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I just bought a GS550 out of a barn, can these carbs be saved?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Treppen
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Treppen

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Hello everyone. I just bought a GS550 out of a barn and I plan on getting it running if it kills me. The bike is beyond rough, but I plan to put together a rebuild thread here. First order of business is the carburators, which were off the bike when I found it. My question is at what point is it better to buy new carbs vs. repairing the old ones? The ones I have are completely seized and will not move.
 

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Give them a good spray with PB blaster and repeat every couple of hours. See if anything has loosened up by tomorrow. Could be salvageable...
I had a CB350 that had carbs like that after sitting in a barn for 35 years. After a week or so of squirting it a little every day I got everything moving again. Disassembled everything and dunked them and they came out looking pretty okay.
 
If you're patient and are prepared the break the carbs down and dip them you should be able to salvage them.

Although, another rack might be the easiest option in the long run.
 
From what I see; I'd say there is a possibility so salvage them; if I had to choose a percentage; I'd say 85%.

But as other's said; you might prefer getting another one off ebay and the likes.
 
I'm not a fan of using Naval Jelly on aluminum... but ... in this case. If you do, no more than 5 minutes. Or you could soak them in coke ( make sure you buy the coke that says "phosphoric acid" ) overnight with no damage to any of the parts. The naval jelly option is quicker buy may discolor your aluminum. Keep the naval jelly away from the rubber and plastic parts. Make sure you completely flush the carbs if you use the naval jelly for a good 10-15 minutes with water. If you want a fast way to make the jelly inert, use soda ash(washing or baking soda) or lime and then flush them. meh, can probably save them but will need new gaskets and maybe diaphragms.
 
I would throw them in an old pot with used oil in it and set said pot on the grill to heet it up real hot. Then just let them soak for a day or two before trying to move the throttle linkages. I do doubt if the diaprams will be of any use though.
 
Contact Steve or Chef of this forum, they both do carbs. See what they recommend and put them in a box and ship them off to be rebuilt. These are guys who have seen this type of thing before, let the GS pros handle it. That's the BEST way to handle this situation. Good luck!
 
Thanks for the advice everyone. I'm currently soaking them in some hot pinesol (recommended by a friend, we'll see how it turns out) but just realized I'm missing parts for the floats. Looks like I'm going to have to buy a new set, but I can't find any that match exactly on eBay. Do I need the same exact carbs or will others fit? Also, has anyone done a fuel injection conversion on one of these before?
 
Treppen said:
Thanks for the advice everyone. I'm currently soaking them in some hot pinesol (recommended by a friend, we'll see how it turns out) but just realized I'm missing parts for the floats. Looks like I'm going to have to buy a new set, but I can't find any that match exactly on eBay. Do I need the same exact carbs or will others fit? Also, has anyone done a fuel injection conversion on one of these before?
Click to expand...

What year and sub model is the bike, I did see a set on ebay when you first posted that were CV carbs for a 1982 GS550L

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1982-Suzuki...ash=item1a2d734e08:g:8eAAAOSwrhBZNMCQ&vxp=mtr
 
If you like those then make an offer, usually the vendors are somewhat flexible, not sure what they are worth in the condition they are in, so maybe a bit of research to see what you should offer.

I have bought sets from $100 and up, but a good set usually goes for $250 ish and fully refurbished $300-$500

BTW that's what great about this site, many eyes looking out for us when we need parts.
 
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