Carb Cleaning Tool

[denydog]

I ran across this tool when I was looking for something small to add to my order at Dennis Kirk. I just recieved it today.
http://www.denniskirk.com/jsp/produ...Main&catId=&productId=p28465&leafCatId=&mmyId=

I wish I had this when I was following the excellent carb cleaning instructions on this sit a few months ago. The trick, noted in those instructions, about putting a wire brush bristle in a matchstick was good, but this might be a little faster or more throrough. I haven't had a chance to use it yet, but I will when I tear the carbs down to install a Dynojet stage I kit in a few weeks.

 

[cberkeley]

F A N C Y !

 

[Pepin]

That looks just like my tip cleaner for a cutting torch, great idea tho.

 

[bwringer]

That looks just like my tip cleaner for a cutting torch, great idea tho.

That's exactly what it is. See your friendly local welding and torch supplier.

 

[Guest]

Harbor Freight sells them (at least they used to).

 

[prxbadger]

ah, i have one of those and never used it in ten yrs, wish id thought of carb cleanin with it

bet i cant find it now

 

[sharpy]

I ran across this tool when I was looking for something small to add to my order at Dennis Kirk. I just recieved it today.
http://www.denniskirk.com/jsp/produ...Main&catId=&productId=p28465&leafCatId=&mmyId=

I wish I had this when I was following the excellent carb cleaning instructions on this sit a few months ago. The trick, noted in those instructions, about putting a wire brush bristle in a matchstick was good, but this might be a little faster or more throrough. I haven't had a chance to use it yet, but I will when I tear the carbs down to install a Dynojet stage I kit in a few weeks.

So let me get this straight, you run a "file" in and out of brass jets. Sounds like a good way to make the bike run richer when u increase the hole/s. Do as you want i say , ill stick with good old air.

 

[prxbadger]

mine has considerably more straight thin rods than files, there are files but id never use those

the rods are of differing diameter so perfect for the job as long as the dont get bent

no one recommends anything other than air, but we all know thin wire is far better used with air

 

[bwringer]

Agreed -- if you saw back and forth with anything, you can definitely create some big problems.

However, there are times when a jet or passage is clogged with gunk to the point that you have to gently poke something through there to open a small passage so that carb cleaner/dip and air can begin to work.

Personally, I'd feel far more comfortable using a piece of soft copper wire, but sometimes you run up against deposits that are too hard for that.

Of course, the best way is to replace jets that are clogged to this degree with new OEM jets (NOT the crap in rebuild kits). But there are still a lot of passages in carbs that might need some physical help to open up.

 

[Steve]

Nice tool, but I would be sure to use one of the tips that is too small for the opening to minimize the chance of filing it larger.

What I have used (rather sucessfully) is a strand or two of copper wire. Take some stranded wire of 10- or 12-gauge, strip back the insulation to expose about 2 inches of wire. Cut one of the strands, use needle-nose pliers to poke it through the jets. If the strand is too small, take two or three of them and twist them together. Great for poking through the gunk with minimal chance of damage to the jets.


.

 

[mortation]

Nice tool, but I would be sure to use one of the tips that is too small for the opening to minimize the chance of filing it larger.

What I have used (rather sucessfully) is a strand or two of copper wire. Take some stranded wire of 10- or 12-gauge, strip back the insulation to expose about 2 inches of wire. Cut one of the strands, use needle-nose pliers to poke it through the jets. If the strand is too small, take two or three of them and twist them together. Great for poking through the gunk with minimal chance of damage to the jets.
.

You just saved me $10 thanks lol. I never thought of that I got tons of wire!

 

[denydog]

Update

Update

I'm just finishing cleaning up my carbs (again) and had a chance to use this tool. I used it pretty aggressively, and cannot see any wear or damage to the jets from using this tool. The ridges on the tool are not at all sharp like a file, and do not seem to be much, if any harder than the jets themselves. It seems to have a good balance of cleaning ability without being too harsh. I found that several of the tool's diameters matched up with my jets very well. In summery, I found the tool to be convenient, and it seemed to work well, even though my carbs did not have a whole lot of buildup this time.

 

[trippivot]

guitar string

guitar string

cheaper than the tools are a old set modified electric guitar strings get your buddy from the band to give you his throw aways
unwind a G string and wallla! pilot jet perfect!!

 

[t3rmin]

Just remember: if you're wrenching with a buddy and your "carb cleaning tool" isn't working right, DO NOT stand up and announce "I'm having trouble with my G string!".

 

[cberkeley]

cheaper than the tools are a old set modified electric guitar strings get your buddy from the band to give you his throw aways
unwind a G string and wallla! pilot jet perfect!!

Being an old "Guitar-man" myself, and although I've used it, I would recommend treading very cautiously with a piece of guitar string in a carb jet. Guitar strings are hard drawn steel wire and this can be quite aggressive against a ID walls of brass jets and their orifices. My preference is one strand of electrical copper wire. Copper is softer than brass so there's little chance of doing damage. Just my $0.02 worth.

 

[neil young]

fortunatly i work with a lot of welders from time to time.an apprentice strung a welding cable over an industrial garage door (not properly though)on monday morning i show up to see that a truck caught the cable over the weekend and had ripped half the casing off of the copper.i brought it home with the intention of stripping it and scraping the copper.
the strands of copper are ultra thin so i cut off about 2 feet of it and stashed it for cleaning my jets.works great.

 

[Matchless]

Lots of thoughts around this, but mostly it boils down to probing any holes very carefully and only dislodging the gunk. Using fishing line or copper wire is perfect as it eliminates the possibility of scratching soft brass, but sometimes a nuisance due to bending.
The danger when using steel wire is the actual sharp edge where the wire was cut, this causes the damage, not the smooth sides. A used steel brush and these welder nozzle cleaners usually always have the sharp edges rounded and in actual fact work best if used gently.
Examine your steel probe/wire edge with a magnifying glass and first sand, buff or polish the micro point if you really have to use it.

 

[Guest]

Lots of great ideas, but I kinda like unwinding the G-string the best!:-D\\/

Tony.

 

[gsgeezer]

One wire out of a BRASS wire brush works great: price is even better!

 

[Johnny K]

I have a guitar. From the bottom up, which one is the "G" string??