CV carb float pins stuck

[jonr]

Greetings all:

I jist had my CV carbs apart on my 1100G and I could not get the float pins out. I was using a very small drift punch and was tapping lightly as I did not want to knock the hinge tower off. None of the four would budge whatsoever. And I was not tapping on the "head" side of the pin either.

I dug this quote up from another thread when using the search engine:
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Just got finished reading a Tech question article in the latest Rider magazine. The float pins are pressed in. the writer Andrew MacDonald recomended not attempting to drive them out. "The best tool for removing the a stubborn float pin is a Blue Point spring loaded center punch sold on Snap-On tool trucks (part #YA805A) or at Snap-On's website at www.snap-on.com."
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Any suggestions besides an automatic center punch?

Thanks-
Jon

[Scud]

Yes....side cutter pliers work fantastic for this ( the kind for cutting wire), I use them all the time.

Scud

[jonr]

Scud,

Do you mean that I should use the edges of the side cutters to get behind the head of the pin and draw it out? Surely you don't mean to cut the head off. I know the float bowl will keep the pin in place once it is on, but cutting the head off seems drastic and will sure kill the pliers too.

let me know-
thanks,
Jon

[Scud]

I do not mean to cut it off, if you look at a good pair of side cutters they taper and get thicker towards the handle. What you want to do is open them just enough to get them behind the flat part of the pin and pry the pin outwards by pushing the handles of the pliers in towards the post...I think that after you get the cutters between the head and the post you will see what I mean.

Yea.....PLEASE DO NOT CUT OFF THE POST

Scud

[jonr]

Scud,

That's what I thought, but I wanted to be sure.

Thanks-
jon

[sharpy]

pins

Try placing a heavy object against the tower with the "head" and hold that object for support while you "gently" bash the pin out. (like a LARGE flat-blade screwdriver) Support it just under the head and you should be ok.

[Scud]

Something about 'gently' and 'bash' in the same sentence makes me nervous....

I have heard of this working, but the side cutter method does away with any type of bashing, and it usual wokds well requiring only a slight tap once freed.

Scud

[bwringer]

STOP!!!!!!!!

Do NOT use impact on these. Those "towers" just LOVE to break.

I use a pair of curved needle-nose pliers at an angle to squeeze between the top of the tower and the "non-head" end of the pin. This pops the pin out just a tad, then you can use a pair of diagonal cutters to gently grab under the head and slide them out the rest of the way.

A crude diagram -- squeeze between the orange dots:


You still have to be careful not to squeeze too hard or you might bend or break the top off the tower. But it's a lot easier to control than impact.

With a Dremel and a cheap pair of pliers, I bet you could make an offset and/or slotted pair of pliers that would make this easy...

[duaneage]

I broke mine in April. Had to put down the Beretta and be rational for a moment. I repaired mine with ceramic epoxy. Vowed never to mess with something that can simply be cleaned off instead of disassembled.

I made up a wooden block to support the tower when tapping them out. Worked for me. Another idea is to try and twist the float pin to get it moving then use the tiny wirecutters to pull the pin out.

Absolutely horrible design. A C-clip on the end of a shaft would have worked just fine, after all where is it going to go? It can't come loose becasue teh fuel bowls are right against them.

[jonr]

Good news all. I was successful in getting them out. Going on scud's idea of getting a hold on the head of the pin with some side cutters, I took a beater pen knife and tapped the edge of the blade between the head and the tower. This gave enough clearance to then tap down the fingernail file part of the knife and by the time I finished with that, the pin was half way through the tower on the far side. Then I tapped (and I mean GENTLY) on the pin itself and it slid right out with no problem whatsoever. This worked exactly the same way on all four and took less than one minute each.

I was glad to get it off because two of the four orings on the needle seats were shot. Evidence was given by the varnish on the float bowl covers on those particular carbs and by a suspicious leak of fuel that I noticed the last time I ran the bike.

So, thanks to all for your advice; the deed is done. Brian, thanks for going out of the way and making the animated GIF for me. Since the ends of the pins are slightly peened (from the last person I guess), they will get a small dressing so the tolerance is not so close to the tower hole!

-Jon

[bwringer]

It just goes to show you that there's always more than one way to skin a cat! Glad you got it sorted!

On an old Yamaha a long time ago, I ended up going to a hobby shop for a piece of stainless metric rod. I made new pins that just slid into place. You have to be careful until the bowls go on, but how often are you moving the carbs around with the bowls off and the floats installed? Press fits into delicate parts are a Real Bad Idea.

[Jethro]

I use a pair of channel locks, opened to put one jaw on the far post (the post that has the mushroomed head of the float pin), and the other jaw on the end of the float pin itself. I have fabricated a small piece of bar stock that fits perfectly between the two posts, to resist the inward pressure of the posts. A small squeeze on the channel locks and the pin is free.

[Guest]

How tight should these be? On my VM26 carbs they are loose enough that whey will start to slide out on their own if held vertically. I think the sides of the float bowls would keep them from being a problem when installed, but it causes me to wonder. BTW thats a very nice "crude drawing". Ray

[duaneage]

The bowls DO keep them in place, so it is ridiculous to have such a tight fit. They should not move out once he bowls are back on,

[bradleymaynar]

The bowls DO keep them in place, so it is ridiculous to have such a tight fit. They should not move out once he bowls are back on,

I believe this was probably Suzuki's way of making sure you utilized your dealership. (Gotta profit somewhere) However, since they probably didn't foresee these bikes being on the road 20+ years later, it ends up being an owner issue vs. a Certified Suzuki Mechanic issue. Most of the young wrench jockies at the dealership would have barely a clue.

Brad tt