Ultrasonic Cleaner Pictures

[Rettic]

So I finally found some time to tear down the carbs on my 79 Special. I bought an ultrasonic cleaner from Harbor Freight about a month ago to do this. I found information on here to use Simple Green, water and dish soap. I have to say this combination worked wonders.

I tore the carbs all the way down and did a quick rinse and run over with a wire brush and carb cleaner to get heavy amounts of grunge off. I then ran the internal parts on 3 cycles (8 min each) and then the carb body 4 cycles because the entire carb body could not submerge, so I ran it twice on each side. I of course used the water heating function of the cleaner. After the cycles were done I rinsed all the parts in warm water to ensure the side affects of SG that I read about would not happen (corrosion).

Before:


During: (The steam adds a cool effect!!)


After:



I am taking my time to get these babies clean as possible so it is taking a while. I have got 2 done. I found what may be my issue with top end power loss, the slides were not sliding very well. I wet sanded the slides and the slide shaft with 400 then 800 grit sandpaper, now they fall like they are supposed to.

Here is what I love about this method, my hands don't get eaten up by carb cleaner and I don't smell like it for days afterwards. My wife is happy about that part.

More pictures of the carbs before and after here: http://picasaweb.google.com/CB56330/...eat=directlink

[CatatonicBug]

Not too bad! If only we could just dunk the whole bike like that!

[XJOK2PLAY]

Hey Rettic,

What size / model Ultrasonic did you get?

I noticed they had a couple of different sizes...


Man, the outsides sure cleaned up nicely!

[Rettic]

2.5 Liter

Hey Rettic,

What size / model Ultrasonic did you get?

I noticed they had a couple of different sizes...


Man, the outsides sure cleaned up nicely!

It is this one . Hey look, it is still on sale! Print off the online ad and take it in for the same price in the store.

[Larrym]

Cool before + after result pics.

One of these days I'd like to find out what happens when something like this goes through the ultra-sonic cleaner:



Will the J-B Weld hold up or not??

Next time I clean any carbs at all, I'll dunk this in the carb cleaner and post the results.

[Cobia]

Warning!!!!! About simple green!!!!!

On 1-30-10 Crazy Steve posted a warning about Simple Green that you all should know about. IT IS DAMAGING TO ALUMINUM!!!

http://www.xs11.com/forum/showthread...t=simple+green


Don't remember if there's a way of neutralizing it. I once used a product that cleaned like gangbusters but it had to be neutralized with vinegar after it did its job.
Just beware because I cleaned my carbs with this stuff and it kept corroding my aluminum cab bodies (I didn't read the instructions all the way through to where it mentioed the vinegar step). They kept getting powdery, I had to take them back out, neutralize the effect, and re-clean with regular carb cleaner.
Good luck!!

[81xsproject]

This Simple Green thing is getting out of control. Don't leave your carbs in it for a week, and rinse them off well afterward. It doesn't hurt a damn thing.

I once tried soaking a grab bar in NaOH. It removes aluminum oxide. However, the water also cause the aluminum to oxidize. So, after soaking overnight it had destroyed the grab bar. This is USER error. This Simple Green ordeal is the same scenario. It is just like when folks blame their computer for screwing things up. 99.9% of the time it is USER error. It's not Simple Green's fault someone used it incorrectly. I have been USC'ing carbs in it for YEARS with nothing but great results.

[Rettic]

Simple Green

I listened and read up on all the aforementioned dangers of simple green and aluminum, that is why I promptly throughly rinsed with water and shot air through all passageways multiple times. I was worried about it corroding the AL, but I know that with care that it is a small chance of damage. I will be watching closely to see any affects, and will let everyone know with pictures if something goes wrong.

[latexeses]

If you rinsed everything off well when you pulled them, ie. reasonably hot water, they won't oxidize any faster than any other part that is left out in the air.

I ran my carbs through the mix you used early last summer and just got back into the carbs to check something and the insides look like a brand new dime. I rinsed the cr@p out of them, not because of the Green but because I didn't want to leave any loose crud in there.

The outsides don't shine any more or any less than they did after they came out of the cleaner. Yours look to be pretty shiny on the outside. I suspect they will stay that way and will age like any aluminum exposed to the elements.

Good job on the carb. Looks sharp!

[Rettic]

Update

I got to work a little more on the carbs today. I get a little time here and there to work on them and today I scored 3 hrs to put into them. First off, the deal with the Simple Green, yes it causes some Oxidation. I opened the first carb that I did to better smooth the slide bores.

