Frozen Carbs

[mehags]

I picked up me dad's 1982 XJ110 that had been sitting in his garage for 20 years. Needless to say there have been many issues with it. I have had to Replace brakes, rebuild master cylinder, bled brakes, change fluids, rebuild petcocks. I have one issue remaining besides tires. The throttle would not turn and I first thought it was the cable but after investigation I now know that it is the carbs. My question is has anyone had this problem, with the carbs freezing up? and do I need to do a complete carb rebuild on the Mikuni BS34-II carbs? Is there a carb rebuild kit out there? The shop want close to $500 for a rebuild.

[John]

If you can do all those other repairs, then you can do the carbs too. Don't let 'em scare ya. We have all been through this at one time or another. They will need a thorough disassembling and a even more thorough cleaning. Check all of the repair tips and procedures on this site, and in no time you'll have the wind in your hair and the bugs in your teeth!
Good luck.

[T748]

One other thing that helped me. I took pictures of the carbs right after getting them out of the XJ. That way i could get the brackets and such back in the proper location. I also marked the top of the carbs #1 through 4 before taking them off "the rack" to get them back in the proper order. Disassymbling cleaning and reassymbling them one at a time helped to keep things straight too. There isn't alot to these carbs. once you have them apart you'll see that it's no big deal. $500 is insane! a can or two of carb cleaner, compressed air if you have it, reading the tech tips here, and a few hours of easy labor and you'll be done!-Tom.

Oh ya, i didn't get or need for that matter, any rebuild kit or parts. The gaskets stayed in one peice and nothing else really needed replacing. pull em apart and get cleaning!

[John]

Off The Rack??

That shouldn't be done unless absolutly necessary. By not taking them off, you won't disturb the syncro settings. Unless you are going to replace the throttle shaft seals, there is no need to take them off. Just clean them one at a time, and there won't be any confusion of what parts go where, and you'll always have a completely assembled carb to use as a reference. They are very simple actually. I have done many of them, and they all worked when I got done with them.
But...if you got $500 you want to get rid of, send them to me, I'll fix ya right up!

[T748]

Your right i could have gotten away without taking them off the rack except for two things. The previous owner messed with the syncro screws and had them all goofy. So I took them off to get everything sparkly clean. I did the "bread tie" syncro tip from this site, and have a syncro gage on the way from bike bandit to fine tune it in. I will say that cleaning the carbs and rough syncro'ing it have turned the bike from a dud to a screamer!-Tom.

[don07tncav]

Heck, I'll do it for $200!! Can't guarentee them though!!

[rneal55555]

$195 and I'll guarantee one of the But I'm not gonna tell ya which one.

[Czekus21]

Well I'll just give you a garentee that fuel will flow from above the carbs and liquid flows downhill. Kinda like beer. In one end and flows right out. Yee..Haa.. Do the carbs yourself. Cost for kits ( if you need them ) is about $80.00 for all four. The knowledge you obtain will be priceless. I would stay away from the K&L kits. Normal shop labor for a carb rebuild is around $ 100.00 apiece. Sounds like that shop was trying to take you to the bank. Or did labor cost go up for working on Dinosaurs?
Or mabee the extra charges are for the beer fund.

[mikeb]

Go for it! I'm in the middle of rebuilding mine after sitting for 17 years with gas still in the tank and bowls. Just follow the tech tips and make sure your screw driver fits the pilot jet really well. I stripped the head on 1 of mine but after 2 days of pondering the situation I was able to get it out. 2 down and 2 to go. It's not that bad just take your time and don't spare the carb cleaner. Also heating the carb around the pilot jet tube seems to make the jet come out much easier.

[TopCatGr58]

Along with using a properly fitting screwdriver, I even ground off the sides of one to allow it to fit the pilot hole bore better!!

I sprayed some PB Blaster....liquid wrench style stuff, then let it sit for a while, then lightly tapped the screwdriver once I was sure it was well centered in the slot, and a quick snap twist, and they loosened right up!! This was after possibly sitting for 9 years with GUMMED UP gas and varnish ALL IN THEM!!!

And you can probably get the parts even cheaper than Ebay!! On MikesXS they're like $14.00 or so a set, with needle valve seat, needle, rubber o-ring for seat, gasket, that's really about all you need, you should be able to reuse the jets and the floats should be in good shape!!! Like NIKE, Just Do IT!
T.C.