carbon busting fuel additives?/sand blasting?

[usmc_scott]

hello everyone. my rebuild project is coming along nicely but i have run into a few questions. what parts can i sand blast? i would like to tear down the carbs and sand blast them clean for paint but hear that its not a good idea because the sand gets stuck inside ect. the shop i have the bike at has a sand blaster then some type of hot chemical clensing bath. i would think it would be fine to blast away the grime then put the carbs i the bath(not ultrasonic)

also theres alot of carbon build up i can see in the engine thru the exahust ports. but i dont feel confident enought to tear it all appart to scrape it out just yet. is there a fuel addative that actually works to clear some of the carbon out?

thanks for any input!

-scott

[cywelchjr]

The problem with the sand is that it gets into the passages, and that hot bath is not going to dissolve the sand either. Also it's a bit harsh for the soft metal of the carbs. I hear that soda blasting works well on the carbs and has the advantage of being water soluble so it won't clog up the works.

[ambidextrous]

ive heard of some places that use dry ice to sand blast

that will, it will pretty much dissolve and turn into a gas

not sure what the price of that will be, or if you could even find that by you

[crazy steve]

You can sandblast carbs, but you do have to be very careful to keep it out of the internals. I did mine, but I sealed all openings (diaphram, float bowl, inlet/outlet, idle screws, etc) with several layers of duct tape and/or rubber plugs. Don't use coarse sand either; 120 grit is about as coarse as you want to get.

Carbon? No easy way to get it out of the ports or off the valves short of disassembly. An 'old trick' to clean the combustion chamber is to get the motor up to temp, then with the rpms up, 'mist' plain water into the carb inlet. The carbon will absorb the water, then when it turns to steam, the water will 'break up' the deposits. This will get some of the stuff off the exhaust valves, but not all. Some guys swear by Seafoam for this, and there's other favorite concoctions, but this is what I use.

'78E original owner

[n0lan]

Here is a trick for you guys.

Pine-Sol

a few of the Honda CB guys have been using it for years w/o any problems to carb internals. (o-rings diaphrams etc) It will clean just about any aluminum part really.

Check out this thread:
CLICK HERE FOR PINE-SOL THREAD WITH PICTURES


hope this helps!
Nolan

[webbcraft2150]

I would stay away from sandblasting carbs for all the reasons listed above. As for carbon cleaning, if the engine is a runner, head down to your local Mercury Marine dealer and get the stuff they use to clean the carbon and sticky rings on there two strokes. IIRC, its called Quickleen. Another concoction from Mercury that works real well to clean out a motor is Power Tune. Both will generate gobs of smoke so dont stand downwind. Be ready to change out plugs to. I have used Power Tune in motors that would barely run, after treatment they ran great. At Merc school, they showed us a borescope pictures of a badly carboned up motor, we ran Power Tune thru it and the difference was dramatic. MMO may work to depending on how carboned up the motor is.

[usmc_scott]

wow the pine sol thing really blew my top off. who woulda thought you could use it for that? thanks that will save some headaches. and if i cant find the boat stuff will seafoam work just as well? now that i think of it i have used it once before on my first car. made an impressive smoke screen going down the road

[Geezer]

I bought a soda blaster for jobs like this. So far I've used it on float bowls and disk brake calipers. It leaves the parts looking like new but now I need a bigger compressor...

Geezer

[BigRed]

Just checked out that pine-sol link . I've got my carbs off already, as I'm waiting for intake boots to arrive. Guess what they're going to be soaking in this weekend!

I guess I should also pick up a protective oil spray for after. Once you soak all that grease and crud out, I'd expect the steel springs and choke slider to start rusting up.

[n0lan]

Just checked out that pine-sol link . I've got my carbs off already, as I'm waiting for intake boots to arrive. Guess what they're going to be soaking in this weekend!

I guess I should also pick up a protective oil spray for after. Once you soak all that grease and crud out, I'd expect the steel springs and choke slider to start rusting up.

cool, take some before & after pics.

also make sure its PINE-SOL. the origional. any off brands or anything have not be tested to my knowledge


Nolan