I get asked about Carburetor Cleaning regularly both from readers and from friends offline. So I’ve decided to write a definitive guide for cleaning carbs the RIGHT way. So put your tools down for a minute, grab a beer, and give this a read. You might just save yourself a lot of headache and sweat.
Carbs come in many shapes and sizes. Single carbs, dual carbs, racks of 3, 4 or 6, V racks, carbs with ticklers, carbs with accelerators, carbs with asynchronous designs, and carbs that operate vertically. While working on some carburetors is more difficult (due to design) than others, they all share the same basic components, and the process of cleaning those components is generally indentical.
BEFORE YOU START
Make sure that dirty carbs are actually your problem. Lots of things can make a bike run poorly or not start. Weak battery, corroded electrics, old spark plugs, bad timing, low compression, mis-adjusted valves, dirty air filter, and plugged exhausts can all cause poor running. I’ll write an article on how to diagnose poor running conditions shortly, but for now – lets just deal with the carbs.
OK, SO YOUR CARBS ARE DIRTY
Once it has been determined that the carbs are the problem it’s time to get to it. Some racks of carbs are easier to remove than others. If you’re working on a newer model bike the rubber boots from the airbox to the carbs and the manifold boots from the carbs to the motor should be relatively soft and pliable. On older bikes however this is rarely the case.
First remove the fuel tank, seat, and side covers. Depending on your model of bike other parts may need to be removed too. Â For many single cylinder bikes the carb can often be removed without removing any body work at all.
The bike below is a 1983 Yamaha XJ750 Seca with 4 inline Hitachi carburetors
You’ll want to loosen the circle clamps on all of the rubber boots. Sometimes I’ll even take them all right off (carefully, without bending them too badly) so that they aren’t in the way.
Inspect the airbox. On many bikes it is bolted in place to tabs on the frame. Remove those bolts and try to create as much space as possible for the airbox to pull backwards.
Next, put the bike on it’s centerstand and straddle it facing forward. Put your right hand on the right-most carburetor and your left hand on the left-most carburetor and get ready to sweat. Sometimes you’ll be able to pull the carbs straight backwards nice and easy, but that is pretty rare. I usually end up rotating them up then rotating them down as best I can while pulling backwards furiously. This can really take some work and time, especially if you’ve never done it before. In real extreme cases where you simple can’t get the carbs to pull backwards out of the manifold boots I have a couple tips. These tips should only be used in extremely difficult cases when you have been struggling for an hour and simple can’t get the carbs to pull backwards out of the manifold boots.
Tip 1: Ratchet Straps – This is sort of a last resort, but it has worked without fail for me when I’m pooling sweat on the garage floor and the carbs aren’t budging. Wrap a ratchet strap around one of the outer carbs and put the hooks somewhere on the rear of the frame. Then slowly ratchet the carbs right out of the boots. Be careful not to pull them too cockeye’d or you could damage the boots. Attach a second ratchet strap to the other side if necessary. (Note: you can do this in the opposite direction to force carbs back into the boots once they are clean.)
Tip 2: Full Pull! – You should do this before you do the ratchet strap method above. Sit down on your butt along one side of the bike. Wedge one of your feet up between the forks and the front fender, then put both hands on the same outermost carb and PULL PULL PULL! This might not work so well if you’re short! Ha.
Ok, So The Carbs are pulled back
Chances are the airbox boots are all crammed up now. Do your best to rotate the carbs up and out from the boots and pull them out one side of the bike. Sometimes it’s easier to pull the carbs out one side than the other, so have a look to see if there are frame elements, motor elements, or hoses that may block the carbs from coming out on one side.
Also keep note of the throttle cable(s) and choke cable (if there is one). Now may be a good time to loosen the nuts that hold them in place and disconnect them.
Struggle just a couple more minutes wriggling the carbs out the side.
Ok, You have the carbs off the bike
Make sure you brush off any loose dirt or grime, then flip the carbs over and remove the screws from the corners of the carburetor. Some carbs won’t have bolts in the corner and instead have a wire latch over top which can just be forced over.
Remove the bowls.
