Cleaning carbs...need some input

[Kcwiro]

That's a shame. Who told you to dip them without disassembly?

That is something I would like to know....

[Steve]

That's a shame. Who told you to dip them without disassembly?

That is something I would like to know....

That has already been answered.

Okay ... as for the lugnut who told me to just soak them whole...it was my neighbor, whom loaned me the cleaner, he said that's how he cleans his carbs....

....I truly thought my neighbor knew what he was talking about, as he has had Harley's for 30 plus years.....

I won't comment any further.

.

[hikermikem]

Okay....I removed the four screws from the top of the carbs, removed the spring and then removed the diaphram slide thing.....I then rinsed them very well and set them up to dry.....they look to be okay at this time, no mush or slime that I can see.....and they seem to be pretty solid......so hopefully I got them out in time....I also flipped the carbs over and removed the bowl cover to expose the floats, I removed the two bowl gaskets and rinsed them very well and placed them out to dry....so hopefully they too will be okay

Good work Anita - now the fun begins!! Take your time while you dissassemble the carbs, ask lots of questions here and don't strip any screws !

Removal of the pins holding the floats can be trouble if you're not going about it correctly - breaking one of those posts off is easy if you're not careful.

If you can post some pics of your bike & carbs.

Read & follow the tutorial others have linked here & you will have sparkling clean carbs & will be the envy of your bonehead HD neighbor.

Good luck

[Krooozn]

Well today I went into my carbs and much to my surprise, it seems that the o-rings, gaskets and diaphrams are all still in good shape! I used some spray carb cleaner, a paperclip and compressed air and proceeded to try to clean the ports and such. I was pretty shocked that on a scale of 1 to 10 on the gummed up scale, these carbs were maybe a .5!!!! There was no gummy stuff, no varnish, no trash.....so I was pretty shocked.....I have cleaned everything that I was able to and the insides of the carbs look pretty darn good.....so until I put the carbs back on the bike and get my tank finished, I'll have to wait on hearing the bike run.....but I did want to let you all know that I am in hopes that my little dunking of the carbs hasn't hurt anything....also wanted to say thanx for all the support I got from you all......it really helps when you have people who can offer knowledge when one is in need......

Thanx again! Anita

[Steve]

Well today I went into my carbs ... I used some spray carb cleaner, a paperclip and compressed air ...

Be SUPER CAREFUL with that paper clip. (Why do they call them paper clips when they're made of metal? )

The steel in the 'paper' clip is much harder than the brass in the jets and can scratch the hole to a larger size inadvertently

It is much better to use a single strand of copper from a 14- or 16-gauge wire.
The copper wire strand is softer than the brass jet and will not hurt it.

.

[qwqb]

Even if your o-rings look OK, I think it would still be a good idea to get them replaced with new ones. You can get a new set of them from cycleorings.com for a very reasonable price, and have the peace of mind they that are doing their job correctly!

[82Shafty]

Even if your o-rings look OK, I think it would still be a good idea to get them replaced with new ones. You can get a new set of them from cycleorings.com for a very reasonable price, and have the peace of mind they that are doing their job correctly!

That was my first rookie mistake, assuming that because they looked ok they were ok, when in fact, they weren't. After replacing all of them, then the bike ran correctly.

[Steve]

That was my first rookie mistake, assuming that because they looked ok they were ok, when in fact, they weren't. ...

I know you are talking about o-rings, but the same thing applies to the carbs, themselves. Too many times, people will drop the float bowls, spritz around some carb cleaner until what they see looks clean. Then then pronounce the carbs "clean" and put the bowls back on. Only after doing that for three or four times do they finally come to the realization that what really needs to be cleaned can't be seen. From any angle. Even with good lights. You just have to dip them to soak the crud out of the inside of the carb.

.

[Krooozn]

I think that I will either open the carbs back up, pull out all the pieces and then soak the bodies in the cleaner, or else take it to my local shop and have them clean/rebuild them....it really is more than I think I can do.....but who can say.....I might get brave and try it again.....I was so very careful not to lose any parts, not to run the paperclip into the brass fittings, and clean every single opening that I could find.....but now I am afraid that I haven't done enough...or done it right......anyway......I'll have to try and decide what to do in the next couple days....if I wanted to get a rebuild kit for my carbs, how do I know what carbs I have? They say something like Mikumi or something to that effect on the tops......they look kind of like the ones pictured in the tutorial, but not exactly.....

