• Required reading for all forum users!!!

    Welcome!
    Register to access the full functionality of the GSResources forum. Until you register and activate your account you will not have full forum access, nor will you be able to post or reply to messages.

    A note to new registrants...
    All new forum registrations must be activated via email before you have full access to the forum.

    A Special Note about Email accounts!
    DO NOT SIGN UP USING hotmail, outlook, gmx, sbcglobal, att, bellsouth or email.com. They delete our forum signup emails.

    A note to old forum members...
    I receive numerous requests from people who can no longer log in because their accounts were deleted. As mentioned in the forum FAQ, user accounts are deleted if you haven't logged in for the past 6 months. If you can't log in, then create a new forum account. If you don't get an error message, then check your email account for an activation message. If you get a message stating that the email address is already in use, then your account still exists so follow the instructions in the forum FAQ for resetting your password.

    Have you forgotten your password or have a new email address? Then read the forum FAQ for details on how to reset it.

    Any email requests for "can't log in anymore" problems or "lost my password" problems will be deleted. Read the forum FAQ and follow the instructions there - that's what we have one for...

  • Returning Visitors

    If you are a returning visitor who never received your confirmation email, then odds are your email provider is blockinig emails from our server. The only thing that can be done to get around this is you will have to try creating another forum account using an email address from another domain.

    If you are a returning visitor to the forum and can't log in using your old forum name and password but used to be able to then chances are your account is deleted. Purges of the databases are done regularly. You will have to create a new forum account and you should be all set.

Carb Cleaner Dip

  • Thread starter Thread starter MiketheBike
  • Start date Start date
M

MiketheBike

Guest
I am now conviced to strip and clean my carbs using BassCliff's advice (bike is a 1980 GSX 1100). I have ordered all the Orings but am having trouble locating the dip used. I'm down here in Australia and can't find anyone who has heard of Gunk Carb Cleaning dip or anything like it. I went onto the Gunk website looking for a material safety data sheet but couldn't find one for the chlorinated type cleaner (only chlorine free). I found another cleaner that has methylene chloride and petroleum spirit (I was thinking maybe I could make some up myself). Is there anybody here in Oz that can tell me where to get an equivalent soaker cleaner? Or is there anyone anywhere who can tell me the ingredients Gunk use so that I can try and make something similar? All other suggestions greatly appreciated.
 
There's no actual equivalent in OZ, as we Americans get more freedom to kill ourselves with dangerous chemicals

Yamaha sells a good product down under
 
Can you get simple green? If not, fill a pot with soap and hot water. You can let the carb bodies soak in the pot until all the gunk comes off. Dry with compressed air.
 
I used 50/50 kerosene and acetone. Seemed to do it. There was a teaspoon
of gritty siht in the bottom of the container after 24hrs. so something came off.
 
Last edited:
fyi on simple green. make sure u rinse it well. simple green and alumium dont play well if sat for to long. on the xs11.com forums a couple member have destroyed there carbs. works great other than that...
 
On ultrasonic cleaners, I can get chinese gemstone cleaners for 5 bux. Anything that cleans metals is 200 bux+. Anything with a pH of 8.5+ will dissolve aluminium. pH 9.5+ dissolves brass. Anything less than 5.5 - there won't be anything left in the container when you come to check in the morning. If I can work out what the gunk people use, I can order it from lab supplies and put it together.
 
When I cleaned my carbs I used plain kerosene.
I soaked them for a week first and scrubbed all the outside gunk off and then filtered kero through a couple of paper towels in a large funnel then after disassemble soaked parts for over a week turning and shaking every day to fill any air bubbles
The smaller passages I shot through with brake cleaner.(be sure to use safety goggles)
The Tight passages and the jets needed more attention then what is needed with regular carb cleaner, Be careful when removing jets that you use a screwdriver that fills the slots well to keep from marking them. (it is well worth it to grind down a screwdriver so it fits perfect, and smooth out the edges of what you grind, if you mark/score the brass it will cause problems in both performance and gas mileage)

For the jets, hold up to light and look through both ends to insure nothing is blocking, you may have to use a small piece of wire to gently break up any blockage.(you do not want to mark the brass with wire)
I gently rubbed my diaphragm/slide needles to remove some built up gunk.
Took extra time to scrub everything I could reach with a toothbrush and a green scrubber.
Then did it again.

Might be important to note.
3xxx check that everything is clean.
My bike had only been sitting for a couple of years when bought and cleaned.
The outsides will not be all nice and shiny when done.
I regularly run a gas additive through them as a precautionary measure.

Have regularly seen posts on here of people having problems after a carb rebuild.
I think some of the problems encountered are from.

Not having replaced o-rings with new.
Hooking fresh carbs to a fuel tank that still has gunk in it be it rust or a tank liner that is peeling.
On reassembly they have contaminated with foreign debris by not being careful enough.
As stated earlier Yamaha makes a carb cleaner that they sell down under. It seems that you can only purchase through a Yahama dealer, but I may be wrong, make sure they are selling carb cleaner and not air filter cleaner, call them first if you have a long travel to get there.

On a side note, can you eat the big land crabs I have seen pictures of down there?
They look yummy!
 
Last edited:
Thanks everybody. I'll look for some yamaha cleaner. As for the crabs, you can eat them if you can get one. I've never been much for crabs. Seems like an awful lot of work to pry out a small amount of food. Now prawns (shrimp) is a different matter.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top