Stripped pilot jet!

[Mrjohnahawley]

Following all of the great advice and how to's on this site I am attempting my first ever carb clean on my first ever bike. All was going well until I stripped the head of my #1 carb pilot jet. I got it out and now my question is: can I still use it or do I need a new one? I didn't make contact with the channel running through it, only the screwdriver slot was messed up. I feel like a new one would be the way to go but money is an issue at the moment. Also, any tips for removing the emulsion tubes? I have tried the wooden dowel trick and the small screwdriver around the edge trick. Both after soaking in pb blaster for a couple of days. No luck and I don't want anymore damage. Any advice would be appreciated!

[Ken Talbot]

In the past, I have had good success with using a Dremel with a wheel bit to grind a new slot on a pilot screw.

More recently, while I was stripping down the carbs from SWMBO's 'H, I had a brain f@rt and was trying to use a dowel to tap out an emulsion tube THE WRONG DIRECTION! When I came to my senses and applied the dowel and hammer to the end where I had removed the brass jet, it popped right out like it should. The tube moves up, into the carb throat.

YMMV...

[MarkD]

MrJ.---have a look here

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95nlrP-yn2I

[Dylano*]

What works good for removing the emulsion tube is unscrewing the main jet, taking out the washer, then screwing it back in, then hitting that with a hammer, that should get it to break free... take the main jet out as soon as it breaks free though, if you hit the main jet all the way through you will slice off the little pin that dictates which way the tube sits.

As far as the jet, buy one off ebay, for a couple bucks:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mikuni-OEM-B...6b41cb&vxp=mtr

That should be the one you need, unless yours are the bleed type, in that case you have a cheaper option:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Genuine-Miku...6c11e9&vxp=mtr

[mikubuilder]

For pilot jets you might want to be careful about which ones you get, make sure the number of holes is EXACTLY the same as originals....neither one of those above look right...

I had a good luck getting emulsion tubes out after I applied some heat to the channel that the tube sits in...

[MPittma100]

Carbs

Pay attention to the location of the needle jets (emulsion tubes). Different year models place them in different places. Typically two of the same go to the 2 center carbs, and 2 of the same got to the 2 outer carbs.

I would replace the damaged pilot jet. May not get it out again if you do not. Spend plenty of time making sure that all 8 of the floats are the correct height. Make sure you use the height for the particular year carbs that you have.

Mike

[Dylano*]

For pilot jets you might want to be careful about which ones you get, make sure the number of holes is EXACTLY the same as originals....neither one of those above look right...

I had a good luck getting emulsion tubes out after I applied some heat to the channel that the tube sits in...

The bottom one is right. They use a stock photo, but I have ordered from them before. They are genuine mikuni jets and have the correct 2-1-2-1 hole pattern

[Mrjohnahawley]

Thanks for the tips! I watched the video on YouTube before I started tearing down. I never would have known where to begin without it. I will keep trying with the emulsion tube New pilot jet ordered

[mack]

Emulsion tubes

The wooden dowel is the way to go. The wood will shred before damaging the threads. They can get very dirty and gummy along the outside of the tube and the tower wall. Just keep at it with the dowel, it will come out.

[Mrjohnahawley]

I figured out today what I was doing wrong I didn't realize that the main jet washer was stuck to the emulsion tube! No wonder it wouldn't push through! I now have all the carbs stripped and un-ganged and ready for dipping Any thoughts on what to dip them in?

[cajun31]

when you say dip them?

Are you talking about the entire carb body or just the jets you removed? I would not dip the bodies. Just clean those with carb cleaner. I take a container .... the cap of the spray can if large enough and spray enough carb cleaner in there to soak the jets. Do this in four individual caps or containers. Don't mix the parts from carb body to carb body. That way you make sure that the parts go back to the carb bodies they came from.

The reason I would not dip the carb bodies is because you can damage the rubber o rings within them. a good spray job is usually sufficient to clean them.

Good luck.

[Mrjohnahawley]

Cajun31... I definitely am not going to mix all the jets together. I cleaned all of them individually and kept them separated out by carb. I was considering dipping the carb body though. As for o-rings, if I was to remove all of them it would be a whole lot easier to just dip them. Could all of you help chime in and let me know where all of the o-rings are located? I got the ones from the air mixture screw already. Thanks

[ccogswel]

The other O-Rings are the ones for your throttle shaft plate. 2 per carb. You''ll have 2 Phillip screws to remove and then the nut on the side so you can pull the shaft out. Then you should see a shield cover over the O-ring. If your in this far I'd replace them as well.

Good Luck!

[TopCatGr58]

Well,

Replacing the throttle shaft seals is a bit more of a serious process....having to remove the PINGED over screws holding the butterflies to the shaft, then removing, replacing the seals, shaft/butterflies, and then new screws and pinging them over again, or RED threadlock on them....don't want them coming loose and getting sucked into the carb/intake/engine!! And unless they have been previously soaked in caustic carb cleaner, then they are probably still okay, and just cleaning will be sufficient.

Most folks who want to actually soak the entire carb bodies to get them quite clean will use PURE/Brand type of PINESOL, warm/hot, mixed with some water....search the threads for recommendations of mix ratios, soaking time, if you have access to an ultrasound, that's even better, and the PINESOL will NOT harm the butterfly shaft seals or other rubber parts. Then rinse, blow out thoroughly with compressed air, dry, and then reassemble!

T.C.

[Mrjohnahawley]

That sounds like a winner! I will give it a shot in the morning. Also, it's a heck of a lot cheaper than buying carb dip. I really wasn't sure if I wanted to disassemble the butterfly's or not. I think y'all helped me decide. Thanks!