in my ultrasonic cleaner after soaking them in carb dip.

Here's my dilemma:

The e-clip on the needles were all set to the last (leanest) position. I moved the e clips to the middle position. Is this the stock setting?

I will be keeping the stock airbox and exhaust.

Finally, upon reassembly I noticed the carb shaft is loose and moving.  The shaft has a grove near the carb 1 & 2 side that I believe was used to house a ball bearing or something similar to keep the shaft stationary. Can someone help me to determine the proper way to install the shaft. Pics would help. I am also gonna try to post pics.

Thanks

[Bankerdanny]

Have you checked the exploded diagrams to confirm how they go back together?

[SigEpRider]

The diagrams are kinda blurry and show the shaft already assembled I think. Do you know angood source to get better diagrams?

[xsmooth69x]

the clip on my 1975 cb550 is one up

i think this is what your talking about.

the carb housing itself dosent have any notches its just smooth. ( i shiat you  not im doing all this by memory because i just rebuilt my carbs like a month ago) (or maybe there was a notch in the carb housing and you had to line that piston part in it...)

now the piston thing has a notch running down the side. after putting the needle in you slide the inner part of the piston down and when its at the bottom you have to twist and line up the holes for your bolts. there are 2 ways to twist it and when you reassemble your carb u will notice if you did it wrong.

so the bolts in the carb piston should be fine. are you sure your bolts are tightened?

now maybe you are talking about the inside part of the piston............

ok disregard all of that ^ but im going to leave it because it took a lot of brain power to type out. and im also leaving my architectural schematics because they took me a while to draw too

anyways im awesome while scampering around the interweb when i was trying to draw the inner part of the piston slide because i couldnt remember if there was a spring or just a metal piece inbetween the 2 ball sections for the piece i found this!!!! whahahahahaha

***inner slide photo or photo 3 is not finish 

[bollingball]

SigE you are correct pics. would would help of yours that is
Plus your carb numbers so we know for sure we are talking about the same ones. Never assume they are stock after so many years. I have pd42b I think 76 is pre pd series. but not sure about 550
I bet TT or Spanner know so here is a bump.

                       Ken

[gregk]

Thes stock carbs should be 087A.  Apparently a one year only but some say they are the same as the earlier 022A carbs.

[SigEpRider]

Thanks for the help guys.  Looks like I'm going to have to disassemble the needle assembly again to move the e clip on all four carbs.  Shouldn't be too much of a hassle.

I will post the carb numbers when i get home from work tonight.  I should have thought of that before.  Its gonna help because I also have some other questions concerning the holes where the jets are located.  I'll leave that for a little later.

Here are some pics to show you the shaft I'm talking about.  Like i said, when I re assemble it moves a little and I'm worried about it making the needles stay slightly open.







Thanks guys

[Duanob]

Seperating the carbs off the rack isn't a bad thing. There are o-rings in the fuel distributors that should be replaced. Check the vacuum lines that connect the carbs for cracks or leaks. The needle clip for stock position is the middle groove. Just make sure you clean all jets, orifices, surfaces. Use guitar strings or a K&L tool to poke any hard crud. Use some carb cleaner to spray out the crud. Then use canned air to clean and dry all orifices. Make sure you're getting air through the carb body orifices as well. Make sure when you reinstall the carbs back on the rack you get all the vacuum and gas lines to fit, it's a #$%* but not impossible. Make sure the float jets are springy and fitting like they should. Set your float height from the body of the carb surface just as the float tab is hitting the float needle but not compressing the spring. MAke sure the floats are moving and working with the jet springs in place as you tighten the bowls on. As far as float bowl o-rings, I use a bit of fuel/heat resistant sealer (permatex #1 or 2) just enough to hold the oring in place, then tighten the bowl.

[WarwickE36]

xsmooth69x, you have an uncanny way of drawing carbs to look like mini bongs...good work 

[xsmooth69x]

some people say im gifted 

[SigEpRider]

Here is the latest update:

The only numbers on the carbs that I could find are 069A.

I looked more closely at the throttle assembly and noticed that when I was banging the sh*t out of the shaft I must have mess up the bushing inside.  Looks salvageable, but there should be something in there that holds the shaft in place and keeps it from moving slightly left or right. 

Pics:




I know I didn't follow the manual and should have just separated the carbs with the needle assembly.

Finally, when looking at the bottom of the carb should there be something that goes in the two additional holes located to the right of the jets.  Something like a rubber stopper or do they just stay open.



Thanks for the help again

[xsmooth69x]

there is nothing else that should be plugging those holes

.... darn it i was talking about the wrong shaft this whole time X_X

use the macro setting on your camera the pictures will come out way more clear 

[Duanob]

Just get a bigger hammer man, you'll do fine