Cheapest Way to clean carbs

[jadesystem]

The cheapest way in my own experience is as follows:

Go to any Home Depot and buy a gallon of paint lacquar thinner for
$10. An empty metal 1-gallon can with a metal dip basket for $2.
And metric O-rings at any industrial O-ring distributor for $1 !!
Depending on your bike model, you will need the transfer tube O-rings
x 4 (8-pc) and accellerator pump O-ring x 4 (4-pc). That's it !!

Yes, I said one dollar and that's it !! Most industrial O-ring places
will probably just give it to you for free rather than write-out an
invoive for nickel and dime items. You can re-use the bowl gaskets
if they are not torn or mangled.

[themess]

I've been taking bikes apart for nearly 25 years. I have no intention of misleading anyone with half-baked ideas. We're here to help each other, not throw our dicks around.

As a noobie, you're still getting used to normal GSR give-and-take. We debate here, and do so with no moderator. Stand up for your opinions and announce your experiences, and fess up to errors when you make them (as you do!). As long as it stays on the level we have here, everything will be fine.

For dick-throwing, see the Off-Topic discussion forums. Or don't. Sometimes those get vicious.

Nice having you here!

[loungeguy69]

As a noobie, you're still getting used to normal GSR give-and-take. We debate here, and do so with no moderator. Stand up for your opinions and announce your experiences, and fess up to errors when you make them (as you do!). As long as it stays on the level we have here, everything will be fine.

For dick-throwing, see the Off-Topic discussion forums. Or don't. Sometimes those get vicious.

Nice having you here!

I'm not a 'noobie'. I've been on the forums for years. My login lapsed because I was serving in Afgahnistan and Djibouti. In fact it looks like I've been the GSR longer than you have.

And you've made mistakes too. I appologized for mine regarding the lye in dishwasher soap. I guess you're not man enough to be so gracious.

[BassCliff]

Hi Mr. loungeguy69,

Thank you for your service and for your sacrifice. I give thanks to God that you are home safely. And thank you for re-joining the forum.



Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[loungeguy69]

Thank you Basscliff. I'm really really glad to home with my family again. It's hard to understand how much you can miss just the simple things in life but I'm just glad to be with my girls and [occasionally] work on my bike.

I wish everyone could appreciate and love what they have and not worry so much about what they don't have.

[themess]

I'm not a 'noobie'. I've been on the forums for years. My login lapsed because I was serving in Afgahnistan and Djibouti. In fact it looks like I've been the GSR longer than you have.

And you've made mistakes too. I appologized for mine regarding the lye in dishwasher soap. I guess you're not man enough to be so gracious.

I've only been here three years. Yes, I make mistakes, and I admit them when I find that I've made them.

[emeraldcoupe]

$18 for a bucket of GUNK carb dip, $17.50 for the O rings and intake O rings from cycleorings. i just did mine and they came out like new. don't know how to get cheaper than $35.50 . i soaked each naked carb body for 24hrs.

[loungeguy69]

Lots of good ideas and opinions here. I think everyone should try what they think will work and/or what they can afford. My years with the Seabees taught me the 'Can Do' approach, using innovation when usual tools and supplies aren't available. Hence my proclivity for thinking outside the box.

Let me apologize to anyone in this thread if I've sounded harsh, especially TheMess. Still got the fight in me I guess.

[GavinJuice]

Does anyone have any concerns with the throttle shaft seals when dipping carbs? That is the only remaining rubber part left on the carbs people don't remove. I've dipped a couple with no problems, but i always wonder how well they fair after it's all said and done. I did manage to replace the outer 4, but the inners require removing the throttle plates which are a SOB.

Thanks ~Gavin

[emeraldcoupe]

Does anyone have any concerns with the throttle shaft seals when dipping carbs? That is the only remaining rubber part left on the carbs people don't remove. I've dipped a couple with no problems, but i always wonder how well they fair after it's all said and done. I did manage to replace the outer 4, but the inners require removing the throttle plates which are a SOB.