If the carbs are real gummed up the insides might look like this:
It’s obvious that these carbs are all clogged up. Some carbs might not look so bad, some might be a lot worse. It’s always a mystery what will be inside the bowls.
Now it’s time to remove the floats. It’s generally a good idea to drench everything in carb cleaner (available at any autoparts store). Sometimes the pins will practically fall right out, sometimes they’ll be so stubborn you won’t think they’ll ever come free. But they will! Carefully push on the pin from either side. Sometimes a nail and a gentle tap from a hammer is helpful. **BE CAREFUL**, using force to remove a stuck float pin can break off the pin tower. If they are really stuck and you can’t seem to work them free here are a couple tips.
Tip 1: Heat – Adding a little flame to the float pin towers can help. **Don’t Burn Down Your Garage!!**
Tip 2: Pliers – Using pliers to gently clamp the end of the pin and push it through has worked well for me in the past. **Don’t break the towers!!**
Once the float pin is out you can remove the floats, the float needle, and unscrew the float jet screen.
Set everything aside. Next remove the main jet, pilot jet, and idle jet (if there is one). They should come out easily with a flathead screw driver.
Set them aside.
Next flip the carburetors back over and remove the caps. Underneath the caps is a rubber diaphram with a spring. Sometimes the caps have a tendency to shoot off the top, so be very methodical when removing the screws. Other times the cap tends to stick down until you start to pry at it, then it shoots off, again, just be cautious and don’t loose any parts.
Next you’ll want to gently pull the slides up out of the carburetor body. You can gently pull on the rubber diaphrams, but be very careful not to tear them. If they don’t come up easily stick your finger into the carb intake and push the slide up with your finger. You can also gently pry it with a screw driver (gently). If it doesn’t want to budge don’t force it. Instead finish reading this article and pay attention to the boiling tips further down.
Now your carbs should be pretty well emptied out. If the throttle on the bike moved fluidly and smooth there is little reason to do much to the carb bodies themselves. However, if the throttle was real sticky or frozen there are a few things you can do to free it up. Sometimes just drenching all the throttle components on the carbs and letting it soak is enough, other times it is not. I generally try not to break racks of carbs apart. It isn’t often necessary and can be confusing to put everything back together in the right places. Also, the little rubber connector hoses and o-rings have a tendency to crack or leak if you mess with them. If you can’t work the throttle back and forth until its smooth have a look at the boiling tips further down.
Keep it Neat
Organization pays off.
Clean the Main, Idle and Pilot Jets
Hold each jet up to the light and see if you can look through it. The idle and/or pilot jets have extremely small holes so make sure you are looking through them straight. If you can see through the jet it isn’t clogged. There could be a little gunk built up around the edges so spray them down with carb cleaner and let them sit a bit.
If you can’t see through the jet it is clogged and needs to be cleaned. Always try the easiest things first. Here’s an ordered list of a few things you can do to clean the jet.
- Blow through it. – Rarely works, but hey, who knows.
- Compressed air. – Force 100 pounds into it. Works occassionally. Make sure to hold the jet tightly so it doesn’t go flying across the garage. You might put the jet back into the carb body to hold it in place for this.
- Soak it in cleaner. – When I first started cleaning carbs I thought carb cleaner would be the magic answer. It isn’t. In fact, I hardly ever use carb cleaner any more, because it simply doesn’t do a very good job of anything but removing varnish from the bowl and slide. But try this.
- Poking it through. – Collect a few different diameters of needle like objects. A wire from a steel bristle brush works well, a bristle from a broom works well, a baby pin, small sewing needle, etc. Very gently try to poke it through the jet. If you are using a metal needle use caution, brass jets can scratch and deform easily.
- Boiling! – This works better than anything. Toss the jets into a pot of boiling water and let them bounce around for a couple minutes. When you pull them out blow some compressed air through them and you’ll most likely be good to go.
Some idle jets can be real tricky and never seem like they’ll be cleaned out . . . Just keep working at it, I’ve never met a jet that couldn’t be cleaned.
Cleaning the Choke and Air Mixture Screw
Air mixture screws have a tendency to strip or break. If the carbs were real gummed up you might find that the air screws are stuck. Don’t force them, if they don’t want to come out, just leave them for now. It is fairly rare that these screws will need to be cleaned because they are above the float level. If you can get them out just wipe them down with carb cleaner and spray some through the jet.
