carb cleaning tools

I was wondering what kind of "tools" you guys like to use when cleaning your carbs. I bought a scotch brite pad and was using it with sea foam and it seemed to break down the pad leaving small particles of scotch brite for me to clean up. It did okay with the varnish but made more work for me.

Also, how do you get inside the small openings like the siphon tube?

How do you clean the inside of the nozzle? Anything I can imagine getting in there won't have much "scrubbing" power.

What about the little holes in by the butterfly? do those need cleaning? Is squirting carb cleaner in there going to do anything?

All my brass looks good--on the outsides that is. How do I get the insides of the jets clean and just how many are there? I know I have the main and pilot jets off and also the pilot screw. What am I missing?

Does the xjcd cover all this? I was planning on buying it anyway.

Can't bring myself to disassemble the enrichment circuit but since the bike only started with it on I think it must be clean enough to not worry about especially because it's not in use most of the time anyway.

Is it possible to poke a brass wire into a jet and increase the diameter of the hole? Took one off a wire brush to use and it was not real straight and didn't go in real easy. Not sure if it was because of the diameter of the wire or the kinks. It went in with some encouragement though. Hope i didn't mess up the hole.

sorry for the rambling---it's late. Going to bed now and dream that my engine purrs like a kitten.

thanks for any input.

 

I used carb cleaner with the straw for high power and a tooth brush.... and also my air compressor with a blower attachment on full blast ... worked for me.. i didn't have the right size screw driver... so I put one under the bench grinder and customized it

 

There was a post i found that worked great for cleaning jets, emultion tubes and needles. Use a single wire from a steel wire brush to get the big chunks out of the jets then soak then in Hoppe's #9 gun cleaning solution. This proved to be way better than the carb spray i was soaking them in.

As far as that siphon tube goes remove the choke valves. Shoot carb spray in the passage "thats the little hole in the middle where the brass needle goes into". As long as the spray ejects from the tubes " dont point them at your face" they should be clear. Also in the bowls there are jets down the little hole the siphon tubes sit in make sure those are clear as well. Chacal sells a drillbit the size that you would need to unplug these tubes/jets if there pluged up. To check the passages i found bread tie wire the right size to verify that there was no junk clogging up my tubes and bowl jets.

Take the carbs all the way down "dont forget to count the turns from the bottom on the mixture screws" clean everthing. Get 4 carb kits replace all o-rings, Needle and seats. Check the Diaphrams for holes/cracks/dryrot. When the Diaphram assembly is out of the way with the main jet out you can slide the Emultion tubes out of the bodys these can get plugged up as well. My #1 tube was so pluged up that only 2 holes would let any light through.

My advice is go slow find a good place to work so that you dont loose any parts. clean everything make sure all passages are open and clean. Once back together set the float levels "make sure you can actually get the screws out of the Bowls". BenchSync and get a Colortune plug to set your idle mixtures. It seems like alot of work but as soon as you get it purring these old bikes are a blast to ride. I'm just waiting for some weather above 40F so i can go test out my new baby.....

 

Good idea to use copper wire rather than steel as it's softer than the brass and wont damage the holes.

Paul

 

steel wool on a q-tip comes in handy

 

I'd recommend letting it sit outside if you're going to do that... the stuff reeks to high heaven.

 

These work great for cleaning the enrichment circuits. Mine were real bad. Completely clogged. I used carb cleaner and some of my guitar strings to break apart the crud that was built up.

 

oops double post.

 

The Number One Carb Cleaning Tool is a Welders Torch Tip Cleaning Set.
There are "Tools" on the Set that fit the smallest of Metering Orifices in the Jets and Passages ... and One that is the correct size to probe the Siphon Tube.

Rubber Syringes. (Ear and eye syringes from the Drug Store)

Fabricated Screwdrivers made to precisely fit Jet Slots.
A medium lengthed Cap Screw that fits the threads of the Emulsion Tube for driving it out and pulling it back in place.

Magnifying Glass for reading Jet Sizes and inspecting openings.

Dremel Tool with Flex Wand attachment for De-oxidizing the Diaphragm Piston Bores and Polishing the Bores after they are de-oxidized.

Dental Pick and Probes for Cleaning-off rust and grime from nooks and crannies.

Electric Drill for spinning Emulsion Tubes for Cleaning and Polishing.
Drilling-out Plugs and stuck Jets.

Deep Basin or Pan with a "Grill" from a Toaster Oven that will suspend the Carbs above the Cleaning Spray as they are cleaned.
I made mine from the door to a small pet "Crate"
Heavy Duty, chrome-plated wire frame that holds the Carbs away from the Cleaning Material as they are Sprayed of Hand Cleaned-off.

 

Small diameter copper wire for those siphon tubes. I found that a stainless wire out of my wire brush stays stiff enough to clean out those stubbord ports in the bottom of the float bowl.

Long wood Q-Tips, an assortment of brass and poly brushes(cheapo Harbor Freight sale items).

I use an offset flat screw wrench/driver with 2 heads on each end for removing those tight screws and the jets. I want to say it's either a Craftsman or a Snap-on tool.

I have found that a gallon of the carb cleaner with the dip bucket from auto parts(got mine from Autozone $18) has been the best thing to loosen up anything including the port in the float bowl and any and all varnish from the carb/bowl, floats, jets, emulsion tube ect... NOTE: Before dropping any carb parts into it make sure there are no rubberparts in it!!!You will have to take out the butterfly to remove shaft seals along with any other rubber parts if your wanting to soak the whole carb body in it.

 

THIS.

Opened a clogged starter jet right up on one of my Mikunis, although it took two days of soak time to do it. I've got the next batch of jets soaking as I type -- the #3 pilot jet was clogged solid.

Varnish go bye-bye. I swear by the stuff now.

 

Nothing beats an ultrasonic cleaner with a good rubber friendly solvent.

I personally use ChemCrest. Not only is it not going to deteriorate your seals, it's biodegradable as well.

 

All great ideas. Thanks

 

My husband and I use a lot of Q tips and chenille pip cleaners (found at dollar stores).