[Adoom]

Hey y'all, been a while!

I've been working on a non-cx for The Wife™ (CB350). Had it running, very poorly, before Christmas. Was leaking gas, no idle, bit of backfire. I've put on new points, new coils and condenser, so with a pool of gas on the floor, I decided to pull the carbs.

On opening them...what a mess! I managed to have this bike running before we did a bit of a makeover and tune-up. How it was running, I don't know. The carbs are completely full of gunk and crud. Both sets of floats are completely crushed. Jets and emulsifier tubes are crusty and seals totally dried out. The both idle screws are missing washers and seals. Luckily, somehow, the diaphrams are intact and in decent shape as are the slides. I've purchased rebuild kits for both carbs, and am now patiently waiting for new floats.

I've scraped (you read that correctly) the gunk out of the float bowls, and would like to do some kind of deep cleaning. Unfortunately the budget is now tooooo tight to buy an ultrasonic or pay someone else to have them done.

Thoughts on deep cleaning crusty carbs? It's for the wife, so I want it to be pretty AND functional.

 

[CXPHREAK]

Boil them in water. Add lemon juice up to about 25% if you can get it.

 

[Adoom]

I guess it's boiled carbs for dinner tonight!

 

[CXPHREAK]

Don't forget to chuck in some diced carrot and onion. Maybe some sort of dead beast.

 

[Adoom]

Maybe some sort of dead beast.

Nah, we don't do dead animal around here. But a splash of tamarind and some hot sauce with the carrots and onions and now we're talking.

 

[CXPHREAK]

The local fast food place has vegetarian burgers on offer. The soylentburger, made from real vegetarians.

Across the road from there the competing joint has the Sweeny Todd gristleburger. Not good. I found a piece of underpant elastic in mine and complained. They said the sign clearly says it's dressed meat and to GTFO.

 

[nippongreen]

My friend soaked his carbs in 'Pine-Sol" with good results.
His garage had a distinct smell of pine trees for a few weeks afterwards !!!!

 

[Sidecar Bob]

I hope you didn't boil them in the kitchen. When I did mine I followed Randakk's recommendation and used the barbecue; The ones I did weren't too dirty but they still smelled bad

Old School Carb Cleaning Methods | Randakk's Blog

If you've watched my GL1000 Carb Rebuild Video, you know that I'm strongly opposed to total immersion chemical carb cleaning methods.

www.randakksblog.com

For things small removable parts like the jets I've found that soaking them in methanol (AKA methyl hydrate - sold for thinning shellac but very useful in the shop or around the home) for 10-20 minutes softens dried fuel varnish better than carb cleaner.

 

[Randall-in-Mpls]

I've found Seafoam does a good job cutting varnish, too.

 

[Sidecar Bob]

It probably does but methanol is a lot cheaper and has a lot of other uses (I buy it by the gallon).

 

[Randall-in-Mpls]

Seafoam in the garage is cheaper than methanol in the store.

 

[Sidecar Bob]

Perhaps, but methanol is one of the 4 basic solvents every shop should have.

 

[2ndCXowner]

hi Adoom,
if you have a Suzuki dealer close to you buy the Suzuki carb cleaner and soak everything in it. Its the carb cleaner all our techs use here where I work, and its super cheap.. Also a tech uses an electric tooth brush sitting in whatever he has parts in and it acts like an ultrasonic cleaner.

 

[Adoom]

Ok, I did an initial run using a camp stove in the garage (thank you Bob for suggesting I not use the kitchen). Used a mixture of concentrated Simple Green and water. Boiled them for about 30 minutes each. Turning regularly. When I pulled them out I hit the holes and ports with WD40. They are much cleaner, but still not as clean as I would like. I may do another round in another solution suggested above. I'm trying to avoid The Blackening™ that I keep hearing about as they are going on Wife's Bike and she likes shiny things.

FWIW the bottom of the pot I used is now a thin layer of sludge, so there was definitely some crud coming off.

 

[Sidecar Bob]

I bought a disposable turkey roasting pan when I did mine and put it on a baking sheet in case something punched a hole but it survived doing the carbs from the GoldWing and Eccles' 650 carbs (I haven't felt the need to do the 500 carbs on it now). I'd check it for holes from accumulating stuff on a shelf in the shop since if I used it again though...

WD40 would be my last choice for spraying through the passages (that same thing about sticky residue that makes it bad for electrical stuff and locks). Carb cleaner is much better and if you have a compressor and a blow gun like this unscrew the tip and replace it with with a ball inflating needle to make it perfect for blowing out carbs

 

[f104wart]

I also have heard, that some people use denture cleaners.

Or soak in acetone overnight (cover container)
...and don't breathe too deeply because of carcinogenic substances.

 

[Sidecar Bob]

I have a sonic denture cleaner (basically a small motor with an eccentric weight that shakes a small tank) that does a surprisingly good job of cleaning dirt from small parts (I have a separate one for cleaning my dentures). You might be able to clean the small removable parts in one but soaking in methanol is faster and more through.

 

[f104wart]

... but soaking in methanol is faster and more through.

...and at the same time ensures the right taste in the mouth, if you cleaning your dentures in it.


I just have pictures in my head...



Back to topic:

It doesn't matter what you use to clean your carburetors, it is important that you rinse them again with clear liquid after removing them from the cleaning liquid so that loosened dirt is washed out and does not dry on again after the liquid has evaporated.

 

[bahn88]

The solvent debate is a lil like 6point vs 12 point socket vs open end..all can work but one is better than the other.
** I have purposely left off channel locks and adjustable shifters...😃

 

[D-Fresh]

..and at the same time ensures the right taste in the mouth, if you cleaning your dentures in it.

That's a good one!!!