Should I get my carbs dipped?

[RJFort]

I was wondering what yo ual lthought on getting my carbs dipped once I get them apart and all the rubber off. Or do you thinkI should do it the old fashioned way and get a can of cleaner and some brushes and rags. either way I need to clean them out if I am evern gonna try to turn her over for my first time. Also where would a good place/site be to find nice air cleaners for the intake ports. I know the internet is littered with them, but if you know a great place it would be a great help.

When I took the carbs off the bike the gas that poured out of them was greenish, so I think the ethanol was going bad. The gas in the tank, however, was clear as day.

Once the carbs are cleaned and put back together I will surely have questions on how to calibrate them.

Thanks in advance.

[Schming]

Hi RJ, I dipped my Hitachi's off of my XJ750 in straight Pine-Sol for 24hrs. and then rinsed with hot water then blew dry with my compressor. After that I used carb cleaner in all the passages to be certain there were no clogs especially the one in the float bowl. (wear eye protection ) and blew dry again. The Pine-Sol won't harm the butterfly shaft seals. Plus I saved the Pine-Sol in their original containers for a repeat process on another set of carbs.









Here's a link for the air filters: http://www.mikesxs.net/products-40.html#products
Scroll down near the bottom of the page.

[RJFort]

That worked? no kidding. huh, nice and simple. The soap and perfume did not make them sticky or leave a film even after rinsing? the only reason I ask is when I used to work doing flooring we were told by the manufacturers not to use anything other than vinegar or ammonia, depending onthe surface, because the dyes and perfumes had an electrical charge to them and left a film that attracteddirt and oil. If it seems to work then I would definitely give it a try. At the very least save me some money.

[tcoop]

+1 on the pinesol. keeps you from having to seperate the rack. You still need to remove the usual parts (jets, diaphram,etc) but it does a great job cleaning the gunk off. You could always rinse in a bath of dawn dish washing soap (mixed the same as ifyou are doing the dishes) then rinse in water. the dawn will clean off any residue left by the pinesol.

[RJFort]

cool, I will give that a go. worth a shot. What is the worst that cna happen? I gotta do them again? cool, good tip guys thanks.

[crazy steve]

I would highly recommend that you dip them, as soaking seems to be the only way to insure that they really get clean. Some have had luck with spray can cleaner, but more often than not that takes multiple tries before they're totally clean... and anything less will cause problems.

As to what to dip them in, you'll get a lot of choices. Pine-sol is one that has worked for some, but personally I use the heavy-duty stuff as I don't want to do this twice. I like the Berryman's Chem-dip, but a disadvantage is you have to completely disassemble the carbs to get every last rubber part off as the dip will ruin the rubber. This means pulling the throttle shafts/butterflies to remove the shaft seals, which aren't easy to remove as the screws damage easily. Unless you're confident of your skills, this isn't for everyone.

The other dip that comes with a high rating is the 'official' Yamaha carb dip. This doesn't hurt the rubber parts, so you can leave the shaft seals in.

For a picture tutorial of a rebuild on a set carbs, look here: http://www.xs11.com/forum/showthread...b+cleaning+101
These are the later '80-81 style so there's some detail differences, but your early carbs are similar. Take your time, be careful as these can be very delicate, and get everything clean... they can't be too clean..

[Schming]

That worked? no kidding. huh, nice and simple. The soap and perfume did not make them sticky or leave a film even after rinsing? the only reason I ask is when I used to work doing flooring we were told by the manufacturers not to use anything other than vinegar or ammonia, depending onthe surface, because the dyes and perfumes had an electrical charge to them and left a film that attracteddirt and oil. If it seems to work then I would definitely give it a try. At the very least save me some money.

Yes, it works well, it even started to loosen the paint in some spots on the Hitachi's, but if your going the Pine-Sol route use the original as it doesn't have those additives you mentioned. HTH

[natemoen]

If going the Pine-Sol route you need to get ORIGINAL pine sol and not the lemon scented stuff. The ingredients are different in the two.