Cheapest Way to clean carbs

[loungeguy69]

Why use different baths when you can use one? It's cheaper to use dishwasher soap and just as effective.

BTW, the only difference between nitrile and viton o-rings is the temperature range. Viton is rated higher but that's not an issue with carbs. Don't waste the money.

 

[Roger P.]

Some guys at www.xjbikes.com seem to be having luck with a hot water/Pine Sol solution.

 

[Guest]

Try Harbor Freight for a set of metric nitrile o-rings.

It's a tradeoff. Solvents will affect rubber and plastics while acids/alkalis will affect metals. My approach is that solvents will affect plastics and rubber quicker than acid/alkalis will cause oxidation on aluminum or zinc.

My experience with cleaning parts in an adgitated soap bath leaves no degradation on aluminum or zinc as long as parts are rinsed after the wash.

BTW, the only difference between nitrile and viton o-rings is the temperature range. Viton is rated higher but that's not an issue with carbs. Don't waste the money.

You're incorrect. Dishwasher detergent has a high level of lye because of it's effectiveness in cleaning grease. Lye is caustic, which is why it isn't included in modern hand soaps. 'Oxyclean', et al, contains hydrogen peroxide which forms the foam that is marketed on TV.

"Nitrile" isn't a single type of rubber, but a family of types of rubber. Same thing applies to "Viton", which is a DuPont trademark for fluoroelestomers. 3M sells more fluoroelestomers than DuPont does, under their Fluorel trademark. Each different subtype has its own characteristics. The major ones to pay attention to are solvent resistance, temperature resistance, tear resistance and compression set. Fluoroelastomers usually have very good temperature resistance compared to nitriles. And some fluoroelastomers have better solvent resistance.

I personally would stay away from Harbor Frieght nitrile O-rings. I have a hard time imagining that their buyers know one type of nitrile from another, or that they have anyone testing the O-rings to be sure that they'll be good for any particular kind of service. They probably buy based on "price and delivery". That means that the company that makes the O-rings, and the type of rubber in them, might change from year to year, or even from month to month. So this year's HF O-rings might not perform as well as last year's.

Lye (= sodium hydroxide = caustic soda = caustic) is almost never used in modern soaps, due to its high corrosivity and inherent dangers when used above low concentrations. Almost every "soap" or "detergent" we buy uses sodium dodecyl sulfate (= SDS = sodium laurly suflate) as its primary ingredient. "Cogeners", (chemically similar compounds) are often included. Different other ingredients are used to modify fragrence, texture and foaming. I've read the labels on lots of containers of dishwasher detergents, and don't remember seeing lye as an ingredient in any of them. The powdered detergent I'm using now contains sodium carbonate, sodium silicate and enzymes. Sodium carbonate is a very effective detergent, but it dissolves very slowly at room temperature. At high temperatures, hotter than our hands can bear, it is very effective. Lye isn't needed, and shouldn't be used.

The sodium percarbonate in Oxyclean breaks down to sodium carbonate and hydrogen peroxide when dissolved in water.

Cleaning a few sets of carburetors does not an expert make. You've had decent results - this time. People with experience disassemble and remove rubber and plastic parts because they won't hold up to the best solvents for the job. They want to do the job once, instead of going to progressively stronger chemicals a bit at a time.

 

[loungeguy69]

Thank you for the lesson. I've already responded to my mistake re: lye in detergent.

I recommend the Harbor Freght o-rings because they're inexpensive, which is point of this thread. i.e. No $25 carb dips or big money carb rebuil kits.

And I'm no wet-behind-the-ears carb rebuilder. Thanks for asking though.

 

[TheCafeKid]

"Nitrile" isn't a single type of rubber, but a family of types of rubber. Same thing applies to "Viton", which is a DuPont trademark for fluoroelestomers. 3M sells more fluoroelestomers than DuPont does, under their Fluorel trademark. Each different subtype has its own characteristics. The major ones to pay attention to are solvent resistance, temperature resistance, tear resistance and compression set. Fluoroelastomers usually have very good temperature resistance compared to nitriles. And some fluoroelastomers have better solvent resistance.

