Carb Cleanup

[7th day]

Bought a 20 gallon parts washer and based on tips I found on line I filled it with Castrol Super Clean and when I cleaned one of my carbs it turned a dark ugly uneven gray color. Anyone know of a way to restore it?

[BassCliff]

Hi Mr. 7th day,

Berryman's is the preferred dip around here. Let your disassembled carb soak for a few hours (up to 24 if it really needs cleaning).


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[7th day]

Thanks Basscliff. I've used Berrymans but for some dumb reason thought I would try something less caustic.

[KRISTI'SGS550]

is it something that can be polished out with a dremel? I only say a dremel because it has those little attachments that can get into the crevasses, and I don't know anything else that can do this.

[Steve]

... I filled it with Castrol Super Clean and when I cleaned one of my carbs it turned a dark ugly uneven gray color.

... thought I would try something less caustic.

Are you sure it's less caustic? I would think that anything that turned it colors like that would be more damaging. :shock:

Now, with that said, be aware that I have seen (and smelled) two different formulations for Berryman's. The can that I have smells rather sweet, like the inside of a good machine shop. I have smelled two other cans when helping other GSR members, and they smelled like rotten varnish. That formula cleans the carbs as well as mine, it just smells worse.

I have not seen any carbs turn colors when soaked in either formula of Berryman's for up to 24 hours.
In fact, I forgot about one carb here, and it was in for 48 hours with no problems.

.

[chuckycheese]

Formula

Berryman's definitely changed their formula over the last few years. It used to smell really foul but the newer stuff smells reasonably good. I remember about 10 years ago, I could bring a set of carbs into the house after cleaning them and my girlfriend could smell it 3 hours later.

Now, she's my wife and can't tell if I've been working on them in the kitchen even after 30 minutes.\\/ And the new stuff works really well...it's not the California stuff...(I get it out of state).

By the way, I'm totally convinced that soaking them for an hour is just as effective as soaking them overnight. Any thoughts??

[chef1366]

Berryman's definitely changed their formula over the last few years. It used to smell really foul but the newer stuff smells reasonably good. I remember about 10 years ago, I could bring a set of carbs into the house after cleaning them and my girlfriend could smell it 3 hours later.

Now, she's my wife and can't tell if I've been working on them in the kitchen even after 30 minutes.\\/ And the new stuff works really well...it's not the California stuff...(I get it out of state).

By the way, I'm totally convinced that soaking them for an hour is just as effective as soaking them overnight. Any thoughts??

We have the Hippy California extra sh!tty formula. :? I got mine just in time before the change but it's about had it. Anyone from somewhere else want to buy me a can and send it to me?

[TheCafeKid]

Bill get me a list of the ingredients so i can see if my can is different and i would be happy to send you a can from not so environmentally concious Ohio

[chef1366]

Bill get me a list of the ingredients so i can see if my can is different and i would be happy to send you a can from not so environmentally concious Ohio

Okay Dokey! :-D

[rodm850g]

carb cleaning

Guys,
The Castrol is a sodium based solvent in nature,straight or no dilution it is hard on aluminum..... I just pulled the carbs from my old 79 850g to find some noxious rather dark liquids within.....On a chance I used Yamahas carb cleaner,mixed as reccomended and let all the brass bits that were tarnished in a most foul way sit in the bottom of a folgers coffe can{plastic} and every time I would pass by the can I'd give it a swirl.as they reccomemded....and low and behold all the varnish is gone and parts are "shiny" I used a syringe {left over from pet vaccinations} to shoot the product deeply into all crevaces of my 26 vms and left to soak....on top of my bench.....
After a while a bit of compressed air all pasages are open and flowing air well.....I was imressed this stuff left no deposits and only changed color a bit from almost clear....where is all the gunk? I dont know but it opend up stuff long closed by rust and corrosion...needless to say I am impressed.
Rodm850g
p.s.
I have found that a welders tip cleaner is a most handy tool in your box when its time to clean carbs.....
rod

[7th day]

Carb Cleaning

Went out tonight and bought 24lbs. of baking soda, put it in my blast cabinet and used it on the carb and it came out looking about like new. Only real problem with it is it creates so much dust in the cabinet you can't see what you are doing very well.\\/

[Suzuki_Don]

Guys,
The Castrol is a sodium based solvent in nature,straight or no dilution it is hard on aluminum..... I just pulled the carbs from my old 79 850g to find some noxious rather dark liquids within.....On a chance I used Yamahas carb cleaner,mixed as reccomended and let all the brass bits that were tarnished in a most foul way sit in the bottom of a folgers coffe can{plastic} and every time I would pass by the can I'd give it a swirl.as they reccomemded....and low and behold all the varnish is gone and parts are "shiny" I used a syringe {left over from pet vaccinations} to shoot the product deeply into all crevaces of my 26 vms and left to soak....on top of my bench.....
After a while a bit of compressed air all pasages are open and flowing air well.....I was imressed this stuff left no deposits and only changed color a bit from almost clear....where is all the gunk? I dont know but it opend up stuff long closed by rust and corrosion...needless to say I am impressed.
Rodm850g
p.s.
I have found that a welders tip cleaner is a most handy tool in your box when its time to clean carbs.....
rod

I did a similar thing with the Yamaha carb cleaner. I mixed one part of cleaner to one part of water and boiled it on the gas burner so the solution was just rippling on the surface and popped all the bits in, including carb body, jets, etc and left for 35 mins and they all came out like new. I had previously left the carb body in the solution undiluted for over 24 hrs and nothing much happened. The grime was soft on the outside of the carb body and I would wipe it off with my finger, but it did not compare with the result of the boiling example with 1:1 ratio for 1/2 hour or so.
Cheers
Don

[Steve]

By the way, I'm totally convinced that soaking them for an hour is just as effective as soaking them overnight. Any thoughts??

Since you asked for them... 8-[
When we got my wife's 850 about three years ago, I read the directions and dipped each carb for the maximum-recommended 30 minutes because I knew that it had been quite a while since the bike had been run. Put all the carbs back together and got them on the bike (what fun), with no apparent change in the way it ran, which was barely. Took the carbs off and apart again, dipped them for two hours. Put them back on the bike, still no improvement. Took them off again :shock: but dipped them overnight this time. When I got them on the bike, it was like there was a completely different, new, bike there. \\/

I have since done several sets of carbs. If they look rather clean, I might settle for a couple hours for each carb, but if there is any question at all about their cleanliness, they go overnight the first time. I have had no problems with this adopted policy.

Oh, and my can of "dip" is the sweet-smelling stuff, not the rotten-smelling stuff. I have also had the opportunity to compare the sweet with the rotten, as well as Gunk brand dip (it also smells rotten) with no apparent difference in cleaning.

.