The general appearance of the inside of the carb is not necessarily a good indication of its condition.
It can look spotless and have clogged jets, or look cruddy and have clear jets.
It's good to clean each individual part rather than soak or boil the whole carb in carb cleaner.
But either way is good. Do not allow any solvents to contact any rubber parts (tip of needle, O-ring seal for bowl).
Make sure to take everything apart, jets, needle, accel pump, all rubber components especially.
Examine all parts for excessive wear, damage, distortion, etc.
Cleaning solutions/sprays vary based upon your location, needs, budget, preferences and quality.
Dismantle the carb down to the body before soaking. You will be surprised at all the dirt in the bottom of the soaking container.
Here are some helpful ideas:
An overnight soak in a solution of Pinesol and water followed up with a good brush down with a toothbrush then rinse and air dry.
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See also
Soaking parts in the REF section of the Sportsterpedia.
A 20 minute to up to a few days soak in a gallon of Gunk (or other) Carburetor Cleaner that has a basket inside for small parts and lowers in the can with a handle, rinse, air dry, use.
Soak it in mineral spirits for a few days.
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You can use acrylic paint thinners for cleaning up carb parts. It melts the fuel varnish right off.
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An aerosol spray carb cleaner will also work but may not loosen all of the build up in the jets or orifices in the carb body if they're not directly sprayed through.
Blow out all holes, jets and orifices thoroughly with compressed air after cleaning.
A gallon of carburetor cleaner is very useful in cleaning out varnish from the channels and metering chamber.
It is especially useful for soaking stuck gaskets between parts and loosen the joint between them for dis-assembly.
Depending on how old or how 'stuck' the parts are, soaking for a couple hours may help to separate the old gasket in between.
Make sure to remove any rubber or plastic parts before soaking. Also check the label for safety precautions.
Parts that have been sitting for years may have to be soaked for about 24 hours or even days.
Carburetor Cleaner 4) |
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Note:
The use of wire to 'rod' out jets and orifices is discouraged in the FSM.
However, a hard wire such as a welding tip cleaner, has been known to open up stubborn areas at times.
Always use a wire smaller than the orifice cleaned so you don't widen the holes.
Doing so could create burrs or change the hole sizes.
Carb Stand:
You can put the carb in a vice to remove the screws, and for much of the following work.
Wrap in a shop towel; close the vice gently taking extra care with the choke and throttle linkages.
The vice is a needed extra pair of hands.
It can be very confusing trying to decide which way to bend the tang if it is not correct.
If the fuel level is low,Is the float high or low?, Do you need to bend the tang up or down? etc.
On the bench the carb is usually upside down, adding to the confusion. You should sort all this out before making an adjustments.
However, this setup works better than putting the carb directly into the vice.
The carb is set upright as 'in use' making adjustments more straight forward.
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