Stuck/Stripped Pilot Jets

[Guest]

I have a 1981 GSX400F and I'm doing a full carb rebuild atm, Everything has come apart nicely apart from all 4 pilot jets which are stripped. The Previous owner seems to have tried and failed to remove them.
Any advice on how to remove them?
The carbs seem to be quite rare so I don't want to mess them up and not be able to replace them.

Ive seen some posts about using a ez out tool but I'm a bit worried about drilling the carbs and the tool snapping in the hole.

Thanks in advance

[Tom R]

A valid worry.... those little ones snap almost always. At least the ones that I’ve used. Can you get left handed drill bits?

[jsandidge]

I agree, left handed drilling works many times. I had a stripped pilot a while ago. On this particular one, the bit never grabbed enough to spin it out. I took a torx driver that fit snugly into the hole that I drilled and tapped it down. Turning it out with that was easy work.

[Hardy43]

I can get hold of some left hand drill bits from amazon, they will come on monday. Im in two minds as to try the e out this weekend and hope it doesn't snap. As soon as I an get the bike running good I can start the strip and restoration, I don't want to chuck money at it before its running right

[rphillips]

Do left hand bit first, maybe it will turn it out, if not then the ez-out. Do you have Harbor Freight or Northern Tool locally? they may have them on the shelf.

[2BRacing]

I would not use an ez-out on pilot jets (or anything else). The taper profile of the ez-out will most probably cause the relatively soft brass jet to "expand" as the ez-out gets turned deeper into the jet, making it more difficult to remove.

The left-hand drill bit is a better bet in this situation. Spray penetrating fluid onto the jets and leave them to soak for some time and repeat the spray/soak procedure. Rather take your time, than risk damaging the threads in the carb body.

The best type of extractor to use is the type in the link, but I am not sure if you will be able to get just the smallest one or only the whole set: https://www.ridgid.com/us/en/screw-extractor

Good luck!

[steve murdoch]

Some more info in this recent thread.
Don't forget to try some heat along with the penetrating oil.

https://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?256718-Stuck-Jets&highlight=removing+and+stripped+and+jets

[Steve]

Do you have Harbor Freight or Northern Tool locally?

Considering that he is in England, I think the possibility is rather ... remote.

.

[Kiwi Canuck]

I have removed many stuck pilot jets using heat and a mini torx screwdriver.

Give the pilot jet a few shots of your favourite penetrating oil then, heat the area around the pilot jet with a map gas torch or propane, take care not to apply too much but you need quite a bit.

Tap the torx bit into the top of the pilot jet and undo, (I use a small 4OZ hammer carefully but firmly to set the torx driver.)

I'm not sure what size you will need but somewhere around T6, T7 or T8, you don't want to force one in that's too big as it will expand the pilot jet and cause it to bind, the Goldilocks principle.


Good luck.

David.

[Hardy43]

I managed to get 3 of the 4 out with a torx screwdriver and a bit of heat, The last one was a pain and I snapped the torx bit in the jet. I have another set of carbs arriving in the next week or so. I should be able to salvage one of the carb bodies from that and then put the bank back together.
Cheers for all the advice! 100% one of the most stressful and tedious things Ive has to do so far on the bike

[Kiwi Canuck]

Sorry to hear that you snapped the Torx bit in one of the pilot jets.

Fortunately that has never happened to me.

I owned a few of the multi drivers with all the various bits, had a few bits break and leave me stranded, so I started buying better quality screw drivers.

I have sets from Wiha, Wera and Vessel plus a JIS Impact driver, a bit of $$ to buy up front, a pleasure to use and they have reduced a lot of pain and stress when working on neglected carbs.

Good luck on the continued work.

David.