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Carburetor cleaning

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mcsherry1328
Posts: 285
Joined: Fri Oct 27, 2006 3:00 am
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Carburetor cleaning

Post by mcsherry1328 »

Wanted to check with the experts on best way to clean old dirty carburetors. I have cleaned them in a solvent tank, that didn't do much. I have a small tank bucket with carb cleaning solution I thought I would try that next. Wondering what the restorers do to make them look as new ?

toolmandoug
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Re: Carburetor cleaning

Post by toolmandoug »

I used soda blasting (baking soda) and it made my carbs look like new. If you have a blast cabinet and use abrasive media, make sure it’s ALL vacuumed out. Wash with soap and water and dry immediately.

mshields
Posts: 3
Joined: Thu Sep 08, 2022 12:37 am

Re: Carburetor cleaning

Post by mshields »

Gumout is the best carburetor cleaner for those in a hurry. If you need to dislodge gunk and don't have time to take apart your carburetor to let it soak for a day, use an aerosol cleaner

spacey1
Posts: 1
Joined: Mon Jan 09, 2023 2:41 am
Location: Western Australia
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Re: Carburetor cleaning

Post by spacey1 »

On my recently purchased R69S barn find, the LH carb slide was stuck solid with some white stuff. Obviously water had been sitting in this carb for some considerable time. I thought about water and the stuff that's in it.
  • Calcium
  • Lime
  • Rust
In our hardware stores in Australia, there is a cleaning product called CLR (Calcium, Lime, Rust Remover...)

So here's my solution to seriously stuck slides.
  • Dismantle as much of the carb as possible.
  • IMPORTANT: Remove all brass items.
  • Boil the Billy filled with water. Simmer slowly...
  • Add CLR at ~25%. I had to start somewhere...
  • Suspend the carb on a wire submerged in the bubbling solution, jiggling occasionally.
  • GENTLY tap the slide and the slide body after each 5 minute session.
  • Mine wasn't closed properly so there was a little wriggle room tapping down from the top.
  • GENTLY lever on the thick part on the bottom of the slide.
  • Repeat and be patient.
  • Note 'GENTLY' !!!
  • 25 minutes and mine was free...
r69s_carbClean-20220625.jpg
The photo shows the results of the process. The brass cable adjuster still in the top of the carb. I couldn't get into the slide to pull the needle holder pin out. So I didn't submerge the top.

This process doesn't make the carbs shine like new, but certainly cleans them.

After cleaning both carbs, I got this engine running easily. It was very responsive, but sadly, noisey. But that's another whole story...

A friend had a similar carb issue. This worked on his carbs too.

Hope this helpful...
1962 R69S

mcsherry1328
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Re: Carburetor cleaning

Post by mcsherry1328 »

Great post, thanks for sharing. Always good to hear different cleaning techniques. These original Bing carburetors are becoming more expensive and rare so nice to learn ways to safely service them.

toolmandoug
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Re: Carburetor cleaning

Post by toolmandoug »

I tried my soda blast method on my carbs off a 93 RT and it did not work. Had to resort to acid and a brush. I was surprised that the soda worked so well on one set of carbs, but not the other. Just when you think you have everything figured out….

Viejo
Posts: 4
Joined: Fri Sep 23, 2022 1:51 pm

Re: Carburetor cleaning

Post by Viejo »

Riders,

Unless you have some major caked on crud to remove a good soak in straight Simple Green (after complete carburetor disassembly) is usually very effective. I've done this with both CVs and slides. I would also suggest that anyone think long and hard and media blasting of any kind...... no matter how supposedly non-aggressive the media is purported to be. IMO it's almost impossible to remove it all before reassembly. Vapor blasting is another possibility, and while I've never used it personally, I've heard good reports about the process.

YMMV,

Viejo

GD1949
Posts: 1
Joined: Mon Dec 25, 2023 7:08 am

Re: Carburetor cleaning

Post by GD1949 »

I spent ( or possibly misspent ) over 50 years working on automobiles and motorcycles. I did many carburetor rebuilds in my career. I those days we immersed in acid solution. Nowadays I do all my carb repairs and cleaning with a two hundred dollar sonic cleaner. It’s the slickest invention since sliced bread! Everything comes out squeaky clean and it harmless t O rings and gaskets. After using it I carefully inspect all jets and origins with an optivisor. If any obstruction are noted I carefully remove with tapered jet reamers. Also do not try to remove stuck jets with tapered screwdrivers. Use close-fitting hollow ground Gunsmithing screwdrivers.Hope these suggestions are helpful

GD1949

BigWally
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Re: Carburetor cleaning

Post by BigWally »

Berryman's Carb Cleaner in its own dip basket. All parts go into the basket after complete disassembly and removal of old gaskets and o-rings. Rinse with aerosol carb cleaner and air dry.
'73 R75/5; ‘84 R100S Last Edition (California version); ‘84 R100RS; ‘08 R1200RT

Tekreck
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Re: Carburetor cleaning

Post by Tekreck »

Just did mine with a bucket of Berryman Chem-Dip to get the heavy stuff off and then a few rounds in the ultrasonic using 4:1 Simple Green Pro HD. Very happy. Blow out passages as soon as it comes out of the ultrasonic while it is still warm. At this point you are clean but not polished. If you want polished then get some NAPA or Autosol aluminum cleaner, some Mothers or Autosol metal polish, and finally some ACF-50 aluminum protector. Dremel with various shapes of polishing attachments is essential.

Note steel items like throttle bracket have different routes to perfection. Take them over to the polishing wheel.

Make sure to pressure test float chamber when you’re all done. I had to go back and replace a float needle seat.

Kevin

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