I personally would stay away from Harbor Frieght nitrile O-rings. I have a hard time imagining that their buyers know one type of nitrile from another, or that they have anyone testing the O-rings to be sure that they'll be good for any particular kind of service. They probably buy based on "price and delivery". That means that the company that makes the O-rings, and the type of rubber in them, might change from year to year, or even from month to month. So this year's HF O-rings might not perform as well as last year's.

Lye (= sodium hydroxide = caustic soda = caustic) is almost never used in modern soaps, due to its high corrosivity and inherent dangers when used above low concentrations. Almost every "soap" or "detergent" we buy uses sodium dodecyl sulfate (= SDS = sodium laurly suflate) as its primary ingredient. "Cogeners", (chemically similar compounds) are often included. Different other ingredients are used to modify fragrence, texture and foaming. I've read the labels on lots of containers of dishwasher detergents, and don't remember seeing lye as an ingredient in any of them. The powdered detergent I'm using now contains sodium carbonate, sodium silicate and enzymes. Sodium carbonate is a very effective detergent, but it dissolves very slowly at room temperature. At high temperatures, hotter than our hands can bear, it is very effective. Lye isn't needed, and shouldn't be used.

The sodium percarbonate in Oxyclean breaks down to sodium carbonate and hydrogen peroxide when dissolved in water.

Cleaning a few sets of carburetors does not an expert make. You've had decent results - this time. People with experience disassemble and remove rubber and plastic parts because they won't hold up to the best solvents for the job. They want to do the job once, instead of going to progressively stronger chemicals a bit at a time.

Thats the BIGGEST and BEST money saving advice right there. Do the job RIGHT THE FIRST TIME. Using stuff that is PROVEN to work, that is DESIGNED to do the job will save you the most money in the end. Every time you pull those carbs apart, you risk ruining the orings in them. Which means more money replacing them. And, I dont know about you guys, but my TIME is worth more to me than $25 for a bucket of Berrymans (use it religiously and exclusively) or the $15 for orings. I want to do it ONCE per set. Thats worth more than some cheap, unproven orings, or somewhat questionable cleaning solutions would save me.

 

[boathead]

i have a friend who has ridden his whole life, and he swears that putting 4 or 5 ounces of Techron in a full tank of gas, and then riding until that tank is empty, will clean any carb. cheap, and fun, he says.

 

[loungeguy69]

Thats the BIGGEST and BEST money saving advice right there. Do the job RIGHT THE FIRST TIME. Using stuff that is PROVEN to work, that is DESIGNED to do the job will save you the most money in the end. Every time you pull those carbs apart, you risk ruining the orings in them. Which means more money replacing them. And, I dont know about you guys, but my TIME is worth more to me than $25 for a bucket of Berrymans (use it religiously and exclusively) or the $15 for orings. I want to do it ONCE per set. Thats worth more than some cheap, unproven orings, or somewhat questionable cleaning solutions would save me.

In the context of this thread the idea is to effectively clean the carbs with minimum expense. If the original question from GSJake was to go out and buy gallons of carb dip then it would be a short thread.

Dishwasher soap, and some of the other responses here, work just fine and they do an equal job of cleaning as carb dip, albeit with perhaps a little extra elbow-grease.

Despite TheMess's diatribe about quality of the Harbor Freight o-rings I have found them to consistently high quality. I have used them in many applications, not just carbs on bikes. Anyway, where do you think most o-rings are made? Whether they're from Harbor Freight, auto parts store or bike manufacturer.

I've been taking bikes apart for nearly 25 years. I have no intention of misleading anyone with half-baked ideas. We're here to help each other, not throw our dicks around.

