carb question

[oldyam80sg]

When i took apart my carbs and removed the emulsion tubes I'm curious as the tubes had a slight greenish corrosion color to them.Is it because they are made of brass? Also what purpose does the tiny holes on the tube serve?The tubes were corroded and i used the carb cleaner spray and an air compressor to clean them.

[DGXSER]

The green may be from the fuel that was against them. Alot of them I see are greenish in color from old fuel.

The holes let the air in to the mixture I believe, the air comes in the chamber form the air jet, and then has to get through those holes to mix with the fuel drawn through the tube from the main jet to form the mixture to send to the engine.

[oldyam80sg]

OK they were pretty green.Should be fixed now-just waiting on fuel line and of course my AGM battery i had less than a year does not appear to be charging.Been sitting on battery tender for 3 hours now still the red light is on.

[bikerphil]

Yes, those are air bleed holes in the emultion tubes. Some models use tubes in carbs 2+3 with less holes than in 1+4 to provide a richer mixture for better cooling.

[oldyam80sg]

Hoping that cleaning that carb really good and removing all the things that can be cleaned my exhaust pipe for #1 carb gets hot like the rest of them.

[Bonz]

The carb parts (jets, emulsion tubes, etc) are made of brass, yes? Brass turns green when it oxidizes, similar to copper if I am correct.

I would guess you had some oxidation in there from whatever cause.

[oldyam80sg]

Yes -well its cleaned now long overdue.For anyone who things cleaning carbs is scary it is not.Take your time,don't force things and put parts in the sequence they came out.I copied the carb cleaning 101 manual off of this site(24 pages)for reference.

[Bonz]

When I rehab'd the carbs on my project 80G, the emulsion tubes themeselves and the holes they reside in were the dirtiest of any other part/area in the carbs.

[oldyam80sg]

I found out the float bowls were the dirtiest and these were second.I also found out that Seafoam is oil and it is everywhere in the carb.It makes such a mess.

[Bonz]

Help me understand how Seafoam in and of itself makes a mess in the carbs?

[oldyam80sg]

Well one of the ingredients in Seafoam is indeed oil so when i put it in the gas tank and it ran through the carbs naturally it doesn't separate in gas so it is in the carbs.No biggie carb cleaner took care of it.

[motoman]

Well one of the ingredients in Seafoam is indeed oil so when i put it in the gas tank and it ran through the carbs naturally it doesn't separate in gas so it is in the carbs.No biggie carb cleaner took care of it.

Hardly possible...............u must of unknowingly had some other petroleum product in the tank..

[650mark]

seafoam

fwiw, yes, seafoam is certainly a petroleum product but it is first and foremost a cleaner/lubricant. i have used it in all my vehicles, except my brand new car, for years and it has saved me untold hours of carb cleaning. i've put that stuff into old xs650's that hadn't been run in 15 years, were left with old gas in them, and with fresh gas and sparkplugs they started and ran. after 2 tanks of fuel with seafoam in it they all ran very well and all passed emissions here in phoenix. sure, i've had to rebuild some of those carbs but usually because some bonehead previous owner tried to "work" on them and really screwed them up. my current bike, all stock '80 xs1100 special, sat for 2 years just before i bought it and it ran poorly when i rode it home. after 2 tanks of fresh fuel and seafoam it now runs like new, passed emissions, and gets 40mpg all the time. the carbs just needed to be synch'd and now they are perfect. i'm simply a big fan of seafoam, don't work for them, don't own stock in them, don't sell the stuff. perhaps the "oil" you found in your carbs was some other kind of residue but seafoam will go right through your carbs and be burned just like gasoline. good luck with your carbs, i know some of them can be murder to get right.

[oldyam80sg]

I'm not going to get into a dispute about Seafoam as i think this is where it may be heading.I put Sea foam in the tank and ran it through the bike.It was not running long but when i took the carbs off they were oily.No other petroleum product was put in the tank.I know what i seen when i took the carbs off.Sorry but Seafoam is a solvent.I have better luck with Berrymans B-12 Chem tool for cleaning than Seafoam.I use that in my ZRX as well and have never had an issue.I don't have an issue with Seafoam but it does make a mess.

[Bonz]

I think it's interesting that seafoam in the specified dosage which is ounce(s) per gallon(s) leaves any type of discernible residue in the carburetors. Definitely don't want to turn this into a dispute over a specific experience with seafoam however something isn't adding up in my opinion. If seafoam used even for a short period of time accumulates in the carburetors what does the inside of the gas tank look like? Does it have a film of oil on it?