Carb Cleaning

Status
Not open for further replies.
Hey concours, thanks for the tip. I've used Berryman's, glass beads, soda blasting, solvent tank soak, walnut shells, Harbor Freight ultarasonic cleaner, and Simple Green. So far, the best results have been Simple Green in the ultrasonic tank, for carbs with tiny drillings, and soda blasting for appearance. I'll try the Pine-Sol next time I have some carbs to clean.

Ken
 
The before pic..

Carb Cleaning


It even worked on these...

Carb Cleaning


Carb Cleaning
 
If in more a rush to get clean cabs w/o shopping for detergent try this next time.

* Posted by kwright5 (My Page) on
Mon, Feb 9, 09 at 20:11

I restore vintage motorcycles for a hobby and commonly "boil out" carburetors.

Here's what I do:

Use about 1 cup of WHITE vinegar to a couple of quarts of clean water, enough water to cover the parts (more or less vinegar, the exact amount is not critical). Strip the carb down to it's smallest individual components, being especially careful to remove the rubber parts and gaskets. Do *not* soak the rubber parts or gaskets, set them aside.

Place the carb parts into the vinegar solution and bring the mix to a soft rolling boil on the stove (it will smell a bit, so be prepared for this). Maintain this rolling boil for about 45 minutes or so, adding water if necessary to keep the parts covered.

After the initial 45 minutes, drain and replace the solution with clean water. Bring the water back to a soft rolling boil for another 30 minutes or so to rinse the parts.

You'll find the parts will be covered with a soft white powder... this is normal and it will brush off easily with a soft toothbrush or something similar.

Blow out the passages with compressed air and you'll be good to go.

Note this will *not* damage metal parts of any kind, including castings and brass.
Click to expand...
 
Steve, after Jim's posts about vinegar and water opening up the jet sizes, I wouldn't try this on any carb withtout removing all the brass bits. I think I would worry in particular about Amals with fixed, pressed-in brass pilot jets, like the ones used on Commandos.

Ken
 
Yes so one just needs to keep some attention on the carbs for only a few minutes not most and hour like the old tractor carb might need. Dish washers detergent can dissolve parts too. But your reminder may be a way to tweak a finer tune in old carbs running a bit weak on mixture range. I do like the PineSol unattended solution though. Some reloaders use weak acetic acid to clean their corrosive coated dulled brass shells.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top