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Looking to have my carbs rebuilt

  • Thread starter Thread starter RogueZuki
  • Start date Start date
mike_of_bbg said:
One step we skipped was removing the pilot jet. It's very small and apparently a real pain to get out. There's no o-ring or anything behind it, so there's no reason it would have to come out before going into the drink.
Click to expand...
BECAUSE it's so small, it clogs easily and is the primary source of fuel for idling and low-throttle applications (probably 80-85% of most riding). This makes it the primary suspect when things go wrong. If I was only allowed to clean ONE item in the carbs, this would be it. Purely wasteful to skip this step, in my opinion.


mike_of_bbg said:
A 4mm socket did a great job supporting the post, and dremel-ing the head off a finishing nail made a fantastic drift for removing the float pin.
Click to expand...
I use my 6-inch Channel-lock pliers to push the pins out. Just bridge across the posts, with one jaw on the end of the pin and squeeze gently. The pin will pop out far enough to lever it out the rest of the way with side-cutters or a small screwdriver.


mike_of_bbg said:
We're using Gunk dip b/c Advance Auto didn't have Berryman's. NOW I find out that AutoZone carries it! We're dipping parts for 48 hours per someone's suggestion here.
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I have used Gunk dip and found no difference except the smell. It cleans the same as Berryman's.

Not sure where you saw the reference to a 48-hour dip, most of us suggest a 24-hour dip, rather than the 15-30 minutes suggested on the can. :-k

.
 
Another option is building your own manometer. Search...there's a thread (or two) for it. I had considered it, but was lucky enough to have another member closeby who had one.:)
 
Thanks for that suggestion. And I should apologize to the OP for hijacking this thread. I got carried away but I guess that was kinda rude.

Sorry guys.
 
yeah, I was just thinking on my way home. You've got a twin so 30 ft. of clear tubing and a little 2-cycle oil = manometer!
 
You don't need any special tools to bench sync the carbs, you can do it by eye.
hold them up to a strong light, then turn the idle stop screw until you see a sliver of light on #3 coming through and adjust the 4, 2 and 1 to match. open and shut the throttle plates and make sure it stays the same way.
if you are accurate at doing this, it will get you close.

don't forget to adjust the idle fuel mixture screws when you get it running.

RogueZuki said:
The bike sat for quite awhile before I got it and as far as I know, it need to have the carbs rebuilt/cleaned. I'm mechanically knowledgable enough to take the carbs off the bike, but I'm not comfortable enough to redo my own carbs.
Click to expand...

***edit*** just 2 carbs to o/haul? Chicken Sh!@!
 
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I'm in the number of folks who can not imagine taking carbs off, cleaning them, putting them back together & synch'ing them.
This group is great, it offers all kinds of unwaivering support, but even yet, Nope, No way, Not me.
For those like me, it sure would be nice to have a list of contacts who are willing to do it for hire, or to actually be physically present & demonstrate how to do it.
I am fortunate - a bike shop an hour away is willing to work on my bike and just did the stator, R/R (already dead), battery, carbs apart & cleaned, synch'd, oil & filter change (tho I do that myself normally), new caps & Plug etc
But not everyone can work on their own bike or has someone that will work on their bike, for a reasonable rate.
 
oldgsfan said:
I don't have a manometer so I've got no way to vaccuum sync the carbs once I'm done.

Any suggestions on this?
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Hi,

There's plenty of information both in this forum and on the internet about making your own manometer. For 2 carbs it's really a snap. Cost should be really low, less than $10.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff
 
Steve said:
BECAUSE it's so small, it clogs easily and is the primary source of fuel for idling and low-throttle applications (probably 80-85% of most riding). This makes it the primary suspect when things go wrong. If I was only allowed to clean ONE item in the carbs, this would be it. Purely wasteful to skip this step, in my opinion.
Click to expand...

Point taken.


Steve said:
I have used Gunk dip and found no difference except the smell. It cleans the same as Berryman's. Not sure where you saw the reference to a 48-hour dip, most of us suggest a 24-hour dip, rather than the 15-30 minutes suggested on the can. :-k.
Click to expand...

AFAIK, the extra time won't hurt it. I did see a post where someone fairly experienced recommended the extra time with Gunk, and it's not costing us anything - though I'm not sure it helps at all. Maybe I should pull the current throttle body out (on about 24 hours now) as a frame of reference. Seems to me I check the fuel galleys on the first one after 24 hours and they were still a bit cruddy - squeaky clean after 48 hours. He's not going to re-assemble for another two weeks while he waits for parts and tools. The 20 mins suggestion does seem a bit on the ridiculously low side.

I'd think some agitation would be more helpful than the extra time. The gunk is a bit more viscous than I was expecting. Never gotten to use Berryman's so I have no personal frame of reference. Of those expressing a preference, it seems to fall on Berryman's pretty unanimously.

So at this point I'm working off of some opinions. And you know what they say about opinions...
 
