Carb Gunk

[Don-lo]

Water has surface tension and may hide in corners. I rinse with Gumout followed by compressed air.

[posplayr]

Water has surface tension and may hide in corners. I rinse with Gumout followed by compressed air.

Not sure what the carb bodies are made of but it is probably pretty porous metal and will hold the Berryman's in the metal unless flushed out.

As you say the water has a high surface tension and probably doesn't mix well with Berryman's in the first place.

RenoBruce has described the large amounts of crap he sees come out of carbs from boiling. I wonder if that is not mostly carb cleaner that has saturated the carb bodies and only comes out after the boiling.

Carb cleaner, Gumout or brake cleaner anything that can cut the Berrymans would probably work and should be a standard part of the process.

I have never dipped my carbs, but need to do some BST36SS's was not exactly sure, I would have probably been inclined to wash with hot soapy water after the dip but will be more careful in the future.

[1948man]

After dipping my carb bodies in Berryman's for 12 hrs, I boiled them gently for 30 minutes in clear tap water to get the Berryman's residue out. They turned dark gunmetal gray. It seems that any boiling, whether with lemon juice, clear water or anything else darkens them.

[Pete Logan]

After dipping my carb bodies in Berryman's for 12 hrs, I boiled them gently for 30 minutes in clear tap water to get the Berryman's residue out. They turned dark gunmetal gray. It seems that any boiling, whether with lemon juice, clear water or anything else darkens them.

Just thinking about it, that probably looks quite nice

[Nessism]

I boiled one carb in diluted lemon juice and the carb body turned dark. Might have boiled it too long or used too much lemon concentration though.

I've also experienced the white corrosion leaching after using carb dip. Blowing the carbs dry with compressed air is recommended, as is spraying them really well with carb spray as well. A WD-40 spray-down sounds like a good idea to me.

[Steve]

I have not taken any carbs apart that I have cleaned/rebuilt/refreshed, probably for the simple reason I have not had to.

Since I have not had any apart, I can't say whether they have any corrosion in them, but I can say that if there is any corrosion, it's not enough to cause any problems.

My standard cleaning technique is to soak the carb bodies for a time that varies between overnight and a full day. When they come out of the dip, they go to the sink, where they get HOT water run over them. My hot water is probably hotter than most; I'm sure OSHA would have a fit if they bothered to measure it.
Let's just say that after rinsing the carb bodies, I have to pick them up with a rag.

The brass pieces also get dipped and rinsed. Then they get their holes poked through with copper wire strands, flushed with carb cleaner spray and dried with compressed air. If I am not feeling rushed, they then make the (very) short trip over to the buffing wheel. If they get the polishing treatment, they get their holes flushed again, just to be sure.

I have not yet bothered to spray any WD-40 on for preservation, and have not seen any corrosion forming on any outer surfaces, but I do use a drop or two of oil on the o-rings when I am putting them together.

.

[1948man]

I'm giving a light WD-40 bath after the boil and rinse. I wouldn't have continued the boiling routine but I wanted the last 3 carbs to match the 1st one. The gun metal gray actually does look decent. Kind of a tough "industrial" look.

[don]

With 1-1/2 riding seasons of carb trouble that was cured by a $3.00 part, I have dipped, soaked, scrubbed, and ultrasoniced 3 sets of carbs a million times. OK, not a million, 999,999 times.

My standard practice is as follows:

Dip ALL parts in "Berry Juice" overnight, (not the rubber or plastic stuff obviously). Home from work put em in, home from work take em out...

Rinse with Hot water in the sink

Blow out every oraface you can find with air from both directions to prelim dry

Set everything on the wood/pellet stove to finnish the drying for about 20 min., then blow emout again.
(If you don't have a wood or pellet stove, set your cooking oven on 250-300 degrees f and put them in there with the door open like you're broiling. (The wife loves that!!!!) It don't smell like muffins that's for sure.)

Assemble


No oil, no WD.......just put the damn things together. Did this on more than 1 rack of carbs and had them sit for 2 months, took em apart with concerns of white oxidation............nothin......clean as the day I put em together.

I have 2 racks from this past winter and....nothin. No crud at all. If I were to use them, I feel 100% confident with a quick blast with carb cleaner or brake clean just to blow out any bits that may have made their way in there, and bolt em on.

Have never had " the goo" return after this procedure.

Just my experience.

[1948man]

Whats the $3.00 part?

[Texasgs]

re

That crud is aluminum oxide, aluminum equivalent to rust. Your gas probably has a high alcohol content, and some water. The best protection is to anodize them, there are several articles on the net about this easy process. You basically submerge the carb bodys in super diluted sulfuric acid, and pass dc current through them with a battery charger. This leaves pores open, and this is where you dip them in a dye to color them. After you dye them, or if you decide not to color them you drop them in boiling water and the pores close up. Cast aluminum doesnt look near as good as billet when you anodize it, but you get the same protective layer. The layer from anodizing the aluminum is hard, and wont corrode. Look on the net for DIY anodizing. Dont buy a kit, all you need is a battery charger and some battery acid you can dilute down.