Carb cleaning

[Anonymous]

I rebuild my carbs this winter and in this matter I wonder if someone have a good idea of the best stuff to clean the carbs in.
(stuff that not kills O-rings and seals )

KnutK

[Anonymous]

Re: Carb cleaning

I rebuild my carbs this winter and in this matter I wonder if someone have a good idea of the best stuff to clean the carbs in.
(stuff that not kills O-rings and seals )

KnutK

Use gas treatment not carb cleaner. Run the treatement through a few tanks of gas and please repost this in the technical q and a section. You will get lots more responses

[arveejay]

There is a product called Sea Foam. You just add it to the gas and ride. It does a great job but for severe cases you need to disassemble carbs and really clean them up.

[Anonymous]

Lazy but effective carb cleaning

I tried Sea Foam in my car, boat and bike after having heard several good reports about it. I was impressed with it. For really stubborn varnish deposits I read that Yamaha makes a really good cleaner that you mix with gas and fill the carb bowls with and let soak for awhile. Instead of running it through the engine with your gas like other treatments though, you drain this stuff out before refilling with fresh gas. I bought a bottle of this stuff at the Yam dealer and will be trying it out soon. I hope its as good as I've heard because I don't want to hassle rebuilding the carbs if I can avoid it.

[lberkhei]

tried Sea Foam in my car, boat and bike after having heard several good reports about it. I was impressed with it.

I read that Yamaha makes a really good cleaner that you mix with gas and fill the carb bowls with and let soak for awhile. Instead of running it through the engine with your gas like other treatments though, you drain this stuff out before refilling with fresh gas. I bought a bottle of this stuff at the Yam dealer and will be trying it out soon.

Is Sea Foam typically available at auto parts stores? And what's the exact name, product number, or other identifier for the Yamaha cleaner?

Please let us know how it works! Thanks!

[Anonymous]

I used the yamaha stuff.

I used the yamaha stuff when I dipped my carbs. It worked really well. Im sure it will work almost as good while the carbs are on the bike. I just wanted to be sure mine were clean.

[arveejay]

I've had real good luck also. I don't know if a spark could ignite it or not. The fireman claimed it had happened before and some kind of law suit or something was in the works. When I work on bikes I always forget to put out my smokes and was probably smoking when I did my tanks. Makes me wonder if I've been extremely lucky or if he screwed something up, probably the latter.

[arveejay]

Well let me know for sure how it works for you. I'm lazy and I want the product that will leave me with less to do myself. I tell you, I found an excellent carb cleaner in an aerosol that really cleans them up once you get them tore down. It's called Berrymans. It is a little more cost, will eat rubber and about everything else including your skin so you really gotta be careful. It's the best I ever used.

[Anonymous]

Yamaha carb cleaner

I'm not sure of the exact name on the container. I don't have it with me right now to look at. But, I'm pretty confident that the label just says carb cleaner. Its a black plastic bottle with red lettering and if I recall, a red horizontal stripe running around it. Its definitely a Yamaha product. The instructions explain how to mix it with gas, pour into carbs, let soak and then drain float bowls. I thought I read a complete description of how to use it on this board but I guess it was on the SV650 tips board that I spend tiem at too. If I locate the posting, I'll post a link to it.
As to Sea Foam, I have bought it at both NAPA and a local parts jobber. Advance and Auto Zone do not carry it.
I have tried Berrymans also and was impressed at the way it cuts through crud and varnish. I've used it for blasting out passageways while rebuilding carbs and it worked great. None the less, I have high hopes for the Yamaha cleaner because I do not want to remove and disassemble the carbs.
On another note, I was told the Sea Foam makes a rust breaker for loosening up frozen bolts that is even better than PB Blaster. Personally, I can't imagine any product being better than PB Blaster but the counterman claimed he watched a side by side comparison of the two and was blown away by the Sea Foam product. Just an FWIW.

[Anonymous]

I am mister penney pincher

This is a good question I have been waiting to answer. I just recently dipped my carbs (the full shebang) At first i called around to get the best price on a dip bucket (Chemdip {$30 or more depending on were you live, i live in vegas so its a little expensive) cause you know I am a real bargin buyer and I dont like spending more for a chemical than I did on my carbs. So I did a little thrift searching and came to this conclusion. I went to Lowes our version of homedepot and bought a chemical called M.E.K its right next to the Acetone and mineral spirits. This is a pretty mean chemical but doesnt evaporate as fast as Acetone. Roughly $7 and then i bought a empty paint bucket $2. I put the chemical into the bucket and sealed it up nice ( this chemical smells really bad so dont huff it or you will clean more than your carbs) (Now being i am a really cheap person when it comes to this stuff, I went to my pops house (he is the tool man) and i spent the entire day I would dip each carb for around 2 to 3 hours (GS 1100), I cant express the importance on making sure you dont put any rubber or plastic materials into this chemical. I would use a soda can that i cut in half and poked small holes into and i put the jets and screws and other small items in it (the can had a wire handle attached to it so i could get it out without cleaning the skin off my hands) after i pulled out the dipped parts i used the air compressor and blew out the holes and my eardrums. I also used a small can of carb cleaning spray for extra rust and grime fighting. After subjecting my body to the worste chemicals man could make I put my carbs back together and needless to say my bike runs like a miracle (after synchronizing the carbs and all the other neccesary stuff.) I dont belive in spending your life saving on cleaning parts becuase you will need that money to replace the things when they finally break, and by the way what was suzuki thinking by not putting a real gas filter on the bike, now dont get me wrong i love my bike but that was a bad move by the company, anyways i suggest if you dont have one on the bike you do like someone on this forum told me and put an inline filter to save you the trouble or cleaning the carbs again later. Well that is my story and i am sticking to it. And if you read all this then you uderstand the importance of an american dollar.