Cleaning up carburettors

[Paul H]

I have a pair of old SUs that are very gummed up, and so need a good soak in something appropriate before they can be fully stripped down, as the pistons are stuck pretty firmly in the dashpots. What would be the best, easily available substance to drown them in? E.g. I know that Coca Cola is good for unsiezing engines, but will it be ok on the carbs? Thinking more in terms of the alloy and brass parts. The reason I ask is that I just happen to have several large bottles that are out of date...

Other suggestions are very welcome

Cheers!

[BenzBoy]

I use good old unleaded. Pretty cheap comparatively, and dissolves most things. For more stubborn deposits I use carb cleaner.

[dodgerover]

Dishwasher is pretty useful.

[Paul H]

Sept 2, 2013 20:34:28 GMT BenzBoy said:

I use good old unleaded. Pretty cheap comparatively, and dissolves most things. For more stubborn deposits I use carb cleaner.

The unseizing is the first priority, so I was intending to leave them to soak for a few days. As it will have to be left outside, I'm a bit concerned that petrol will evaporate off quite quickly, especially in this weather? Once freed up, then I was going to give them a good wash down in petrol or carb cleaner.

Sept 2, 2013 20:49:46 GMT dodgerover said:

Dishwasher is pretty useful.

Sadly that method has previously already been declared illegal by Mrs H. Also, we're house-sitting for relatives at the moment...

[dodgerover]

Sept 2, 2013 20:49:46 GMT dodgerover said:

Dishwasher is pretty useful.

Sadly that method has previously already been declared illegal by Mrs H. Also, we're house-sitting for relatives at the moment...

LOL surely all tea cups should taste of stale fuel no? Actually i tested ours with hypoid gear oil the other day - the slightest smell of which makes me want to chuck and its all smelling fresh and clean after the wash

[cobblers]

Sept 2, 2013 21:06:23 GMT dodgerover said:

Actually I tested ours with hypoid gear oil the other day - the slightest smell of which makes me want to chuck and its all smelling fresh and clean after the wash

Careful man! I stank my washing machine out with under a gobful of gearbox oil on some jeans - ten boil washes full of washing up liquid didn't touch the smell.
It took 5l of vinegar to de-stinkify it.

[BenzBoy]

Sept 2, 2013 21:00:44 GMT Paul H said:

Sept 2, 2013 20:34:28 GMT BenzBoy said:

I use good old unleaded. Pretty cheap comparatively, and dissolves most things. For more stubborn deposits I use carb cleaner.

The unseizing is the first priority, so I was intending to leave them to soak for a few days. As it will have to be left outside, I'm a bit concerned that petrol will evaporate off quite quickly, especially in this weather? Once freed up, then I was going to give them a good wash down in petrol or carb cleaner.

I think I'd try diesel in that case. Very penetrating, and less volatile than petrol. Also rather cheap in the quantities required. I've soaked things in a bath of diesel quite a few times and it's worked a treat. In fact I use diesel as a penetrating fluid quite a lot, it's pretty good.

[dodgerover]

Sept 2, 2013 21:12:35 GMT cobblers said:

Sept 2, 2013 21:06:23 GMT dodgerover said:

Actually I tested ours with hypoid gear oil the other day - the slightest smell of which makes me want to chuck and its all smelling fresh and clean after the wash

Careful man! I stank my washing machine out with under a gobful of gearbox oil on some jeans - ten boil washes full of washing up liquid didn't touch the smell.
It took 5l of vinegar to de-stinkify it.

Opps, yeah I did the same with veg oil soaked clothes in the washing machine took ages for the smell to go away - dishwasher seems better though - maybe runs a lot hotter?

[theheap]

Pool of diesel or wd40 will do the trick

[retrobarmy]

There are cheap ultrasonic cleaners on the bay of thieves. I bought one for my other passion (watchmaking) and have used it for my old motorcycle carbs and carb parts on occasions. Take care with some of the solvents as they will destroy the "rubbers" in carbs (apologies to any US readers! I mean neoprenes etc.).

[taurus]

There is a spray for powerboat engines that I've used for years - Quicksilver Powertune - it works for me every time. (Johnson/Evinrude do a similar product) Either a boatyard or ebay is where to find it. It's basically like carb cleaner on steroids.

[MrSpeedy]

Sept 2, 2013 21:12:35 GMT cobblers said:

Sept 2, 2013 21:06:23 GMT dodgerover said:

Actually I tested ours with hypoid gear oil the other day - the slightest smell of which makes me want to chuck and its all smelling fresh and clean after the wash

Careful man! I stank my washing machine out with under a gobful of gearbox oil on some jeans - ten boil washes full of washing up liquid didn't touch the smell.
It took 5l of vinegar to de-stinkify it.

I made a similar misdemeanor with some polishing rags that had 'T-Cut' on them. Damn, that shizzle takes some shifting!!

Back on topic, I always use petrol. If you can stretch to it, super unleaded is more effective, but either will do. If you're worried about evaporation, simply put a lid on your container

I've managed to restore many carbs back to 'as new' condition with little more than petrol and an old toothbrush

[Paul H]

Many thanks for all the tips & info chaps - loads of useful stuff there

[Infectus-Guy]

You need to find yourself somewhere with a trike (trichloroethylene) tank, my god the cr@p used to just fall off things in there. Then the red tape got involved and about 10 years ago they took the trike tanks away from work, baking trays, carbs etc all sorts went through it! Although heavily restricted its worth doing a bit of homework as there might be somewhere local to you that still uses it.
Guy

[composimmonite]

Mate recently bought a cheap (Lidl / Aldi) ultrasonic cleaner intended for jewellery etc. Worked great at cleaning up a second hand set of carbs he bought for his bike. I read some people fill the tank with cheap coke but others say just water works fine.


Paul H