Cleaning Carburetors ?

[Mase]

My carbs have finally died and I am swapping them out for a bank that I have rebuilt.  During this project I am alos working on 3 other Rochester carbs.  I have been trying some solutions since the EPA has outlawed the good old stuff a few years ago.

I found that using a heated Crock Pot (don't laugh  ) with a solution of Purple Power/Pinesol/water seems to clean them well.  One of the Quadrajets had the original gaskets from 1968 and was not coming apart.  Letting the heated solution soak overnight loosen all of the gaskets and the carb separated.

Here is a short list of the things that did not work.  Dawn/CLR/Acetone/Borax/Pinesol(cold)/Berrymans VOC Carb Cleaner/Gumout Carb Cleaner/Deisel Fuel/ATF/Xylene

I know that an Ultrasonic Cleaner would work well but I don't have the dollars to throw at a machine that I won't hardly ever use.

I am still looking for better solutions and I have read about using Lacquer Thinner. 

Can anyone that has used Lacquer Thinner on old carbs give me some advice as to how well/bad it worked?

[AZdougness]

I just recently cleaned my carburetors using lacquer thinner and berrymans carb cleaner (acetone + MEK + other solvents). It does a great job getting varnish off and and cleaning without leaving residue. Some notes about using it though:

1. Always use it in a well ventilated area, it gives off some pretty serious fumes.
2. Use nitrile gloves when handling it, stuff is not good to absorb into your skin.
3. Use a q-tip with lacquer thinner for the smaller parts (not threaded holes).
4. It does not necessarily work too great on 3M 847 glue (original carb bowl sealant from Honda.) I had to use a soft plastic brush in combination with MEK to remove all traces.
5. Do not soak in the lacquer thinner your float valves, drain screws with o-ring still attached, air check valves, 3 way fuel and air joints with o-rings, air mix screws without moving o-rings, or pretty anything that is rubber, silicon, or gasketing material you plan on re-using.
6. Without an instrument designed for cleaning carb jet passages, it may not be able to unclog a jet by itself.

In truth, I would probably go to a local chemical store (not HD or Lowes) to buy some MEK instead of lacquer thinner. But handle MEK even more carefully as it is supposedly pretty nasty to breath, and more so to absorb.

Why did you choose to use a new carb bank? Was the last one past repair or rebuild? Incase you have not been to red-eye I would check out there site: https://sites.google.com/site/valkparts/ as it has most of the parts that are common for needing replacement, and any stuck jets you can order from http://www.sudco.com/keihinjets.html 100 mains part # is 019-178 and 35 slows part # 019-005.

[Pappy!]

You may want to try something from the marine industry.
Johnson/Evinrude (OMC) sells a product called Carbon Guard. The product was originally designed to remove carbon deposits from pistons, rings, combustion chambers, etc. Very powerful and effective for that. Through the years we have figured out that it is also extremely effective at removing deposits from carburetors as well. Soak a carb in it and it does a great job.
Since the product was originally designed to remove deposits from pistons on a running engine we then started putting it in a crock pot and letting pistons with stuck rings sit in it. Again...wonderful results. Carbs were the same way....heated, there is nothing that we have tried that does a better job. Carbon Guard can be purchased by the can or gallon.
I still do this on a daily basis BTW so this is a long time tried and true method and a time saver.
We tried SeaFoam and it didn't hold a candle to the CG.

[Patrick]

I'm a little leery of the 'newer' carb cleaners, but, they have worked OK. I'm still old fashioned and use air while while they are soaking. Just to sure, I squirt Deep-Creep through everything followed by air just make sure everything is clear.
Good luck with your Q-jets, take a good look at the bases.

[Pappy!]

I buy it through the Marina I am at. I have a gallon at home as well. I did mine just after I bought the bike as it was only running on 4 cyls at idle.
For the job you need to do a can or two would work well. Disassemble the carbs, remove all rubber parts and plastic. Place each carb's brass in the respective fuel bowl. Soak the bowls and brass in the CG. Clean out all passages with a good aerosol carb cleaner, verifying each passage visually as you go. Compare passages from carb to carb. Bench sync the carbs before installation.
I think Berryman also has a carb cleaning solution that may work pretty well when heated. There's is in what looks like a medium sized house paint can.
A third way to do it is with heated engine coolant in a crock pot. Works amazingly well. I used that to remove the burned on Castor Oil on my model airplane engines for years and it does a great job. Will clean carbs just as well. However!! if left too long in the heated coolant the aluminum will darken. Not good on a Valk!

[CoachDoc]

I've been using Simple Green for a few years now, and it seems to my eyes to work at least as well as the Berryman's without qualifying as a toxic chemical. I hear you about the cost of the U/S cleaner, but if you can beg or borrow the use of one, use it for just a half hour with warmed Simple Green and those carbs will be cleaner than an overnight soak in Berryman's or MEK, plus no toxicity, and best of all you don't have to remove any of the rubber or plastic parts.

(note that an OVERNIGHT soak in SG will darken aluminum parts to a variable degree)