Boiling The Carbs - Or What I Found Inside

[Dr. Frankenstein]

So I have gone ahead and pulled the trigger on Randakk's complete and pricey carb kit- the deciding factor was what I found when I decide to do a bit of an 'exploratory' on the carbs to my '77 GL1000 - see all that shiny, wet-looking stuff...?
Well, it's not. It's all dried-up fuel...shellac, if you will...
DSCN1480 by Dr. Frankenstein1, on Flickr

Of these, only the float in the lower-left moves...
DSCN1482 by Dr. Frankenstein1, on Flickr


And this one is downright fuzzy...!
DSCN1485 by Dr. Frankenstein1, on Flickr

So my question is, I've seen the posts on boiling the carbs, and I figure this is as good a time as any to do it, if nothing else to soften all that crap up and hopefully float it off of there before I soak it all down with carb cleaner, both can AND spray - any tips before I do this?

[dontwantapickle]

I have a set of carbs that the po tried to clean by boiling them on his bbq grill.
He ended up melting some of the plastic on the rack, they are now unuseable.
Be careful.

[Dr. Frankenstein]

Actually, I have a turkey pan - one of those enameled ones with a lid from Walmart, like you cook a Thanksgving turkey in - and was going to try that...put the carbs I'm boiling up on wood blocks to keep it off the bottom and let it simmer...I figure if Randakk himself has a pic of him using a tin-foil one, a real one might be better/thicker.


But Hey! If anyone has a better idea I'm all ears!

[Dr. Frankenstein]

As far as the rubber parts in the carbs go, if I'm re-doing the whole thing I really shouldn't have to worry about damaging any rubber parts in there right now, right...? Or is there anything in there that needs to be saved first?

[desertrefugee]

I wonder how they'd respond to an aggressive ultrasonic bath?

[Fred Camper]

Ultra sonic has been used by some. I just soaked in carb cleaner but they were not as abused as the pics you showed. Your actual mileage will vary.

[gltriker]

The original formula Yamaha Carburetor Cleaner worked SO WELL on my trike's carburetors .
Back in 2006, though, while it was still available.

Scroll down to Similar Topics for several more Boiling Carburetor discussions.

[ericheath]

Boiling helps soften making cleaning easier, but you still have to scrub, clean and blow compressed air through everything. Take your time and it’s probably worth using distilled water as Randakk suggests.

The problem with aggressiveness and carb cleaners is many times the cleaner destroys the rubber bits. If you can pull the rubber parts without breaking them, it will be better. If you have new parts, no worries.

[pidjones]

Things of elastomer that I'd worry about are float valve tips. Hard plastic like the piston buffers and foalt valve seat filters should be removed also. I stripped mine before boiling on my '79. I would strongly advise against carb dip, but carb cleaner (or better brake cleaner) can be used to soften the gook. Be very careful to use only JIS screwdrivers and make a couple tools for removing the two emulsion tubes in each carb. They have tiny ports that need cleaned. The "puck" also needs to come out to clean/verify all passages.

[gltriker]

As far as the rubber parts in the carbs go, if I'm re-doing the whole thing I really shouldn't have to worry about damaging any rubber parts in there right now, right...? Or is there anything in there that needs to be saved first?

Disregard my post. I now realize it has already been covered.

[Dr. Frankenstein]

Well, after studying the responses, and the carb, I think I'm going to try to use brake cleaner to get 'into' the floats, needles, etc...try to get all the rubber bits off, and then soak the rest in either a small container of gasoline or that Gunk Carb Cleaner. Might try the Yamaha stuff, but I have not decided yet. I'm exploring all options.

I DO have a HF ultrasonic w/ heat and some Simple Green, a set of Megadora JIS screwdrivers (even the Impacta one, which has so far proven ineffective), and I do have a set of carb/welding tip cleaners I have used on other carbs...and as noted I am in No Rush to do this...I also have the Holy Grail coming - I mean, the Randakk Master Carb kit ('with video'!) on the way and I plan to do this right rather than quickly - as if there is an option. This is right up there with my '78 KZ650B carbs, and I was able to do those, so....any pros and cons regarding the solution used in 'an aggressive ultrasonic bath'??

Honestly, I love working on stuff like this - I really love defeating the powers of time and age, and it makes me feel good to remove all that crap and get her back functioning properly, so I am actually kind of looking forward to this.

I'm wondering about the tank, though. It has surface rust in it, and I was thinking about filling it up with white vinegar to do away with that. It's a helluva lot cheaper per gallon than EvapoRust, and seems to yield good results although I haven't tried it yet. The tank is still in the bike, and I was going to fill it up, let it sit for a day or two, or longer, and see what happens...although I guess I could use a solution of naval jelly and water...any ideas?

[low-side]

It's not cheap, but nothing works quite like Evaporust for a rusted tank. I've cut it with distilled water and it still worked well, just took a little longer to do the job. Milkstone remover is cheaper, but you have to watch it more closely because it's phosphoric acid and will eat good steel given enough time. Some folks use electrolysis and it is probably the best method, but it does take some set-up. Regarding the carb float pins, you may consider electrical contact cleaner. It's not cheap, but you don't need a lot of it and it puts brake cleaner to shame in situations like this.

[twooldwings]

i don't have an ultrasonic cleaner, but it's definitely on my wish list. i have seen enough you-tubers (the good ones, not the ones with a camera and cigarette in one hand and a beer and crescent wrench in the other) using them successfully that i am convinced of their effectiveness.
best "tool" that i have bought for cleaning the extremely tiny orifices on the slow jets is a high "e" guitar string. i couldn't live without it.

[pidjones]

For the US cleaner, a good surfactant in small concentration is all that is needed once the varnish is removed with carb cleaner. It is mainly to let the water wet the surfaces so the US created cavitation can work. Not too much as you don't want foaming. Just a drop or two of Simple Green or Dawn should do. I use a lab product that I received several sample bottles of ~20 years ago and haven't used up yet. BTW, the primary drawback of the HF US cleaner is size. It won't hold a body fully submerged. A cleaner large enough to hold two bodies (stripped) still connected by the garnish is ideal. I had one, but fried it doing a CB750F set. That's why I boiled my '79 GL1000 set.

DSC07776.JPG (119.36 KiB) Viewed 396 times

[Dr. Frankenstein]

I'm right on the verge of boiling them just like that, but I wonder about the felt washers/rings in there I keep hearing about - won't the heat damage them? Did you just put them on Low, or get a rolling boil going, or...? Are they sitting on anything to keep them off the grill itself? And how long should they stay in? I have so many questions because I REALLY don't want to mess up these carbs; I'm finding out just how Not Cheap this re-build is going to be!