carb cleanin time

[redbone]

o.k., so iv'e come to the conclusion that the carbs need to be cleaned [will run fine on full and half choke, but not on no choke].
i truly dread this cause i've got no clue. altho i just read the article on this site by maans smit and may try it [actually i have no choice] anyway...my biggest fear would be puttin them back in sync when done. so basically my questions are like so.
1. has anyone else tried maans smits directions and how did it fair out?
2. if i just dismantle and clean, do i have to resync the carbs?
any info appreciated
redbone

[psycoreefer]

Anytime you take the carbs apart you should synch. Its not that hard, just pay attention to how things come apart and put them back the same way. If you get lost or/and have questions come back and ask. Lots of knowledge. I used to be afraid of carbs but I'm not anymore. If you put up your general location (nothing specific but like nearest large city) maybe another xs'er near you would be able to help you out the first time. Most seem willing to help for the price of some refreshments. Good luck!

[jjwaller]

Cleaning is'nt that hard.
First you don't need to seperate them.
Second, remove one float bowl. Now you can see most of what needs to be cleaned.
Start with the main and pilot jets and float valves. Careful with removing float pins.
Do a search on doing this so you don't break any float posts.
Now remove emulsion tubes and clean them. With spray cleaner and compressed air, make sure the low speed ports are clean. Hint, they are three tiny holes in the top of the engine side of the carbs.
Remove idle mixture screws and clean passage and port. CAUTION!! When reinstalling and setting to 1 1/2 turns do not turn them in too tight, They will break.
Put it all back together and do the next one.
Syncing is easy, Bench syncying is setting the butterflies with a small drill bit or twist tie so they are open the same amount. You shouldn't affect the current setting by cleaning the carbs. However, a carbtune is the way to go for the best results.

Have fun

John

[tarzan]

You might want to take one apart at time so you don't mix parts between carbs.Also if you forget how something goes,you will have a reference.Use screw drivers that are in good shape to remove jets ,seat,and pilot screw,that way you wont ruin the heads,it also is important to use the right size screwdrivers.I know sometimes it looks like a smaller size will work,but it seems like about half the time I try to get away with that I screw up a fastener.To me its easier to spend a few bucks top avoid the hassle. And then make sure you get the insde of the carbs clean,especially the passages.Oh and you should not try to remove the throttle plates thay have screws that were peened a little at the factory so they don't vibrate out,so if you dont have to take them out I wouldn't. One other thing, you dont want to soak the whole carb in cleaner because there are rubber seals on the throttle plate rods.I just did a set last weekend and I just hung the carbs in on a piece of wire so that part of the carb is out of
the cleanerlet em soak for a little bit then finished the job with a toothbrush and a can of carb cleaner.Also a lot of guys dont soak em at all,they just use a can of cleaner and the toothbrush and that works fine too.Well I hope I didn't confuse you .Good luck wth those carbs.A job well done here will save a lot of grief.




Oops I guess I'm a liitle slow,oh well

[CarolynS]

It's not hard

I did mine. I've done one at a time before-Solex for VW-this was alot and a little scary.
These carbs are easy. Bench test them to make sure they don't leak. Make sure your floats are all the same height-no deviations. You can do this. I did.
You'll be all set. If you run into trouble, come back here and ask a question. You'll have plenty of help.
Good luck.

[zookey]

Speaking of cleaning carbs........... after cleaning carbs it appears that one plug is fouling out......... could this be due to the carbs NOT being in sinc?

I read here also that you suggest a CarbTune....... any idea where to buy one in the US? All I find online are from overseas and I don't know what conversion rates are for a US cost.

By the way the carbs were cleaned on a XS750 Special that is haveing the fouling plug issue. He is in the process of cleaning carbs on the 1100. Hoping to catch any problems before finishing it up and finding out we should have done something differently.

Thanks for all your help guys!

[fredintoon]

Hi Redbone,
what they all said. In addition get a cheap set of screwdrivers and custom grind their blade ends so that they are an EXACT fit in one of the jet slots. Those brass jets are softer than sh1t and their slots will crater out at the least hint of a sloppy screwdriver fit.

[CarolynS]

Very true...

Screwdrivers are a must, Fred's right. They have to be just so. I bought a set of precision ones. Glad I did. That, and take a paper clip or some other kind of wire and make a little hook out of it to fish out the O-rings. So much easier... There's no other way to get the little bast@^ds out! AaaRrrGggHhh! Don't forget those O-rings, they do hide on you. They are there, believe me.
If I didn't have the people here, I would've never had the courage to do it.
Good luck.

[Bigfoot]

It took me quite awhile before I got the courace up to tear into them myself. I did not want to shell out the $400 bucks that I was quoted to have them done. I figured that worst case is that I would screw it up and then have to pay the $400 anyway. After I did it, it really wasn't that bad and I am glad I did it myself.

[DJinNH]

My problem right now with my SH's carbs....every single screw on the brackets that hold the four carbs together is frozen. I don't want to strip the heads and I have soaked them with WD-40....still no luck.

I guess I will try an impact tool and see if that does the trick.

I have my SG carbs in the Yamaha shop letting them do the work on the first bike but thought I might try it on my own with the SH after reading the forums here. The shop told me my carbs were pretty trashed from never being cleaned but nothing that couldn't be cleaned up and running.

The screws that are frozen, I don't see any corrosion, they simply won't budge....not a single one. The same goes for the screws on the caps on top of the carbs.

Don

[CarolynS]

Frozen screws...okay that sounded wrong.

Instead of WD-40-which I think is crappy-JMO-try using the PB 'Penetrating Blast' or Liquid Wrench. I don't know why you want to remove them from their bracket, but it's up to you.
I had the same problem with the caps on mine. Used Liquid Wrench-liberally, sprayed at intervals and allowed to soak, and vise-grips attached to the screwdriver-use a screwdriver with flat spots near the handle; you know the ones I mean- so I could get leverage. Must be my Portugese fisherman heritage-and it certainly got a couple of chuckles-but I kneeled on the ground with them between my knees-can't use a vise(don't have one and it would tear them up)and put all I had to break them loose on the end of the screwdriver. That, and a couple of whacks on the end of said screwdriver to 'shock' them.
Took a couple of tries, but managed to get them out with minor stripping of the screws. When I put them back, I didn't crank them down overly hard. And on my list of winter items is torx or allen screws to replace them with.

[bikerphil]

carb separation

Don't separate the carbs unless absolutely necessary. They can be properly cleaned and adjusted without doing so.

[DiverRay]

Don,
I've just been through that on a set of carbs. The screws are put in from the factory with LOCKTITE . When I tried to pull them, I had to cut the heads off of five out of eight screws! I WAS able to pull four of the five, so I have all but one new screw holding the carbs together.
You do NOT want to take the bodies off the rack unless you have no choice. I didn't, so I've paid the price.