Thanks ~Gavin

that's all i left on mine. no issues yet.

[GQROD]

I chem dipped my carbs with the throttle shafts on, and have not had any extra play in the shafts but is it possible that air could leak from the shafts and cause a high idle/lean condition?

Not to jack the thread but i was wondering if anyone had this issue?

Thanks

[snarl]

I like simplegreen and a bucket.

[RageZro]

In another life I used to have to work a lot with different o-ring mfg's and types, don't get too hung up on where you get them as they're mfg'ds mostly off shore now. If you can get them try to get Parker o-rings as they are the most checked to spec IMHO. If not Parker then look for a molding seam on the o-ring, if there is any sign of one then it's cheap junk. Most times you don't see the durometer listed but if you can be sure it's under 70. If the surface is less than perfect then try as low as 45. OEM's don't shop for the best they shop the cheapest that promises to be the best.

Buna-N is a better choice over fluorocarbon (FPM) materials unless the engineer engineered the components for FPM or you know for a fact you can compensate for the variance because FPM has an uncontrollable shrink rate in the molding process. That means it is acceptable for FPM to be undersized or oversized compared to Buna-N o-rings and seals. Both are equally good in petroleum. The tolerances are opened up for them which might not work as well in your application. O-rings are to be compressed by 20% of their cross section, that is why putting an o-ring in that has a larger cross section but "fits" in place of the proper sized one rarely works. It will pucker and leak, too small of one will weep or extrude under pressure.

Are you asleep yet? Try going to O-ring and seal school for a week, it'll cure insomnia!

[rpickle]

I boiled my carbs after stripping the bodies completely. Used distilled water and lemon juice. Boiled each body ~ 15 minutes. I am really pleased with the results. I had a gallon of Berrymans that I used on several other occasions, this procedure worked better.

My 2 cents.

Rick

[themess]

In another life I used to have to work a lot with different o-ring mfg's and types, don't get too hung up on where you get them as they're mfg'ds mostly off shore now. If you can get them try to get Parker o-rings as they are the most checked to spec IMHO. If not Parker then look for a molding seam on the o-ring, if there is any sign of one then it's cheap junk. Most times you don't see the durometer listed but if you can be sure it's under 70. If the surface is less than perfect then try as low as 45. OEM's don't shop for the best they shop the cheapest that promises to be the best.

Buna-N is a better choice over fluorocarbon (FPM) materials unless the engineer engineered the components for FPM or you know for a fact you can compensate for the variance because FPM has an uncontrollable shrink rate in the molding process. That means it is acceptable for FPM to be undersized or oversized compared to Buna-N o-rings and seals. Both are equally good in petroleum. The tolerances are opened up for them which might not work as well in your application. O-rings are to be compressed by 20% of their cross section, that is why putting an o-ring in that has a larger cross section but "fits" in place of the proper sized one rarely works. It will pucker and leak, too small of one will weep or extrude under pressure.

Are you asleep yet? Try going to O-ring and seal school for a week, it'll cure insomnia!

Your general statement that "Buna-N is a better choice over fluorocarbon (FPM) materials unless the engineer engineered the components for FPM" is simplistic to the point of being inaccurate in many circumstances. Both are families of polymers, not individual types. Rubber compounding has many variables, which have a huge effect on performance. As a rough guide, both types resist most petroleum products. Nitrile usually has better physical properties and costs less. Fluoro has much better temperature resistance, but when the temperature doesn't go out of nitrile's range, fluoro is usually not better.

Mold shrinkage on fluoro is quite predictable, if you know how to run your factory properly. I know something about this: I was Technical Director at the factory that was the world's biggest consumer of fluoroelastomers. But we also used far more nitrile than fluoro.

As far as OEMs, it all depends on the OEM. Some buy cheap and rely on what the supplier tells them. When I was in that industry, Ford required exhaustive testing and control plans. They audited our factory to be sure that we followed the plans. I audited suppliers' factories to be sure that they followed their plans. But few companies care that much, and most of those that care can't afford the extensive quality assurance program that Ford had (has?)