 

[Nessism]

i have a friend who has ridden his whole life, and he swears that putting 4 or 5 ounces of Techron in a full tank of gas, and then riding until that tank is empty, will clean any carb. cheap, and fun, he says.

If the carbs only have a small amount of varnish type contamination, using Seafoam or Techron is a great idea. I recommend one ounce per gallon a couple of times per year. This is completely different than cleaning dirty carbs that are full of old O-rings. These GS bikes are 25 years old or older now and the rubber parts are almost sure to be hard and brittle - which leads to leaks. Pulling down the carbs and replacing the o-rings is mandatory if you want trouble free usage from your bike over an extended period of time.

 

[TheCafeKid]

In the context of this thread the idea is to effectively clean the carbs with minimum expense. If the original question from GSJake was to go out and buy gallons of carb dip then it would be a short thread.

Dishwasher soap, and some of the other responses here, work just fine and they do an equal job of cleaning as carb dip, albeit with perhaps a little extra elbow-grease.

Despite TheMess's diatribe about quality of the Harbor Freight o-rings I have found them to consistently high quality. I have used them in many applications, not just carbs on bikes. Anyway, where do you think most o-rings are made? Whether they're from Harbor Freight, auto parts store or bike manufacturer.

I've been taking bikes apart for nearly 25 years. I have no intention of misleading anyone with half-baked ideas. We're here to help each other, not throw our dicks around.

Im sorry, but I simply disagree. You cant "elbow grease" into all those little tiny orifii. They need to be SOAKED in something, and even Berryman's call of 30 mins doesnt do it. Dish soap doesnt have the ass to break that crap down. I have tried it. It failed miserably. You may have luck with yours, and more power to you. Or maybe you have spent alot of extra time cleaning them with wires or whatever else. My time is worth more than that to me. I have multiple bikes to ride, maintain, play with, plus work any helping people with their bikes. That was the point of MY post. I am going to use something that i KNOW will take care of it the FIRST time, with minimal scrubbing, poking prodding or anything else. And, Im not "throwing my dick around", simply stating *MY* view point on the subject. Which, last I checked, was what this forum was for. People giving their thoughts on subjects. So if your manhood or pride or whatever feels threatened, my bad, but I was in no way attacking you or your ideas. Ive seen and tried stranger things, some with success, most not so much.

 

[loungeguy69]

Im sorry, but I simply disagree. You cant "elbow grease" into all those little tiny orifii. They need to be SOAKED in something, and even Berryman's call of 30 mins doesnt do it. Dish soap doesnt have the ass to break that crap down. I have tried it. It failed miserably. You may have luck with yours, and more power to you. Or maybe you have spent alot of extra time cleaning them with wires or whatever else. My time is worth more than that to me. I have multiple bikes to ride, maintain, play with, plus work any helping people with their bikes. That was the point of MY post. I am going to use something that i KNOW will take care of it the FIRST time, with minimal scrubbing, poking prodding or anything else. And, Im not "throwing my dick around", simply stating *MY* view point on the subject. Which, last I checked, was what this forum was for. People giving their thoughts on subjects. So if your manhood or pride or whatever feels threatened, my bad, but I was in no way attacking you or your ideas. Ive seen and tried stranger things, some with success, most not so much.

I wasn't directing the 'throwing' comment at you. I have used dishwasher soap, not ordinary dish soap, with excellent results and not really much more effort than carb dip. The stronger nature of dishwasher soap in hot water dissolves just about every type of gunk. It works. I'm not making up fish stories.

I appreciate your point of view. Likewise my point of view is just as valid and so insinuations that 'this' or 'that' won't do it properly or that someone doesn't have enough experience are baseless. Frankly my daughters show more maturity than some of the other posters here.