Cleaning the Slide and Needle
These are easy to clean. Squirt them with a bit of carb cleaner, wd-40, or anything similar, then wipe them down with a rag. Once the varnish is gone they’re good to go. Sometimes they get heavy varnish on them which I will scratch off carefully with a piece of plastic. Scratching the slide and needle is a BAD thing, use caution.
Cleaning the Carb Bodies
Use the same squirt and wipe method noted above. Most of the time the other pressed jets and passages in the carburetors won’t be clogged. But if the bike has been sitting a real long time with squirrels in the airbox it is certainly possible. Us a compressor to blow some air into every passage you can see. Listen for the air coming out the other side. If no air compressor is available use a can of WD-40 with a straw attachment.
If some of the pressed jets are clogged it can be difficult to open them up. There are a few things you can do.
- Carb Dip – Most autoparts stores sell carb dip. It comes in a can similar to a paint can and is a VERY harsh cleaning agent. Soak the entire carbs in this dip. This dip can eat at rubber and plastics if they are submerged for too long, so try and remove everything you can from the carb bodies before soaking them. Once you pull them out swish the carbs around in a bucket of water to clean off the excess dip, then hose them down with WD-40 to get rid of the water.
- Boiling in Water – Not many people do this but it is by far the best way of cleaning carburetors. Dropping the carbs into a pot of boiling water will instantly free up stuck slides, throttle plates, and other frozen parts. It will also loosen the dirt and grime clogging up pressed jets and other passages. Just make sure to dry the carbs thoroughly with compressed air or the sun afterwards.
- Boiling in Lemon Juice – There is NOTHING BETTER at cleaning carbs than a giant pot of boiling lemon juice. The acidity from the lemons eats through everything; gas varnish, oil build up, dirt, grime, etc. Sometimes I won’t even bother doing anything but this – I’ll just remove the bowls, remove the caps, then drop everything into the pot and let it sit for 20 minutes (rotate them a few times). The one caveat to doing this is that you’ll want to wash the lemon juice off the carbs as soon as you pull them out. So have a bucket of water ready, or a can of WD-40 to hose them down. Also note that the acidity has a tendency to put a dull finish on the aluminum bodies of the carbs. This isn’t a problem in most cases, but if you must have everything shiny be prepared to do a little scrubbing and polishing afterwards. It may sound weird, but trust me, I just saved you LOTS of time. (Most dollar stores sell 1/2 gallon jugs of lemon juice, so buying a few gallons will only cost you $6. Plus you can put it back into the bottles afterwards and save it for next time.)
Cleaning the Bowls
This is pretty straight forward. Use any of the methods above to tranform your varnished bowls.
Most carb bowls are simple, just clean them up and they are good to go. But I picked this Hitachi’s for photos because they have a jet built into the bowl. You can see the ‘fifth’ hole along the edge of the bowl, that is actually a thin passage that extends to the bottom of the bowl. This is for the idle jet and is extremely important. If these passages are clogged, the bike won’t stay running, period. Use the same poke, soak, and boiling methods outlined elsewhere in this article. Not all bowls have these passages, only some, if your’s don’t – good for you!
Once Everything is Clean
Now that everything is clean it’s time to put it all back together. Take your time and make sure you put everything back where it came from. WD-40 is your friend. When screwing in the jets don’t over do it, they only need to be seated and snug, do NOT use any force putting the carbs back together.
If the bowl gaskets got goobered up you can put a little RVT on them. So long as the float needles are still in good condition leaky gaskets shouldn’t be an issue. However, prudent carb tinkerers may want to order replacements if necessary.
Once the carbs are back together stuff them back into the bike!
Extra Notes
- Rebuild Kits – This guide did not mention rebuild kits until now. Rebuild kits (consisting of new gaskets, jets, needles, etc) can be purchased for nearly any bike, both old and new. 95% of the time these are NOT needed. I have rebuilt enough carbs to block off main street, and only once have I used new parts. ONCE!
