Stuck Carb Jet

[digitalsam]

This jet is stuck. Really stuck. Tried a small allen wrench, smaller flathead and philips heads, nothing. Any ideas? I am going to toss the jet and replace it as soon as it comes loose.

[petejw]

Hi Sam,
Ive been fortunate enuff not to have had
that problem, but from reading others that
have, spray the jet with penetrating oil, and
stick the carb in the freezer for a bit, because
the jets are brass and the carb is alloy they will
contract differently and hopefully enough to loosen.

[Ken Talbot]

I would pick up a 3/8 drive "allen wrench" with a 3" long or so shaft and grind the end of it down to a flat screwdriver configuration that will exactly fit the drive slot in the jet you already have out. You may also have to grind down the hex body a bit so it will reach wdown to the jet. This will let you whack it with an impact driver with no danger of the driver slipping out of the slot and chewing up the brass.

[dbeardslee]

Harbor freight sells a little impact driver that comes with a number of different tips. One of them is a long slender phillips head that may lend itself to grinding to a flat blade. It's narrow enough to fit down the hole, and it's on sale for $2.99. I've got one, and it's not a bad little tool. Just gotta make sure you've got it set for the right direction before you start pounding on it .

[DGXSER]

Sounds like perhaps you have already destroyed the slot for the screw driver in the jet. I had one like that before. Do, for certain, soak and I mean soak that little PITA with some type of penetrating oil like PB Blaster, and from experience I can tell you WD40 is NOT a substitute. I then used a small extractor and it popped loose. But, be very very cautious with the extractor, they are VERY hard and therefore brittle. If you feel like your putting alot of force on it, stop. Getting the thing cleared out after busting the extractor off is about impossible.

[rpgoerlich]

I've found that using a little heat directed right on the pilot jet body once you've soaked them with PB or the like, helps them come right out. If you try this before you break off the slot ears it will come out.
You will want to make sure you have cleaned the carb and removed all traces of fuel... I typically have the carb disassembled, ie. diaphram, emulsion tube, float & fuel valve removed.

I use a small propane torch. One of the pen sized torches work just fine too.

[psycoreefer]

I spray some oil on mine, then heat the carb body with a propane torch, usually works as long as there is still a screw head left. If not then a small screw extractor ( I think its a #2 or 3) is a perfect fit for the hole already in the jet and works every time.

[fredintoon]

This jet is stuck. Really stuck. - - - Any ideas? I am going to toss the jet and replace it as soon as it comes loose.

Hi Sam,
this has worked for me:-
Get a long series screwdriver bit, the hexagonal one that goes in a power drill.
Grind the tip to be an exact fit in the jet's screwdriver slot.
Put the bit in the chuck of a bench drill press, block the carb body up on the press's work table and use the drill press feed arm to force the drill bit down into the remnants of the jet's screwdriver slot.
rotate the drill chuck backwards BY HAND while maintaining the downward pressure.
If there's any of the screwdriver slot still there, the jet will almost for sure break loose.

[Toolmaker Tim]

PB Blaster

There is a product made by CRC called Knock'er Loose. Makes PB Blaster look like water. The other thing you might try is grinding a tapered square end on a socket head cap screw and using a Tee handled Allen wrench to turn it out. Tap the ground down screw into the jet until it wedges itself in and use the tee handle to push down while turning, that way it can't back out. We use this trick to get broken off brass water fitting out of plastic injection molds. The problem with EZ outs is that they SOMETIMES (not always) cause the brass to expand and stick tighter.

[latexeses]

Heat has always been my ally. If you don't have a propane torch on hand one of the small cigar torch lighters will do the job.

Good to have around to mend a bad solder joint too.

[MindWebs]

Blue flame wrench!!!

well..... propane anyway.

aluminum expands more then brass.

heat it up and hit it with wd40 a few times, after heating it up the 3rd time use what ever turning device you can get to bite and turn it out.

heat will take care of it.

i've done MANY carbs with this method

just watch out for plastic and rubber pieces, as they will melt and burn.

good luck...

yeah, yeah, fires cool.

[bchaffin]

I just took my carbs apart and had the same problem. Luckly my jet had just enough left to get it out with a screwdriver.

[digitalsam]

But, be very very cautious with the extractor, they are VERY hard and therefore brittle. If you feel like your putting alot of force on it, stop. Getting the thing cleared out after busting the extractor off is about impossible.

Ok I bought an extractor and very, very gently tried to extract the jet. Apparently I was using more force than I thought I was using, and... Snap! Dang fang frazzle snazzle, kick stomp arggh!

The carbs are in the freezer again waiting for any advice. Anyone? Is it time to take these to a machine shop to have them extract the jet?

[Incubus]

If you get as desperate as I did, Harbor Freight also sells left handed drill bits. The point is not to drill out the jet, but to get the bit in deep enough that it grabs the jet and spins it out. Make sure you hit the middle and use a bit SMALLER than the throat the jet screws into. Go slowlllllllyyyy.

It worked, finally, for me after I had stripped anything resembling a screw driver slot of any type from the jet.

Patrick

[Ken Talbot]

So, is the broken off end of the snapped extractor still stuck in the jet? This happened to me once, and I had to resort to using diamond burrs in a Dremel tool to grind out the extractor before I could get back to work on the stuck jet.