Sorry for the rambling and the constant questions, but one can't learn if they don't ask.....

Thanx....Anita (I just love these smileys!)

[Theo]

I think that I will either open the carbs back up, pull out all the pieces and then soak the bodies in the cleaner, or else take it to my local shop and have them clean/rebuild them....it really is more than I think I can do.....but who can say.....I might get brave and try it again.....I was so very careful not to lose any parts, not to run the paperclip into the brass fittings, and clean every single opening that I could find.....but now I am afraid that I haven't done enough...or done it right......anyway......I'll have to try and decide what to do in the next couple days....if I wanted to get a rebuild kit for my carbs, how do I know what carbs I have? They say something like Mikumi or something to that effect on the tops......they look kind of like the ones pictured in the tutorial, but not exactly.....

Sorry for the rambling and the constant questions, but one can't learn if they don't ask.....

Thanx....Anita (I just love these smileys!)

You know it's not that bad rebuilding the carbs. Honestly I had no idea what a carb was nor what one looked like until I got this bike. I was very nervous tearing into them but I just followed the rebuild tutorial to a T and it was actually quite painless. Just get an egg carton and put each part you take off in it. Label the spot on the egg carton where you took the part off so you know where it goes when you are putting it back together. Just do one carb at a time so you don't mix anything up and it seems a little less intimidating. Also if you do feel like you are over your head, I hear chef1366 rebuilds carbs.

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?t=148764

He would more than likely do a better job than your local mechanic. Good luck with whatever you decide to do.
-Theo

[82Shafty]

I think that I will either open the carbs back up, pull out all the pieces and then soak the bodies in the cleaner, or else take it to my local shop and have them clean/rebuild them....it really is more than I think I can do.....but who can say.....I might get brave and try it again.....I was so very careful not to lose any parts, not to run the paperclip into the brass fittings, and clean every single opening that I could find.....but now I am afraid that I haven't done enough...or done it right......anyway......I'll have to try and decide what to do in the next couple days....if I wanted to get a rebuild kit for my carbs, how do I know what carbs I have? They say something like Mikumi or something to that effect on the tops......they look kind of like the ones pictured in the tutorial, but not exactly.....

Sorry for the rambling and the constant questions, but one can't learn if they don't ask.....

Thanx....Anita (I just love these smileys!)

Setting carb float height accurately is also very, very important.

[hikermikem]

Take a bunch of pics showing all the carb details before & while you tear them down... kinda like a visual back-up plan. Best to maintain all the inards specific to each carb body.

I usually take a lot of pics while the rack is still hooked up on the bike to document where/which/how the throttle & choke cables are attached. Remember how the clutch cable is routed too.

Get an carb o-ring rebuild kit from Robert at http://www.cycleorings.com/ get new manifold intake inlet o-rings too.

Pick up some new OEM float bowl gaskets & rubber plugs, along with a new bucket of carb dip (available at most auto stores) & several cans of carb cleaner spray. Ready to go!!

[Steve]

... Just get an egg carton and put each part you take off in it. Label the spot on the egg carton where you took the part off so you know where it goes when you are putting it back together. ...

All good information, but you might find that the egg carton "holes" are a bit small. I use disposable muffin tins.

You can get a 2-pack of 6-mufin tins at your local grocery store for a few bucks or go to a dollar store and get the same thing for ... well ... a dollar.



.

[tejasmud]

Forgot to put your slides back in the carburetors using muffin tins, or so it seems.

[Steve]

Forgot to put your slides back in the carburetors using muffin tins, or so it seems.

Nah, just a happy coincidence in timing. I was in the middle of rebuilding another set of carbs when somebody posted, requesting something about a complete rack of carbs. I moved the stripped-down carb bodies from the foreground, set the rack down and did not bother to empty the tins.

.