- Carburetor Adjustment – Carburetor adjustment, setup, jetting, and synchronizing is a whole encyclopedia waiting to happen. Those topics are not covered in this article, but I will address them in future articles.
- Carburetor Polishing – External carb asthetics will be important to some, and not to others. Cleaning is all I am covering here, this will be addressed in the future.
- Work Space – Make sure you have lots of space to keep organized. I also like to work on a wooden surface because it absorbs the spilled gas and cleaners rather than pooling.
That’s it! You’re Done!
I’ll continue to write a couple more related articles about diagnosing carburetion issues as well as the proper way to adjust, jet, and tune your carbs.
Without a doubt the best info for motorcycle repair I have found on the web! Thanks for the great detail with pictures. I think I might be able to pull it off.
[Reply]
Hi i have a rf900 1994 just a question i was gonna clean my carbs as my bike runs ruff then i have 1 cylinder goes down every year – i clean the plugs and they are sooty especially one of them. after cleaning bike runs well for quite a while befoer i redo same process. oh running on hotter plugs too. would this be likey a carb issue?? also have you written your an article eventually on how to diagnose poor running conditions as yet. cheers
[Reply]
Hi Craig,
This could be a carb issue, but it could also be a few other things.
A sooty plug is generally the result of running too rich in the cylinder, or burning oil. Do you monitor your engine oil closely?
It would be odd if one carb is jetted richer than the others, but your air adjustment screw could certainly be way off on that one carb, or the choke could be damaged or stuck on. You could also have a dirty float needle which is overfilling the bowl and spilling excess fuel into the cylinder. All of these issues could create a rich situation.
It could also be worn rings, or worn valve seals, causing oil to be burned.
-Evan
[Reply]
@Dave –
Glad to hear. The Magna carbs can be tricky to remove and work on because they are stuffed between the front and rear cylinders. But the general cleaning process is the same.
@Rich –
Thanks!
[Reply]
Even, I have an Yamaha xs850 (1980) that
also has Hitachi carbs. They look almost like
these on your Seca (the bowls are shaped differently). I’ve owned this bike since 1996,
bur it was sitting in garage for a few years.
Last season I put he bike back on the road –
among other things I cleaned/rebuilt the carbs,
pretty much along the lines of your article, except I put new parts into it: gaskets, float needle, jets/orings.
I had a lot of problems with this, for no apparent reason they were leaking gasoline.
After several weeks of playing with them, they stopped leaking (who knows why) and everything was ok.
Last week I restarted the bike after the winter, and of course middle carb is leaking again.
What are the most common reasons for carbs to leak?
I’m aware of these:
1) bowl gasket is crappy
2) float needle doesn’t seal
3) float height is wrong
4) float sinks instead of floating (hole)
Anything else?
Thanks,
DAniel
[Reply]
@Daniel
When a carb is leaking it can really only be a few things, and you nailed them.
1 – Float is set too high
2 – Float needle is worn or not seating
The gasket doesn’t play a big role – with the bike on the center stand your carbs shouldn’t leak even if there was no gasket on the bowl. It’s up to the float and the needle to stop the flow of gas, the gasket just holds the gas in the bowl when splashing around while driving.
You’ll want to make sure your float pins (that go from tower to tower) don’t have corrosion and are otherwise smooth and clean. If there are any burrs on the pins, or if they are rusted or bent, it can prevent the float from moving smoothly and it will bind up.
Drop the float a bit and give it a try. Older floats sometimes will get ‘heavy’ and won’t float as well as they once did, but dropping them a little below factory specs can make all the difference.
Good luck! Carbs are always an adventure!
[Reply]
Thanks Evan!
I disassembled the middle carb, and everything
looks nice and clean. the float feels ok, it
moves smoothly, the pin is clean, the height
is perfect (12.5mm), yet it still leaks –
just open the fuel taps, and after 15 seconds
it will leak, even without starting the engine.
I have a feeling that the float pin must be bad; it came from Ebay ‘carb repair kit’, supposedly from Japan, and as far as I can tell it looks good, but what the heck do I know…
I’m tired of these carbs, I just got
Mikuni BST36 from 1997 Triumph triple,
and they fit perfectly, just need cleaning.
It’s not new, but the original Hitachis
are 30 years old now.
