Carb cleaning methods

Had a great day today cleaning up my XJ750 carb parts. It was great because I finally found something that works really well - white vinegar and a toothbrush. Good degrease, then a half hour soak followed by a toothbrush scrub and they look like new. For the zinc plated parts I soaked them for another half hour in a fresh solution, rinsed then finished off with some wadding polish.

When I got my XJ750 it had been sitting on the side stand for two years and the carbs were really disgusting, like gummed and corroded up to the max. Now the bits look like new !! Stay tuned for another XJ renovation ...

 

Did you boil them in the white vineger, or just let them sit in it. White vineger would be the same as lemon juice.

 

Just sat them in it at room temp and gave it an occasional stir. What really seems to get it moving along though is the rub with the toothbrush, it builds up a film otherwise and that seems to stop the reaction. And a fresh solution for each batch is good too. The brass parts still needed a good polish afterwards.

I don't know much about the chemistry of this but it seems to work ok, just like the juice only you don't have to boil it then fish around in the soup for boiling hot parts, so it's just easier to do (I nearly lost a couple of bits down the sink with the boiling juice method).

The vinegar was nothing special, 95 cents a litre at the supermarket, and the garage smelt like I'd been poaching eggs but the parts are gleaming, especially the zinc plated linkages and fittings !!

 

Here's a before and after ...

 

Boiling the steel parts in lemon juice will eleiminate ALL of the rust.

I would not boil the floats nor the brass parts.

If you boil the boil carb bowls and pull them out one-at-a-time and use carb spray with the thin red tube you can clean the enrichment circuit easily. Anything in the enrichment circuit is molten and comes out.

I have some beater floats that are crusty. I will try the white vinegar and toothbrush. Thanks for the idea.

 

you broke the rack eh? hope you took great photos and sketches.
the parts look real good.
Might give vinegar a try next cleaning session(but I hope it will be awhile before the next)

 

I've just tried boiling some of the brass parts, jets, etc. and it made no difference whatsoever, just smelt awful. I think the only attraction of the vinegar is that it can be done at room temp in small batches, and the way it cleans up the zinc, that's the bit I like !!

 

And did I "break" the rack? mmm I'd prefer to call it "disassembled" lol and yes, I got lots of good pics, sketches and the like, after reading a few posts on this topic of carb overhaul I thought it best to be organised, all my parts are lined up and numbered.

 

Here's another thing I just discovered. If you put any of the copper washers in the vinegar solution with the brass parts, the brass parts come out copper plated !! There's probably a whole bookfull of high school chemistry going on in there but I never understood it then either, so I'll just keep 'em separated.