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Carb rebuild vs. cleaning

Rob S.

Rob S.

Forum Guru
Past Site Supporter
What exactly is the difference?

I know that a carb has to be somewhat disassembled for a proper cleaning so that all the rubber parts can be removed prior to dipping. If the jetting was already dialed in, the choke worked, etc., what more would be done in a rebuild beyond cleaning?
 
For me, a rebuild means replacing parts. Either because they're broken (but then the carb wouldn't be labeled as working, would it) or that undergo or have undergone wear and tear (rubber stuff, maybe faded polish, etc). Somewhat similar to putting the assembly (or single parts) 'back to zero hours' in aviation.
 
To me, carb cleaning means dipping in carb cleaner followed by using small wire to make sure all the passages are open, then spray carb cleaner through those passages followed by compressed air. New rubber parts from www.cycleorings.com and put it all back together.
Don't forget the bench synch then synch with gauges after getting the bike back up and running.
 
To me, "cleaning" is just that, removing the dirt and grime. Mostly from the outside. Yeah, you can take them apart and dip them to get the insides clean, too, but that is still cleaning.

"Rebuild" or "refurbish" is when you clean everything (inside and out) and replace items that tend to wear out in one way or another. This would include our usual replacement of o-rings and gaskets, then making the necessary adjustment to bring the newly-assembled carbs back to as close as practical to new operating condition.

I have seen some absolutely grungy-looking carbs that worked perfectly and I have seen some immaculate-looking carbs that had severe problems trying to run, so what is (or is NOT) on the inside (dirt, crud, grime) seems to be much more important.

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Rob S. said:
................
.................. a carb has to be somewhat disassembled for a proper cleaning so that all the rubber parts can be removed prior to dipping.....
Click to expand...


To remove the rubber parts (O-rings) requires a complete disassembly. And that disassembly includes removing each carb from the rack, and each carb from each other. Other reason for a complete dissasembly, each carb from the others, is the carb dip bucket only holds one carb har har har

Other comment is that the "Rebuild kits" (~$70 x4) that you find in catalogs may include float needles and seats and such. WHich you typically dont need, well, unless there is heavy wear there.

What most carbs that are not running well need is a cleaning of the small passages and new o-rings. So you need o-rings (search for "Cycle ORings" ~$15 total) and probably new bowl gaskets and a bucket of carb dip.
 
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Carb cleaning is what get when you pay $300.00 to your bike shop to do when your GS has carb issues....carb rebuild is what you do when you pull carbs off yourself, completely disassemble them and replace less than $50.00 worth of parts and your GS runs great when you are done.
 
I would add that for a complete rebuild, replacement of the throttle shaft seals is needed. Which means detaching the throttle blades from the shafts and getting new throttle blade screws (since you have to file the staked ends off the original ones to get them out). I did this on my GS11E carbs and was glad I did. The originals seals were dry and cracked and certainly leaking.
 
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