I’ll give them a try later this week. The bad thing is I’ll have to scrap the original airbox and switch to pods.
Daniel
[Reply]
Problem solved – it was an oring on one of the brass fuel lines Ts leaking. I need to replace the orings…
[Reply]
Evan, you are a born teacher. You have a fine work of art here. Thanks a million. Do you have a a favorite strategy for a rusty fuel tank? I’m working on two ’75 Honda cb360’s, my first bikes, here at age 64. All the best!
[Reply]
Thanks Michael – I’ve been trying to get some new how-to’s on here.
I DO have a method for rusty tank. Pour in a cup of nuts and washers and swish them around over all the surfaces – they’ll take all the significant rust right off. Then just flush out a couple times and you’re good to go. Make sure you take off the petcock first though so you don’t damage the plastic intakes.
Loose change would work fine too, or buckshot, etc.
[Reply]
HeY man
I glad to see there r greater mechanics out there!I’m an auto mechanic reading your blog here is a greateR deal.I knoW cars and trucks but bikes is new thing I want to pick up on. I just buot a 1982 yamaha maxim 550 the curbs leak,which I hope when I clean carbs that will stop.I am going to take your steps to the T but what do I need to do sit the air and fuel mixture as close as I can.this bike has some miles and I’m sure it is out of sync I would love to be riding this bike as soon as miD spring if u could email me what u know if its not to much to ask.Just to add its wonderful to know there is so one out there to show and tell about bikes. Thanks Man hope to hear from you. Mike
GallowayfAith@uscellular.blackberry.com
[Reply]
thank you for having this info for us to see. you gave the confidence to do it myself don’t like to get into carbs but you made it easy with your step by step instructions. I even synchronized them my self too. oh I have or just got a 82 550 maxim and now it is running great thank you steve.
[Reply]
Hi Evan–I have the same question/concern as Christian’s #37 above. What’s your advice there?
[Reply]
Two questions, first what is the silver screw between the carbs for. I have a 1985 xj700 Maxim. When the vehicle warms up the idle goes up to about 1800rpm when it should be about 1000?
[Reply]
@Chris – if you are referring to the large thumb knob between the 2nd and 3rd carburetor, that is your idle/throttle-stop adjustment. Turn it counter clockwise a bit to lower the idle.
[Reply]
Thanks for clearing that up for me it did help. If I may, I would like to ask one last question for now,this 1985 yamaha xj700 maxim has 10,685 miles on it. I recently purchased it and just checked the air cleaner element and observed some oil on the bottom of the element. Normal or not for a bike that has not been rode to much in 25 years, or should I worry??
[Reply]
@chris – A little oil in the airbox isn’t uncommon for any bike. Assuming no other problems it is either caused by: 1. The bike being slightly overfilled with oil. 2. The bike being ridden hard, creating excessive crankcase pressure forcing a little oil up the overflow tube.
Keep and eye on your oil level. If it’s ok, you’re probably fine.
If you have further questions please direct them to http://forum.evanfell.com
Thanks
[Reply]
Thanks for all of your help. I will be following your carb cleaning procedure at some point. At that time I might ask how you set the floats. But thanks for your help..
[Reply]
Great article. I can so relate. Great pictures on each step.
Thanks for the info, maybe I can do this project. I have a work bench just need to learn the techniques.
Thanks Thanks Thanks
CaptainSullyTampaBay
[Reply]
Good article – some nice additional tips here.
It’s always good to confirm what you are going to do before you do it… I’m facing a complete Carb strip this weekend for my awkward ’93 GSX600f (only firing on 3 pots)
I will be refering to this article several times over the coming days I’m sure!
Thanks
[Reply]
Thanks for that, wished I’d read the carb cleaning thing earlier. Unfortunately I did break one of the pin towers, can it be welded? I have a 2002 XT660e with a Y26PV carb.
Thanks again
Lee
[Reply]
I am very happy now,because you have solve my problem about our bike. I have clean some cabs but i did not know completely about carbs repair. But after reading your article, i can repair cabs properly. First, Now i will try your tips and methods on our bike. Our Bike do start easily.
