Remove mikuni float needle seat without damage?

I’m getting ready to dig into another mikuni BS30 carb rack. It’ll be the third set that I’ve worked on in the past six months.

Each float needle seat I’ve removed so far has been scuffed up on the exterior brass as I’ve removed them with needle nose pliers.

I’m wondering if anyone has found a technique to remove float seats that doesn’t damage them.

Thank you in advance!

 

yeh , done this on 3 sets of carbs with some difficult to remove float needle seats.
find a drill that fits into the needle valve with very little clearance slop, (i use a drill set with half mm sizes) using the shank of the drill , insert it into the valve seat, then wiggle it in all directions ,squirting penetrating oil in the seat as you go . then wiggle as you pull on the seat , you can use pliers on the outside of the seat whilst the drill shank is still inserted, for stubborn ones, i've not failed with this yet

 

Excellent idea. I’ll give this a shot. Thanks!

 

I don't have any advice for Mikuni needle seats in particular, but in general, in my experience, heat is your friend. And patience. Maybe a few heat cycles - heat it up, let it cool, heat it up again, let it cool, heat it up again, attempt removal.

 

Another great idea. Thank you.