Carb question

[Calpantera]

I have a 93 and I am rejetting it but one of the pilot jets was stripped, I tried to get it out but only made it worse. I soaked it with WD40 and got it out with an easy-out (yay!). But now I want to be sure I do not have any passageways plugged up with brass filings or gummed up with WD. Where does the pilot jet exit to? Can I just shoot carb cleaner down the hole in the bowl where you put in the jet and follow up with air? Am I going to have to worry about any o-rings that I might ruin with the carb cleaner? Can I chase the path with guitar string or something to make sure its clear? The carbs are the early type with only two jets..


Thanks!

[Funderb]

better to spray compressed air and carb cleaner through the idle air jet, which should blow backwards out of the idle jet hole. That way you wont be blowing crap further into the carb where you will never get it out. Also maybe remove the idle mix screws  and do the same.

Chances are, nothing made it through the pilot jet (very small hole) and you're fine.

[Calpantera]

Its only got two jets, the pilot and the main. So I did discover that blowing air though the main jet hole with the jet needle in place was a bad idea. Sent the needle up into the cap and it actually jamed in there. When I pulled the cap thwe spring was bent over. Everything looks ok though. It does feel like a little bit of pitting on the needle. Going to try and clean them up a bit. Originally I was just going to clean it, rejet and check the float levels but it has snowballed now and I pulled the caps off. This thing had an issue where the air filter came apart and I have no idea how long it ran this way but the carbs look pretty bad on the butterfly side..



This is after they were sprayed with carb cleaner. I did not go crazy on them though. Any suggestions on getting them clean? How much do I need to strip them down before I can do a dip or dishwasher clean on them?

[Funderb]

the idle air jet is on the intake side of the carburetor. those two little holes are the main air and idle air orifices.


those guys




people have had very good results when soaking the carbs overnight or for several days in a pinesol/water mixture. they come out unbelievably clean. A little tooth brush scrubbing helps too.

[Calpantera]

people have had very good results when soaking the carbs overnight or for several days in a pinesol/water mixture. they come out unbelievably clean. A little tooth brush scrubbing helps too.

I was reading about that, the gunk that I saw in some pics after boiling out the Pine Sol worried me though.
I think I will try boiling them today and see what happens.. Should I take out the slide guides or leave em in..

[Funderb]

well, I'm not sure I'd boil them, some people are into it, but the cleaner doesn't work any better at 212 degf than maybe just the temp water comes out of the hot tap.

If you take the emulsion tubes out, then the slide block should fall right out. if not, it should pull right out with a finger.

However, you must remove the emulsion tube to get the block out, otherwise you will destroy it.

the easiest way to take the E-tubes out is to take one of the screws that holds on the float bowl, (same thread as the jet) thread it into where the main jet was a couple turns, and tap the screw until the tube starts to slide out into the carb throat.

Pine-sol:
this is the best how-to i've seen, although a 1:1 ratio of pine sol:water is about as strong as you need. 
http://www.xjrider.com/manual/pine_sol_carb_cleaner.pdf

[Calpantera]

I went ahead and left the slide guides in, have em soaking in hot water and PineSol (Lemon scented). I will pull em out tomorrow and see how they look. As far as boiling I was thinking in just clean water to rinse out the PineSol and get all of the rest of the gunk broken up, I am sure the agitation from th bioling water helps too.
I basically have everything out except for the choke mechanism and the slide guides.

[Calpantera]

I just checked on my "carb bucket" and they look a little better. I hit em with a parts cleaning brush, added a bit more PineSol and agitated a bit. I will see how they look tomorrow..

[Funderb]

good stuff dude. I only added that stuff about the e-tube and blocks because someone destroyed both of mine when they had them "professionally" rebuilt at a local shop. They are currently sealed via liquid gasket and super glued into my carbs. Trying to help ya avoid that fate.

if you have a dryer running you can always throw the bin on top of that for some agitation.

[adidasguy]

Not to hijack....

........ OK  - hijacking

Has anyone use an ultrasonic cleaner on carbs?

[sledge]

Yes, several times. There is nothing better IMHO and for about 35 quid it isnt worth getting your hands dirty.

http://www.jonesrs.co.uk/ultrasonic-carb-cleaning/

Must be outfits in the states who do it.

[adidasguy]

The Bike Cave just ordered a 6L ultrasonic cleaner.
This one: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001S1TT2A/ref=oh_details_o03_s00_i00

Harbor Freight is on sale, but I wanted to be able to do whole carb sets without having to take them apart, and bigger & longer stuff as well. Now knuckles, axle bolts and big stuff can easily be cleaned.

I guess I can get into the carb cleaning business as well as the fork rebuilding business. That and the vibrating parts cleaner for bolts and stuff, I can clean anything now.

Thanks for the tip on ultrasonic cleaners. I saw some of the videos on them. I needed one.

[Funderb]

and cue me sending all my shaZam! to adidasguy for cleaning....

[sledge]

but I wanted to be able to do whole carb sets without having to take them apart, .

Errrrr....there is a bit more to it than dropping them in a tank and stepping back!

For the process to be effective carbs must be completely stripped and the parts will need to be coated with a corrosion blocker such as ACF50 immediately afterwards. The process wont make parts look brand new, if this is what you want they need to be vaqua or vapour blasted.

http://www.acf-50.co.uk/motorcycle.htm

http://www.rfiscreening.co.uk/vaqua_blasting.html

[adidasguy]

Aware of that. So dropping them into a bucket of 30w oil isn't good enough?

You do like to attempt to burst my bubble a lot. That's OK. I understand you Britt's are still a little ticked off over the revolutionary war and now you also have a tunnel to those darned Frenchies can drive to England. 

[Calpantera]

OK so took a look at my carbs soaking in the water/PineSol solution and one of them had started corroding! It had little while balls on it. So I pulled em, rinsed them in hot water and blew them out with air. Maybe my water to P/S ratio was too high or something. And they are not nearly as shiny as I have seen on the web.. Should I coat them with WD or something now?

[Funderb]

gun oil is some of the best penetrating lubricant/corrosion resister i've experienced. And thats from 15+ years experience shooting everything, including a lot surplus ammo that has nothing better to do than produce corrosive primer salt and pound it into every available nook and cranny.

Rem oil in a spray can, its cool, sprayed a spot onto a shotgun bbl one day, let it sit, and within 10 minutes it had covered the majority of the barrels surface. all by itself, no wiping needed. 

after you pin sol those suckers and get them clean, consider spraying the whole carb set down with some rem oil. just a few sprays will do. you can pick up rem oil at wallyworld for a couple bucks a can.

one of them had started corroding!

I wouldn't worry too much about it, wd40 is fine, once you start running fuel through there it'll stop again. you've removed any varnish the fuel left behind, and the alum is unprotected. Rem oil is better for rubber and plastic, but i think you'll be fine.