Thank you…
From India
[Reply]
Sir,Please give me some suggestion about our Bike…
Why it takes more Kicks to start?
Thank you…
[Reply]
Thanks for the article, I have the carb removed from my ’81 CB250RS and have been trying to find a simple guide to dismantling and cleaning it (have always managed to avoid needing to work on carbs with every other bike!). I need the bike running within 5 weeks, so hopefully your guide will help me do this (English weather permitting!). Wish me luck…
[Reply]
I cleaned my carb in the boiling lemon juice, put it back together and it started right up. after it running a couple of times it wouldnt start again. so i cleaned it again. now i cant even get it to start. it just back fires. its a 1991 honda cbr600f2. i dropped the jets the second time and got them mixed up. but i dont think it should really matter which goes to which carb does it? i checked and made sure the carb was seated properly and it looked good. could it be so flooded that its leaking into the exhaust?
[Reply]
@Jo – If it takes 5 weeks to clean the carb you’re doing something wrong! HAHA! Those CB250RS’s are nice little bikes. I’d love one for running around town. Good luck with the maintenance.
@Joe – Getting carbs perfectly clean can often take a few tries. The running of your bike probably dislodged some debris that was still hidden in the carbs and they clogged up again. You could also have sediment in your gas tank making it’s way down to the carbs. Make sure your float screens are still free and clear and the pilot jets aren’t clogged up again.
[Reply]
Simply an awesome read, Evan. I was directed here by a forum entry in xjbikes.com. I have a pair of 82 Yamaha XJ750J’s. One bought for 100 bucks as a salvage bike. Was just lying in his yard for years. A challenge but I have the technology…she can be rebuilt. Second bought for 900, running and road ready, just needed TLC. Pulled the carbs from salvage bike and gonna give those a really really good cleaning and then put them on the #2 bike (named Sachi Ko = Japanese for girl named prosperity or happiness).
I already popped open the 1st carb and EWWWW, what a mess! There was white crunchy buildup, sand, rust and maybe the remnants of a small rodent(?) or something in it. Needles were coated in buildup the colour of a blood orange. But despite all the grime, it passed the “clunk test” and everything still moved fairly easy. Float pin even came out with little effort. No holes in diaphragm and slide surfaces still had a bit of shine. Think it’ll only take maybe 2 or 3 “baths” to get em all purdy-fied. And won’t even need rebuild kits. All thanks to you, brother, all thanks to you.
[Reply]
This article looks really useful. I’m about to buy a 1983 XJ650 and was wondering if this article would still be fairly accurate? I’ve never worked on carbs before so your info has really helped me understand a little better what to do.
[Reply]
@Jay – Glad I could help. I hate that dry crusty gunk in the carbs. I much prefer finding the orange goop. It’s always a surprise! Good luck with getting your bike back on the road.
@Aaron – Yep. Follow this guide and you’ll be in good shape. If you have any specific questions while doing the job you can post them over in my forums and I’ll be happy to help. forum.evanfell.com
Cheers!
[Reply]
Great article. I just bought an 81 Maxim. Glad you chose this carb.
[Reply]
I cleaned my carbs in the lemon juice boil and I was surprised how clean they came out. But now the bike a 82 Honda Cm450C won’t idle below 2500 rpm. Any idvice appreciated. You can email me at MichaelReinfeldt@Gmail.com Thanks
[Reply]
@Michael – Is your idle adjustment turned all the way down? Have you adjusted the air/fuel mixture screw both in an out? If yes to both then you need to synch your carbs.
[Reply]
Easy fix, I switched the jets around when I boiled somehow. after changing them idle is where it should be.
Great website and a lot of help to a newbie like me.
[Reply]
Nice guide, the parts of my carb are all nice and clean now. I think I put it back together wrong though cause now the bike revs up to what I assume will be maximum revs (I kill the engine before that happens) as soon as I start the engine. Any ideas what I might have done to make that happen?
[Reply]
Great article !
There is one simple trick regarding Air box rubber.
Just prior to carb removal,heat the rubber parts with a home steamer.Even an electric kettle will do.
Three to four min. of steam and the unit pops
in or out easily.
Works great with older rubber.
Heated rubber gets soft.
