Topic: Carbs, after their bath

[csendker]

I pulled apart a spare set and am soaking them in the Yammy carb fluid for a while.  But the last time I did this, I got a white residue that formed on the carb bodies after I pulled them out (I can't remember how I cleaned them up after the bath).  What's the best method to clean off the cleaner fluid?  Just let them air dry?  Clean with water?  Gas?  Acetone?

[Chris Liston]

maybe liberal amounts of carb cleaner.  It will clean all the residue and dry almost on contact.

[TwoTired]

I've not used Yamaha carb cleaner, so I can't answer your question directly.  Perhaps I can help you figure out just what the residue is.

 I think it's important to determine if the white residue is a chemical precipitation, or the carb metal corroding.

Simple test: squirt some carb cleaner in clean glass jar and allow it to evaporate.  Is this residue white?  If so, then the white deposits are chemical residue from the chemical itself, and you need to flush them off the cleaned parts with another solvent of some type.  I would try mineral spirits if I wanted completely dry carb bodies (before painting), or Kerosene that leaves a slightly oily film over the remaining surfaces to delay corrosion of the base metal.  If you use water, then follow that with WD-40 to prevent metal corrosion.

If the cleaner dries clear, then the white residue you see is possibly the carb metal corroding.  Either during or after the chemical contact.  If it occurs after the chemical has gone, corrosion could be occurring upon exposure to a humid atmosphere.  A thin anti corrosive barrier that shields the metal would be indicated.  Perhaps a kerosene or Diesel fuel secondary bath?

If the white residue is actually forming during the chemical soak, the chemical could be slightly corrosive to the metal, or behaving as a catalyst for the corrosion.  In either case, reducing the exposure time seems a reasonable preventive approach.

Good luck!

[csendker]

Hmmmmm, I shall try this experiment, thanks.  The body came out clean-as-a-whistle, then this crud showed up later.  As I don't have any kerosene or diesel lying around the house, I'm suspecting I used H2O as my cleaning agent of choice.  I'm betting it's corrosion as it seems to be prevelent to the aluminum stuff only.  I do have some acetone, so maybe a secondary dunk to completely dry it out.  However, if I spray with silicon I doubt I'll get into all the little cracks & crevises, so maybe a third dunk into kerosene as a protectant as it will be a while before I mount these.

Question: does acetone or kerosene detrimentially affect any of the rubber bits & pieces?

[TwoTired]

Acetone is pretty aggessive on the solvent ladder and usually attacks rubber.

I don't recall kerosene having an effect on rubber or seals intended for contact with gasoline.  I'd expect this stuff to be safe for this application.

For long term storage, take a tip from old clocks.  Their workings were lubricated from a reservoir of kerosene inside the mechanism box.  The vapors were enough to keep all the parts lubricated and corrosion free.

Put, your cleaned carbs in a poly bag along with a small rag lightly dampened with kerosene or gun preservative oil. Then close the bag with a twist tie.  When you get back to them, they still be clean, dry, rust and dust free, too.

Cheers,