 

[jadesystem]

The cheapest way in my own experience is as follows:

Go to any Home Depot and buy a gallon of paint lacquar thinner for
$10. An empty metal 1-gallon can with a metal dip basket for $2.
And metric O-rings at any industrial O-ring distributor for $1 !!
Depending on your bike model, you will need the transfer tube O-rings
x 4 (8-pc) and accellerator pump O-ring x 4 (4-pc). That's it !!

Yes, I said one dollar and that's it !! Most industrial O-ring places
will probably just give it to you for free rather than write-out an
invoive for nickel and dime items. You can re-use the bowl gaskets
if they are not torn or mangled.

 

[Guest]

I've been taking bikes apart for nearly 25 years. I have no intention of misleading anyone with half-baked ideas. We're here to help each other, not throw our dicks around.

As a noobie, you're still getting used to normal GSR give-and-take. We debate here, and do so with no moderator. Stand up for your opinions and announce your experiences, and fess up to errors when you make them (as you do!). As long as it stays on the level we have here, everything will be fine.

For dick-throwing, see the Off-Topic discussion forums. Or don't. Sometimes those get vicious.

Nice having you here!

 

[loungeguy69]

As a noobie, you're still getting used to normal GSR give-and-take. We debate here, and do so with no moderator. Stand up for your opinions and announce your experiences, and fess up to errors when you make them (as you do!). As long as it stays on the level we have here, everything will be fine.

For dick-throwing, see the Off-Topic discussion forums. Or don't. Sometimes those get vicious.

Nice having you here!

I'm not a 'noobie'. I've been on the forums for years. My login lapsed because I was serving in Afgahnistan and Djibouti. In fact it looks like I've been the GSR longer than you have.

And you've made mistakes too. I appologized for mine regarding the lye in dishwasher soap. I guess you're not man enough to be so gracious.

 

[BassCliff]

Hi Mr. loungeguy69,

Thank you for your service and for your sacrifice. I give thanks to God that you are home safely. And thank you for re-joining the forum.



Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

 

[loungeguy69]

Thank you Basscliff. I'm really really glad to home with my family again. It's hard to understand how much you can miss just the simple things in life but I'm just glad to be with my girls and [occasionally] work on my bike.

I wish everyone could appreciate and love what they have and not worry so much about what they don't have.

 

[Guest]

I'm not a 'noobie'. I've been on the forums for years. My login lapsed because I was serving in Afgahnistan and Djibouti. In fact it looks like I've been the GSR longer than you have.

And you've made mistakes too. I appologized for mine regarding the lye in dishwasher soap. I guess you're not man enough to be so gracious.

I've only been here three years. Yes, I make mistakes, and I admit them when I find that I've made them.

 

[emeraldcoupe]

$18 for a bucket of GUNK carb dip, $17.50 for the O rings and intake O rings from cycleorings. i just did mine and they came out like new. don't know how to get cheaper than $35.50 . i soaked each naked carb body for 24hrs.

 

[loungeguy69]

Lots of good ideas and opinions here. I think everyone should try what they think will work and/or what they can afford. My years with the Seabees taught me the 'Can Do' approach, using innovation when usual tools and supplies aren't available. Hence my proclivity for thinking outside the box.

Let me apologize to anyone in this thread if I've sounded harsh, especially TheMess. Still got the fight in me I guess.

 

[GavinJuice]

Does anyone have any concerns with the throttle shaft seals when dipping carbs? That is the only remaining rubber part left on the carbs people don't remove. I've dipped a couple with no problems, but i always wonder how well they fair after it's all said and done. I did manage to replace the outer 4, but the inners require removing the throttle plates which are a SOB.

Thanks ~Gavin

 

[emeraldcoupe]

Does anyone have any concerns with the throttle shaft seals when dipping carbs? That is the only remaining rubber part left on the carbs people don't remove. I've dipped a couple with no problems, but i always wonder how well they fair after it's all said and done. I did manage to replace the outer 4, but the inners require removing the throttle plates which are a SOB.

Thanks ~Gavin

that's all i left on mine. no issues yet.