[Reply]
Evan,
What a GREAT find this article was! Thanks for taking the time to post it. I’ve gotten by so far by only soaking/spraying the jets and other easily-removable parts. But it’s getting near time to soak the entire carb bodies (of my 76 cb200t). Luckily, I only have to deal with two. I have a can of berryman’s chem dip (though I may try the boiling water or lemon juice first–what a great idea), but I’ve always hesitated to dip the carbs for one main reason: I have NO idea how to get the choke lever off of each carb (and I’d have to do so in order to get at a small plastic and a small rubber gasket that seals the choke to the body). Is there a simple way to do that?
I’m not sure if there’s a way I can attach pictures to make it easier. But here’s a website/forum that shows some clear pictures of where the choke lever meets the body: http://www.exriders.com/vbb/showthread.php?s=b8bf1f8acf93fde748b0840455ba0df6&threadid=89523&perpage=10&pagenumber=1
These aren’t my carbs (luckily!).
Anyway, thanks for any help you might be able to offer. I always assumed this would come apart just by removing the nut and sliding the choke mechanism through, but it gets all held up inside because of the flap that the choke operates…
Tony
[Reply]
I have owned several bikes and carbs are the first thing done… wether the bike runs great… or not at all. I read your post due to lack of things to do and I must say…. SPOT ON!!! atleast people have a good way for the do it yourselfer
[Reply]
Thanks so much for the post and for the blog! I read and thoroughly enjoyed all of your posts in a single weekend. For those that find lemon juice too expensive, I’ve started using 1 part vinegar to 2 parts water and it also works extremely well.
Keep on posting.
[Reply]
Hi Evan,
Thanks for sharing your knowledge on cleaning carbs, especially the lemon juice tip.
I’d like to attempt cleaning the pair of carbs off my ’96 1100 ACE. Do you have any posts, pics, or sites on how to remove these tightly fitted carbs?
I have removed the tank and rubber snorkel but am not confidant to go further without a bit more knowledge about removing them. For instance, how do I remove the two small choke cable lines which enter the carbs? Would hate to break them. Thanks, Rick
[Reply]
Hey Evan. I really enjoy this guide and was wondering if you had any tips for me being a novice with bike repair. I recently bought a 1981 Suzuki GS450 and need to clean the carbs on a tight budget.
[Reply]
thanks Ewan, for some good simple down to earth info even i could follow,,,, brit who just bought an old 77 mz ts250/1, runs but not as it should, suspect carbs need a bit of t.l.c. thanks again buddy
[Reply]
Will the boiling in lemon juice thing effect the rubber bushings for the butterfly? Or do I need to remove it first?
[Reply]
Evan,
[Reply]
Evan, Just thought I would come back here and say thanks. I had a Honda TRX350 Quad Carb kicking my butt. Wasted a can of Carb cleaner on it. Would not run without 1/2 choke. Used your Boiling in lemon juice trick, worked beyond belief. Fired up first try, ran prefect.
Thank you.
R
Gail
[Reply]
Very helpfull reading this article look forward to reading more on Sycrhonizing carbs. Clark
[Reply]
Carb cleaner in a can bahh, and I’ve done it plenty in the past but that stuff turns rubber pieces to mush and will ruin a needle valve quick and it’s flamable. It does eat away varnish but at what cost. Boiling is good though but you must take the whole carb apart to be effective and it can harm the body finish.
I use a Sonic machine to clean my carburetors and other engine parts and don’t have to deal with any of the above. I don’t have to worry about soaking to long in solvent or wait around and watch a boiling pot of water.
Good article though.
[Reply]
nice thorough piece! you break it down in bite size manageable bits!
[Reply]
I need some help! I took carb apart cleaned everything, put a carb kit in (before reading your article lol) put back together! It runs great BUT gas pours out the vent tube from the bowl! How can I fix this?
[Reply]
The gas pours out the vent hose from the bowl ONCE THE ENGINE IS SHUT DOWN!
SORRY!
Hotrod
[Reply]
@hotrod – Gas coming out the overflow tube means the bowl is filling too high. Either your float level is set too high and needs to be adjusted, or your float needle isn’t clean or is worn and not seating well.
[Reply]