I've decided to get the O-rings (still need to order, probably tomorrow) and take the carbs down to Cali with me when we go and visit family. My father-in-law is a mechanic and has all the tools and know how. He's already agreed to help me so I'll just pick up some dip while we're down there, unless the man has some sitting around already. I just now need to look up how to clean the valves, I'm sure those will need it too.
 
I totally forgot to ask, the piston looking things on the inside, between the airbox intake and the intake boots, are those to have alternating heights? Mine are both down and only move up and down when I move them.
 
Espescially for those who are not pictorally inclined, having the opportunity to do it once with someone else makes it so much easier the next time.
 
Anyone have a link to a good valve removal/cleaning guide? I know there's a valve cover on the top of my cylinders but I have no clue what to do from there.
 
RogueZuki said:
I totally forgot to ask, the piston looking things on the inside, between the airbox intake and the intake boots, are those to have alternating heights? Mine are both down and only move up and down when I move them.
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Do you mean inside the carbs? If so, those are the vacuum slides. They should both look the same height when at rest but should lift easily with your finger and then drop back down in a semi controlled manner when you let them go.
 
You probably don't want to remove your valves, unless you believe there is a problem (like a cracked valve). Servicing the valves involves removing the cylinder head: I dare say a more daunting task than rebuilding carbs. If you have - or can beg or borrow - a compression tester, you can run that test. If you have good compression, there's really no need to mess with the valves themselves.

What you do want to do is check the valve clearances - the slack in the valve train. There's a specified amount of slack which should exist. I'm afraid I'm quite ignorant as to how to do this on the twins. Is yours a two- or four-valve per cyclinder motor?

Check BikeCliff's site for a guide appropriate for your model. Do you have the necessary feeler gauges? A manual for your bike? Carbs off is a nice time to do the valve clearance check and adjustment. Plus both would technically require a carb re-sync - you'll only have to do that once.
 
oldgsfan said:
Ed, you mention having the right tools and that's what scares me.

I don't have a manometer so I've got no way to vaccuum sync the carbs once I'm done.

It looks like all I need is a feeler gauge (or, apparently, even a paper clip) in order to bench sync them, but some of the posts I've read on this site seem to suggest that a bench sync is not a substitute for vaccuum syncing the carbs..

So, am I out of luck? I was laid off two months ago and not really wanting to spend $100 bucks on a manometer unless I really have to.

And I don't know anyone locally who has one I can borrow.. unless there's someone on this forum in the Seattle, Wash. area who'd be willing to help.

Also, in reading the tutorial, it looks like I have to measure the float setting at some point. The manual shows a special tool for this that, when I looked, cost about $40 to buy. Is that tool necessary, or can I just use any old measuring device, like a ruler or tape measure?

Anyway, I have the carbs off the bike, replaced the intake boots, and cleaned the airbox filter (waiting for new boots for the airbox, too) but my carbs are sitting on my bench 'cause I'm not sure if I should proceed without these two speciality tools.

Any suggestions on this?

Thanks
Click to expand...

On the manometer...
I rebuilt my carbs about a month ago. This was my first adventure with such a complex process as well, but I commited and it was challenging but HUGELY rewarding.

I researched the manometer situation and built myself a duesy, alas it did not do the trick. I had the apparently common problem of the bike sucking all the fluids out of my home made sync tool.

I ended up getting a single vacuum guage from Harbor for like 7.00. It was very twitchy but with the help of a friend to keep an eye on the guage it worked perfectly. The only note I would add to that would be that it's a bit slower process with one guage so be sure to have a healthy fan blowing on your headers or give the bike frequent breaks to cool down a bit.

RogueZukie, I'm only 3 blocks away and I'll be happy to come over and pat you on the shoulder if you get stressed out or need a hand.

"We can turn this into a monster if we all pull together as a team!" (Pink Floyd)
 
Ok, was just about to order the Mikuni BS series ('80 and later) carburetor O-ring kits, and noticed that he also stocks the NEW! O-ring kits for the '80 - '82 GS450 twins. My bike is an 83, will these still work or should I stick with getting the first set and adding the intake boot O-rings as well? I've replaced one already as per Phaseman's advice but I haven't even looked at the other one (I know, silly me).
 
:cool: i have an 83' gs450e and i ordered the 450 kit. i haven't gotten it in the mail yet, should be this week. be VERRY careful in taking out the air screw. i had trouble on two different sets of carbs.
 
dickidav said:
:cool: i have an 83' gs450e and i ordered the 450 kit. i haven't gotten it in the mail yet, should be this week. be VERRY careful in taking out the air screw. i had trouble on two different sets of carbs.
Click to expand...

what happened? were they stuck or something?
 
:cool: one on each set was stuck and i stripped the notch. i had to drill one and use a screw extractor to get it out (worked). the first time i went through the rebuild i totally destroyed the hole and screw. thats why i had to buy a set of carbs. learn for others mistakes it will save you $$$$ and alot of headaches. dave
p.s. now i think i could do a rebuild in my sleep.
 
I'll make sure to use liberal amounts of carb cleaner. does that stuff hurt anything in the carbs?
 
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