Carb renewal kits

[Tematt]

Dale, my slides were stuck too as previous owner (po) regular gas and the varnish froze them stuck. I used a heat gun to put some heat on the slides and they popped loose 5-15 secs. if you don't have a heatgun use the misses hairdryer lol. You could also dop them In some boiling pot of water too, again probably the misses lol

[cajun31]

All you really need to do is take the carb covers off of the tops of the carbs then spray some carb cleaner on both side of the slides. That is generally enough to get them out so that they can be thoroughly cleaned. Those diaphragms can be replaced but I wouldn't risk heat around them. Shouldn't be that much varnish on them unless they have been severely neglected.

[jetmechmarty]

Just a “me too” post. Carb kits are a waste of money. You need bowl gaskets and some of those are better than others.
Niche Cycle is where I usually get my genuine Mikuni brass.
http://www.nichecycle.com/ncs/
Jets-R-Us has the genuine stuff as well. Reproduction parts are generally not worth messing with.
If you need emulsion tubes of jet needles due to wear, https://xj4ever.com/catalog/a-catalog-index.html has reproductions for XS11 and that’s the only place I know. His stuff is first rate.
Hardware supplier for hardware to put it together. I used stainless years ago.

[DaleE]

I'm puzzled.

The slide on #4 came out easily enough, but nos. 1-3 won't budge. They WILL rotate, though: when I pull up the diaphragms, I can turn them, and the slides turn with them. But they will not go up or down. Wiggle a tiny tiny bit, maybe, no more than that. I tried very gently prying them up, but figured any real force would be an excellent way to damage the carbs.

Thoughts?

[bikerphil]

The needles are probably stuck in the emulsion tubes. With the carbs upside down, I would soak penetrating oil down the main jet towers, let it sit overnight.

[DaleE]

A good soaking with carb cleaner finally freed up two of them, and I'm hopeful the last one will pop free in the morning. Thanks, all.

[cajun31]

A good soaking with carb cleaner finally freed up two of them, and I'm hopeful the last one will pop free in the morning. Thanks, all.

As much varnish as you have in the emulsion tubes I would suspect that your pilot jets are probably in the same shape. If I were working on your carbs I would get the slides out and as many of the other small parts off as I could. I would also be breaking them apart and doing one carb at a time keeping all the parts per carb isolated. My plan would be to completely submerge each carb and associated parts in a can of Berryman 1 gallon carb cleaner. That would help break down some of that varnish that you know is down in the tubes and jets. Might make things easier to disassemble. I take this approach versus a heat gun because there are too many small plastic and rubber parts every where on these carbs. The slots on top of the pilot jets to remove them is very small and not that strong. Once you strip that your only recourse is to drill them out and employ a screw extractor. If you break off the extractor in the jet then you are going to be looking for another carb body. The extractor is too hard to drill and you end up really messing things up trying (DAMHIK). I have had a lot of success soaking the carb bodies first. I am not there looking at what you are facing. Might just be the slides and emulsion tubes. You will have to decide for yourself how to proceed. I am just throwing ideas at you. I have redone many of these over the years.

[DaleE]

cajun31 I appreciate your input. While I see the wisdom in soaking the carb bodies in cleaner, I'm slow to break them apart. Earlier in my carb-cleaning life, I formed the impression that this was a practice that should, if possible, be avoided.

And as for "drilling them out and using a screw extractor," too late. Had to do it on two jets and one of the float bowl drain plugs. Fortunately for me, the screw extractor did NOT break off. The rebuild kits do include replacements for those two now-destroyed jets, and I have to say I'm tempted to use the aftermarket jets, despite the near-unanimous opinion here that I should not do it.

And speaking of those drain plugs, can anyone give me some guidance on how to source the right ones? I've looked at a lot of sites, and nowhere do I see an image that resembles my poorly-designed hex head brass plugs. Picture below. (And while we're on the subject, what were they thinking? How can I do a float level test with such drain plugs??)

[cajun31]

cajun31 I appreciate your input. While I see the wisdom in soaking the carb bodies in cleaner, I'm slow to break them apart. Earlier in my carb-cleaning life, I formed the impression that this was a practice that should, if possible, be avoided.

And as for "drilling them out and using a screw extractor," too late. Had to do it on two jets and one of the float bowl drain plugs. Fortunately for me, the screw extractor did NOT break off. The rebuild kits do include replacements for those two now-destroyed jets, and I have to say I'm tempted to use the aftermarket jets, despite the near-unanimous opinion here that I should not do it.

And speaking of those drain plugs, can anyone give me some guidance on how to source the right ones? I've looked at a lot of sites, and nowhere do I see an image that resembles my poorly-designed hex head brass plugs. Picture below. (And while we're on the subject, what were they thinking? How can I do a float level test with such drain plugs??)

Search Ebay for 1A8-14991-00. You will see screws which are wrong and you will see bolts. You will not like the prices. You should take one of the ones you have that are in good shape and go to a Lowe's, Home Depot, or Ace hardware and match it up to a bolt. The biggest problem might be the bolt will be too long and you will have to trim it. I would suggest stainless if you can find them in the right size but, a bolt that size will be tough to cut down, however will be more resistant to rusting.

[DEEBS11]

These are a bit better price:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/172916041539

[DaleE]

The 1 gallon pail is safe on rubber parts. I use it all the time and leave parts soaking for days with no harm. Amazon.com: Berryman 0996-ARM B-9 Chem Dip Parts Cleaner with Basket and Armlock, 3/4-Gallon Pail : Automotive

Hey Cajun, I've got the carb bodies soaking in a gallon of Berryman's as we speak. Do you suppose it would be safe to soak my petcocks in this stuff too? They're very badly gummed.

[cajun31]

Hey Cajun, I've got the carb bodies soaking in a gallon of Berryman's as we speak. Do you suppose it would be safe to soak my petcocks in this stuff too? They're very badly gummed.

Absolutely. Put them in too. Berrymans is good stuff and will break that stuff down.