Can this carb be salvaged??

[natemoen]

I would say don't trust eBay carbs at all. Too many horror stories of people dropping hundreds of dollars on "rebuild" carbs that are garbage.

Anything you plan on buying on eBay plan on rebuilding and cleaning yourself.

[Bonz]

The main question I would have is to what level are they rebuilt?

Are they totally cleaned, new gaskets, new float needles, new float needle seats/o-rings at least (81 Specials will have o-ring seals on the needle seats that would be done as part of a rebuild), new o-rings on the air screws, floats set at the right height, that kind of thing?

Or just taken apart, cleaned and put back together?

[DGXSER]

Yep, Ebay is almost worse than a PO sometimes.

The real critical part is to ask for and see pictures of all of the float post to see none are broken. Make sure you see pictures of the inlets, and the butterflys to see none are bent. Ask them to guarantee none of the jets are stuck, all have ben removed and will be easily removed. ask them to show you or guarantee they have replaced all the internal rubber parts, float valve seals/o-rings, mixing screw o-rings for the newer style.

The cleaning parts and such is just work. Not hard to do, so your not really out alot if they have not been cleaned as thoroughly as they should. But broken post or stuck jets and your back to buying parts or new carbs.

[tarzan]

You may want to verify that the diaghrgms are good too unless the ones you have are good.

[CaptonZap]

I've found some really clean sets on eBay and around. If they claim they've just been rebuilt, what additional questions should I be asking these sellers. It seems like a set in really good clean (allegedly working) shape runs around $200, so as long as I wouldn't be having to rebuild them anyway (and subsequently buying the rebuild kits to do so) I'd be coming out around even. I'm not looking to make this a show bike, but I do want it to be as reliable as possible for a daily rider and some cross country road trip extravaganzas. Thoughts?

Yep, if you read the archives, you will hear about the guys who bought "rebuilt" carb sets that, when they were delivered, were found to be junk. Which is why the majority of the folks here think it, to quote the Bard, "is better to bear these ills we have, than fly to others that we know not of."
E-bay is probably the last place to buy, Craigslist has the virtue of being local, in most cases. The nearest large city should have a motorcyle scrap yard, and a complete set shouldn't be over $100.
Your best bet is to take the ones you have apart, and see what you have. If you then go out to find some others, at least you know what to look for in the way of faults.

CZ

[conquest87tsi]

Carb Body

I was in a situation a while back where I had a similar decision to make. I decided to replace the carb body. As stated earlier it can be difficult to find the correct carb. Looks like yours are '80-'81you carbs, with the cracked one being #3. The one I had to replace was 3 as well, but a '79. I had to drill and tap a #1green to accomodate the master idle screw. I can't remember if you will have to on the'80 ones. For some reason I feel there is a bracket.

I personally would replace. JB weld has it's place, but not on a carb. Carbs on ebay are a joke. Rebuilt is used too loosely in my opinion.

Put a add on here. Thats how I found mine. The nearest salvage yard wanted $50 for a stripped body that had sat out in MN for 20 years.

Thats my 2 cents. Good luck to you.

[jetmechmarty]

eBay is great. You just have to be a savvy buyer. If you're looking for a #3 carb body, you should be able to find a junk set of carbs on eBay that has a good #3 body for cheap. On top of that, you'll have some spare parts.

[tarzan]

I have bought several sets of carbs on ebay. I have actually had pretty good luck with it. But as has been stated, you have to be very thorough in reading what you are getting.And also, if you have any questions at all, you need to ask. My experience has been that most people want to do right. I have had one bad experience that I had to get ebay's resolution center involved, and it did take a while to get it resolved .
Anyway, I wouldn't rule ebay out.It can be a great resource if you are careful.

[Bonz]

It ultimately sounds like you would get the carbs for the bodies off of ebay, and take any other good parts that are in them as a bonus. i.e be prepared to rebuild them yourself. Bargain the price accordingly.

There, does that settle it?

[jetmechmarty]

It ultimately sounds like you would get the carbs for the bodies off of ebay, and take any other good parts that are in them as a bonus. i.e be prepared to rebuild them yourself. Bargain the price accordingly.

There, does that settle it?

Exactomundo!!!

[bikerphil]

You guys must be made out of money, JB weld costs less than $5

[Bonz]

Yeah, but the evolution of this thread has gotten us to where we are about to recommend he pick up a spare bike, why just get the carbs or do a measly JB fix?

Heh, Heh, Heh...

In all sincerity, haven't heard from GTalmageNOLA since yesterday, we've been stringing this along mighty well in his absence.

GT, have you taken all the carbs apart and gotten a look at the rest of 'em?

That's gonna help tell the tale I would reckon' and tell you what route to go.

[tarzan]

We don't need the voice of reason here.I thought we are here to help him spend his money.😁

[bikerphil]

We don't need the voice of reason here.I thought we are here to help him spend his money.��

He He, how will we know if the JB weld repair will work if he doesn't try? I would at least try it first but that's just me, a cheap azz.

[DGXSER]

Hey Phil, I thought I cornered the market on being a cheapazz!! I do agree with trying the JB weld first, worse thing that can happen is your right back where you started.