How long to clean carbs?

[Anonymous]

Well, there's obviously something gunking up the float valves in my GS1100GL's carbs. I have taken the following steps:

1. Berryman's B-12 Chemtool, mixed 1oz/1gal, run through for 10 minutes, sit for 30, run for 10.
2. Open drain screws, put petcock on prime to flush.
3. Drain carbs, spray half a bottle of Gumout aerosol down the fuel line, drip dry, fill, drain, and refill.
4. Open drain screws, spray Gumout aerosol up the drain.
5. Yamaha carb cleaner, mixed 1:3 with gas, let sit in bowls for an hour, drain, flush.
6. Open drain screws, apply Shop-Vac to fuel line in an attempt to dislodge foreign matter.
7. Remove bowl on worst offender (#4), spray all around float valve with Gumout aerosol.

After all that, it still dumps gas in the airbox when I run it. (The petcock works perfectly, just so's y'all know.)

It runs great until the filter saturates with gas, so I know that the carbs are otherwise pretty clean. So at this point, I've resigned myself to pulling the rack and attacking things from the float bowl side.

So I really have two questions:

1. Is there any problem with just cleaning up the bowl side of things instead of doing a full clean & rebuild? I'm not planning on splitting them or anything like that.

2. How long should I expect this to take? I work a little on the slow side, especially on unfamiliar stuff like this. Is this something I can accomplish in an afternoon?

Thanks!

D

[chuckycheese]

WOW

WOW !!! I've never heard of doing any of those things. From my own experience, I think you're gonna have to pull the carbs and go through the program (disassemble them, soak them in carb dip, change the O-rings, etc.). Don't be concerned that you're new at this or that you'll be slow...just take your time and you'll find it fun and rewarding.

There's a bunch of really experienced guys on this sight that will help you out every step of the way. After you get the job done right, your bike will run great and you'll feel like a million bucks!

A couple of tips:
Be careful removing the float bowl gaskets..they're expensive and, if you're careful, you can re-use them without a leakage problem.

Don't force anything...if the carbs haven't been cleaned in a long time, you may need to take extra care in getting things apart. Taking your time will pay dividends in the long run and you'll end up with carbs that are as good as new.

Don't forget to pull the needle valves..that can be overlooked and you don't want to put them in carb dip because of the O- rings. 8O

When you re-install the diaphram covers, put them on and gently rotate them back and forth a 1/4 inch or so...if you do, they will seat properly.

After you pull them from the carb dip, rinse them thoroughly and run them through your dishwasher. CAUTION: Don't do this when your wife is home...it's just too dangerous. :roll:

On my model ('80 GS750L), the hardest part is getting them off and on. Don't get discouraged and don't get impatient....they'll go back on. :x

When you get it all put back in place, you'll be flying down the road....praising yourself for a job well-done. AND.....it will be twice as easy next time.

[SqDancerLynn1]

Time to remove the carbs Remove the floats. remove the neadle and seat assembly. Clean the parts, check the needle tip for wear and replace the O ring on the seat assembly, if you don't do this they will still leak. Reassemble and adj the floats and recheck for leaks. If any of the carbs are still leaking, replace the needle & seat

[Anonymous]

Re: How long to clean carbs?

After all that, it still dumps gas in the airbox when I run it. (The petcock works perfectly, just so's y'all know.)

I know you said it works perfectly, but not knowing your experience with these hellish devices that have troubled so many GS owners, did you try this test of the petcock?
Thoroughly pinch off the vacuum hose between the petcock and the intake runner (specialty small-hose pinchers used for diagnostic procedures cost about $3 at good auto/tool shops). Take the bike for a ride with the petcock on "pri". Better? Don't forget to turn the petcock from "pri" back to "on" after your test is complete.

I just want to ensure that you realize that there are a number of different goofy symptoms that can result from a faulty petcock. One of those problems has a running engine sucking raw fuel into the engine through the vacuum line (that should otherwise be dry). No amount of fiddling with the carbs will solve that problem.
When I had my faulty petcock problem, the bike ran well until I got out on the road. Then, with the higher engine vacuum present when operating above idle, the cylinder where the vacuum line ran would flood, and the engine run badly or stall. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Carb Clean? I've done it twice.