I notice oxidation in the top part of the carb. I rinsed them some more and then hit them with carb cleaner. I am going to see if rinsing them down with carb cleaner after water will help reduce the oxidation. I am still using the simple green to finish up the others with a little more caution. I did find if you do not rinse throughly they will oxidize quickly. But like stated above, just need to make sure to rinse very very well.

In the OP, i stated I smoothed the bores with 800grit wet sand paper. Well, I was talking to another guru and he suggested doing 1500-2000 grit followed by Mother's Aluminum Polish. I am looking forward to getting these bad boys back on the bike, they are slick as... well you know. I recommend this highly. It takes a little more time, but well worth it.

Now, for suggestions on getting rid of the tiny particles of rust coming from my gas tank. They collect in the float bowls and I do use in line filters from the tank. This stuff is tiny. More like rust powder. I just don't want to have to do this cleaning every few months because of it. Any simple, low cost suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[fabricgator]

Now, for suggestions on getting rid of the tiny particles of rust coming from my gas tank. They collect in the float bowls and I do use in line filters from the tank. This stuff is tiny. More like rust powder. I just don't want to have to do this cleaning every few months because of it. Any simple, low cost suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Don't they have a treatment for a rusty tank called creme...
I may have the name wrong, it is an ospho and a sealer / encapsulation thing if I remember correctly.

[clcorbin]

Now, for suggestions on getting rid of the tiny particles of rust coming from my gas tank. They collect in the float bowls and I do use in line filters from the tank. This stuff is tiny. More like rust powder. I just don't want to have to do this cleaning every few months because of it. Any simple, low cost suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Yes! Electrolysis!!!! My 79F has had rust in the tank since the day I bought it in 1989. The gas always came out of the carbs with a slightly orange tint to it and you could see some pretty nasty "crusties" in the tank.

Well, when I started going through the bike in early January, I decided I HAD to do something about the tank. After a lot of investigation, I decided to give electrolysis a try.

The results after less than 24 hours?

AMAZING!!!

I could see clean, bare metal where I once could only see rusty scale and junk. The inside of that tank was absolutely clean. The only "extra" thing I did was after rinsing the tank out with hot water (which caused an IMMEDIATE light coat of super fine rust on the inside of the tank!), I rinsed it out with hot water and about one cup of CLR. The CLR contains phosphoric acid and that will react with the rust and other free iron and it protects the tank VERY well.

After the CLR treatment, I rinsed it once more in hot water and NO rust formed at all.

I DID have to go and then patch a few pin holes that opened up after the electrolysis. This is NOT a fault of the process. The holes where already there, they were just plugged with accumulated rust. after getting rid of the rust, there was nothing to plug them, so they started leaking. Some JB Weld fixed them up just fine until this summer when I will completely strip that tank and do a more permanent fix to it. It needs to be repainted anyway.

Do a bit of research hear and online and you will find tons of information on how to perform the process. My only regret is I didn't do it 21 years ago! And it is an absolute pleasure to drain the gas out of the carbs and have it come out perfectly clear.

[fabricgator]

The process I was thinking is first, a cleaner operation... probably an acidic base. Then there was a fluid that formed a seal around the interior.

I have heard some people, not necessarily on here, yet just around the riding community, that did not care for it. I imagine that there are some that did not use good workmanship or made mistakes, so a few poor reviews are expected.

As I write this a thought comes to mind. We had three hurricanes here in two years. There were sunken boats galore, some stacked 4-5 high on salvage barges. An old mechanic near where I had my shop was buying them up with seized engines.

He would use white vinegar and pour it in the cylinder, crankcase, everywhere. Then WD-40..... a few days and he would have them running. He explained that the acid in the vinegar would work on the rust.

Possibly, you could get a gallon of white vinegar and rinse the tank with it, say swishing it around for a few hours, then water.... and finish with WD-40. Even use an alcohol or soapy water flush 1st, so the vinegar will not be repelled by a petroleum film.

[Rettic]

Tank Cleaning

What I did last year was a citric acid cleaning. It did well, just started oxidizing quickly afterward and I guess I did not do a great job of getting the rust particles off. I am thinking I will try the Phosphorus this next time in hopes that the coating it creates will help me not to get this light rusting. I read about doing the POR 15 process, but not to sure about the coating. I will give something a try in the next few weeks. The electrolysis i thought about as well. I will let you guys know as soon I figure out what I am gonna do. Will be draining the tank soon and using the gas for the lawn mower. I hate the rusty tank stuff. My XJ650 had no rust at all in the tank. I wish I was that lucky this time.