any advice on getting carbs back into rubber boots

[aosmith]

on intake manifold side not air box.

[ErnieGS1100EZ]

Use dish washing liquid on the rubber. It makes the carbs or anything else slide in alot easier.

[aosmith]

shouldn't i be worried about that getting sucked into the intake manifold? its inches and down a slope

[DimitriT]

I use a light wipe general purpose grease.

The trick is to get the bottom lip in and then rotate the whole
set upward. They should pop right in. Make sure you hook up the
throttle before you rotate them.

[SqDancerLynn1]

IF you grease them Use ONLY silicon grease. Conventional grease will deform the rubber. If it is that hard to get them in ? Have you considered replacing the boots ?. Use some silicon spray lube, & a 2x2 for leverage

[MelodicMetalGod]

I've seen WD-40 recommended for this task many times in this forum.

[LeeGS550E]

I had to get a rack of BS carbs back in the other night...a bit harder than the two carb setups, it seems. I ended up using a couple of slider wood clamps. Was able to put one end of the clamp on outside lip of outside carb, and the other end of the clamp on the 'valley' portion of the head where the outside spark plug goes. Opposite side I put a clamp in the same spot. Tightened 'em down progressively, and the carbs slipped right in. I use simple green as a lube. When trying to push them in by hand, I found that I'd push one side in, and it would pull out when I went to push the other side in. The clamps prevented that from happening.

[tconroy]

You just tilt the carbs forward and work them slowly over the bootsthen just push back on the carbs and down to get them in there.If you take your time it will fall right into place.Once you do it correctly it is easy.

[RacingJake]

A little wheel bearing grease and a hair dryer worked for me when I was stuffing some over size carbs on.

[Schweisshund]

KY Jelly :-D:-D:-D

[renobruce]

KY Jelly :-D:-D:-D

Yup. And paint the lip and the inside of the boots pink... they'll fall right in! 8-[

[Killer2600]

Yup. And paint the lip and the inside of the boots pink... they'll fall right in! 8-[

A little foreplay will get the boots all wet and it'll slide right in without KY \\/

[argonsagas]

When doing it with cold parts, and cold hands, it is doubly difficult to do.

Silicone spray is definitely the best lubricant to us , but it does not guarantee an easy job. I spray the boots and the carb edges.

I tried the wood clamp trick, but the clamps kept shifting, and then falling away.

I tried a variety of ways, but finally decided on a piece of 1 x 3 held firmly across the carb faces and a 2 1/2 pound club hammer.

With the carbs positioned correctly, and pressed firmly against the boots, a couple of persuasions at each end is all it takes. (It helps if you are familiar with using this type of hammer....I have done a lot of stone work)
No. I am not kidding.
No, there not been any trace of damage

[chef1366]

Fvck the airbox. Get pods. :-D\\/

[bimmerboy750]

How about Hylomar? It's available at Advance Auto. My old BMW manual called for it on many engine gasket part assemblies (water pump, valve cover, etc.). It's a non-curing gasketing material that is basically always greasy and has some sealing properties (that could maybe help with some tiny vacuum issues). I haven't tried it for carb boots yet, but the thought had crossed my mind.

Rick
81 GS550TX