The first time I tried it the way you described. The second time I did the real job. Tore them apart. Replaced the O rings. (There's a guy on this site will sell you the whole kit for $12). And synched them. I spent an hour on each carb and did one a day. It's easy and it's worth the time.

[Anonymous]

Re: How long to clean carbs?

I know you said it works perfectly, but not knowing your experience with these hellish devices that have troubled so many GS owners, did you try this test of the petcock?

I haven't done that test, but I am familiar with the petcock problems; the '85 GS700E I rode way back when had the diaphragm bust just like you describe, causing #2 to run way rich on the road.

In this case, the petcock is working fine with the engine off and at idle, and I'm concentrating on solving my carb problems. Once that's all taken care of, I'll do the test you describe.

After all, I can't even take it for a ride at the moment.

D

[Anonymous]

replace the O ring on the seat assembly, if you don't do this they will still leak.

Does anyone happen to know what size O ring I would need? The bike is an '82 GS1100GL.

D

[Anonymous]

replace the O ring on the seat assembly, if you don't do this they will still leak.

Does anyone happen to know what size O ring I would need? The bike is an '82 GS1100GL.

D

Robert Barr is the fellow who sells the O-ring sets. Do a search on the forums and you should come up with his e-mail address. $12 for a complete set (includes all the many O-rings) including postage when I got mine. Much easier than running around trying to find the various sizes you need.

[focus frenzy]

Re: How long to clean carbs?

6. Open drain screws, apply Shop-Vac to fuel line in an attempt to dislodge foreign matter.

that is a very dangerous thing to do!!! shop vacs are not designed to vacume flamable liquids/vapors, they use brush type motors and there is sparking involved when useing them, not good around gas vapors!

[Anonymous]

Robert Barr is the fellow who sells the O-ring sets. Do a search on the forums and you should come up with his e-mail address. $12 for a complete set (includes all the many O-rings) including postage when I got mine. Much easier than running around trying to find the various sizes you need.

I'll keep that in mind for my winter carb rebuild project. I'm not doing a full cleaning now, just taking care of the leaky needle valves. I found another thread that gives a part number for an O-Tite brand ring (64010) that should fit.

D

[chuckycheese]

O-Rings

I was the one that left the post suggesting O-Tite 64010. They are easy to find at most auto parts stores and work perfectly. I tried several sizes that were close but 64010 is THE ONE!!

[Anonymous]

Followup

Okay, here's the followup. There's good news...and bad news. Of course.

I pulled the carbs (took 10 minutes the first time...y'all had me scared stiff it would take hours to worry them loose!). Removed the float bowls, disassembled the needle valves, and cleaned it all up with the Gumout aerosol. While I was at it, I removed and cleaned the main jets and ran a very thin copper wire up through the little fuel pickup line (what's that called?)

Things seemed pretty gummy; there was about a 1/8" buildup at the bottom of each float bowl.

Reassembled (with new o-rings on the needle valve body) and reinstalled. The good news: the bowls no longer overflow. The bad news: it was only running before because of the super-rich mixture provided by the overflowing bowls, and it won't really run anymore. :? Removed and re-cleaned the jets I could get to; it didn't help much. I can get it to run intermittently with full throttle, but I can't find a pattern.

All in all, I spent 5-6 hours on it. The first cleanup, from removal to reinstall, took about 3 hours. Told ya I'm slow.

So that's my theory. In any case, it's pretty clear I'm going to have to totally rebuild the carbs, instead of half-assing it like this. So I've got an email out to Mr. Barr for the o-ring kit, and I've already got the big ol' can of dip.

(Dip that dissolves stuff. Anybody remember Who Framed Roger Rabbit?)

Thanks for all your help, folks. I'll let you know how my adventure goes.

D

[Anonymous]

deafen: You should update your profile so we know what city you live in. You can never tell if there's a really tech-savvy forum user living next door, or someone who can make a referral to a helpful (independently wealthy) mechanic.