Grease for carbs?

[zodeo]

OK, with all the great knowledge of this wonderful group I have started the process of my first carb removal and deep clean on my 79 GS550. So far so good, I am following the " VM carb rebuild" posted under "in the garage" very closely.
My question: What kind of Grease do I use on the Slide Assembly? Can't seem to find just High Temp Synthetic Grease at the auto parts store.
And the High Temp Bearing Grease for the head boots, is that just wheel bearing grease?
This is my first motorcycle and want to do it right the first time So I can spend a little more time riding and less wrenching.

You people ROCK.:-D

[Steve]

You want to do it right?

KEEP THE GREASE ON THE SHELF. :shock:

Sorry, I don't mean to shout, just wanted to be sure I had your attention. 8-[

There is no lubrication necessary in the slides. I have seen some used in the pivots for the throttle arm, but that's about it.

Look at it this way...you are working with gas there, and any lubrication will soon be dissolved.


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[argonsagas]

Steve said it all.

The diaphragms would seem to need a bit of grease, but, being neoprene they do not absorb it. A shot of silicone spray is enough.

[zodeo]

Sorry Maybe I was being unclear or was reading things wrong. I thought that a bead of grease on the o-rings for the carb/cylinder head boots was the norm. And for the slide I was refering to pivots on the slide assembly, is this incorrect? I was just following the instructions posted on the carb rebuild section. Is there incorrect information on that tutorial? should I be scared?

[Steve]

Sorry about the mis-understanding, but your original question was:

My question: What kind of Grease do I use on the Slide Assembly?

I don't remember what I used when I replaced my o-rings in the intake tubes, but I seem to remember that it was more to hold the o-rings in place while assembling them than it was to provide any lubrication.

And for the slide I was refering to pivots on the slide assembly, is this incorrect?

Well, since the slides do move, I thought you were wanting to make sure they slid smoothly in their bores. A dab of white lithium on the pivots will work well. Should not be much gas up in that area, so should last for quite a while. You don't need anything at all on the slides in the bores.


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[robertbarr]

There's no instruction there to grease the slides. The pivot points, yes. It doesn't call for (and it shouldn't) lubing the slides at all.

The grease on the intake boot o-ring is simply to hold it in place while you install the boot on the head. When I did mine, the o-rings were just snug enough to hold on to the ID, so no grease at all was necessary.

[zodeo]

Thanks, I will be very careful and frugal with my use of grease in the future. I think I will skip using any grease in the assembly proccess if possible. Maybe just a small dab on the slide arm pivots.
sorry for the misunderstanding I should have been more clear.
thanks

[CA180]

I'm with everyone else... No grease on the slides. I dont use grease on the pivots either. For them i like to use HCF, its a water proof spray. But even there i use it sparingly. As for the o-rings, i use a shot of silicone spray to help ease them back into there holes.

[ptm]

Well, since I wrote the VM carb rebuild doc, I suppose I should comment. Where I suggest using the lube is on the linkage above the slide - see the pic. When I disassembled my carbs, I noticed what appeared to be a bit of grease of some sort in those spots which I thought must be original since I don't think the carbs had been touched before. I asked about it on the forum and earlfor suggested just a small dab of synthetic grease. http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum...ad.php?t=79455 I used some I had left over from working on brakes - it's high temp and not petroleum-based. I don't believe any of the manuals I have (factory, Clymer, Haynes, Chilton) make any mention about it one way or the other.

There shouldn't be any gas in that part of the carb assembly so it shouldn't just wash off or dissolve. I haven't had mine apart again so I have no idea if it's still there. It shouldn't hurt anything and mine have worked flawlessly for several years and many miles.

That said, I'd love to hear other opinions, everything I know about those carbs I learned from this forum and that one experience of doing the rebuild on mine. I mainly wanted to clarify where I suggested the lube be put, and why I suggested it in the first place.