Needle Valve Seat Retainer

[Guest]

I am rebuilding my carbs (85 GS550, BSR30SS) and am realizing the PO destroyed a lot of parts, totaling about $160 to replace them, plus new o rings. In addition, the threads for the needle valve seat retainer screw are destroyed (cracked off) on one and on the other poorly repaired. I would hate to drop the money in all these parts to have a useless carb body. Can anyone here chime in?

I have looked for used carb parts but haven't found much. Can anyone make recommendations? Are there any suppliers for new carbs or carb bodies?

Thanks,

Ryan

[terrylee]

put ad in parts wanted section on here, and check ebay. terrylee

[Steve]

I have a "box o'parts", but mostly for BS32 and BS34. Not sure how much would fit your carbs.

What parts do you need? I can check to see if what I have might fit.

.

[ryankal]

Thanks for the tips.

I have been researching all day, and short of purchasing used replacement carbs which could have similar issues, I have two options. I could fabricate, or pay someone to fabricate, new intake manifolds and install new VM carbs. This seems difficult as my engine doesn't have a standard intake design (3 bolt mounting, oval, two small intakes within oval). Or I could use JB Weld, Quicksteel, Lab Metal, etc to repair the threads within the carb body, and then drill and tap the epoxy. My concern here is whether or not this fix would hold up, as well as deterioration from the gasoline.

Thoughts?

Steve - I think my carb uses different parts, but Ill check and let you know. Thank you.

Ryan

[bobgroger]

I had a JB Welded float post for 2 years with no deterioration. It was a tough job getting the pin out when I finally needed to. Also used it to seal a hole in a car gas tank years ago.

[SqDancerLynn1]

Sounds like you have the dreaded 2bbl carbs. Good luck you will need it...

[SqDancerLynn1]

another option is to buy an older head that uses convemtional BS30/32 CARBS and swap

[ryankal]

Im going to rebuild the current carbs and replace the broken parts with used parts if I can find them. I extracted the stripped pilot jets, the stubborn needle valve seats, the impossible pilot screw covers, and am now soaking the pilot screws for hopefully simple removal tomorrow. I also cleaned up the mangled thread areas for the needle valve seat retainer screw. Ill apply JB weld after cleaning to provide a "blank" to drill and tap.

Anyone with experience with JB. Do I need to tap the hole after I drill it, or would a screw self tap? I suppose it depends on the screw, but any thoughts are appreciated. I ask as I have some small taps (metric for bicycles), but I am unsure of the specifics of the replacement screw and don't want to purchase a tap for just that screw.

Thanks everyone!

Ryan