Carborator Cleaner

Domino

Domino

Senior Member
I am going to rebuild a couple of carborators in the next few days. Step one is to soak the old one in carb cleaner. I assume that we are NOT talking about the spray cans of carb cleaner. What is the best brand of cleaner to purchase for soaking purposes which can be locall purchased at auto parts stores? Perhaps there is not any difference between brands. All suggestions are appreciated. :)
 
Most auto parts stores carry a small plastic pail of carb cleaner...there are various brands...all are pretty good. Most tines the plastic pails have a removable plastic screen down in them to fish out small parts...sorta like a deep fat fryer basket, if you will. Just disassemble your carb, and drop the loose parts down into the pail. Let them soak for a few days and use the basket to pull them out. Usually works pretty good...sometimes I've had to use a small brush like an old toothbrush to clean up the smaller parts and get into any indentations on the carb bodies, etc.

Gummout, K&W and Gunk all market their cleaners in a pail...usually about a 2 quart deal. But, I've found the "house brands" seem to work just as good for somewhat less price.

Word of caution...don't need to tell you to keep that carb clean away from painted surfaces, do I? Damn stuff'll eat right down to bare metal if you're not careful... ...ask me how I know... :o
 
I just rebuilt a zenith 1 and 2 that I paid $2 and $5 for at IOLA. After disassembly they were rusty gobs.

I soaked them for about 20 minutes in Hydrochloric Acid and then neutralized them in PH + and then in water for about a half hour.

Incredible how pickling the castings got rid of all the rust.

Works for me.

Dennis L Oberer
Green Bay WI
 
Warning! I soaked an old Zenith bottom in hydrochloric acid for a couple of days as an experiment. The cast iron became soft, so the piece was useless. It depends on the concentration and temperature, I'm sure. Plain steel was not attacked under similar conditions.
 
Domino said:
I am going to rebuild a couple of carborators in the next few days. Step one is to soak the old one in carb cleaner. I assume that we are NOT talking about the spray cans of carb cleaner. What is the best brand of cleaner to purchase for soaking purposes which can be locall purchased at auto parts stores? Perhaps there is not any difference between brands. All suggestions are appreciated. :)
Click to expand...
Purple Power, sold at Walmart works really well...
 
thanks Richard, i was just thinking that as I read Dennis' response,
I understand hydrochloric acid shines up brass real nice and blackens it if hung over that abrasive for just a bit but to pot metal I thought you may have just ruined it if dipping a carb. kinda like that hydrogen to cast steel, somewhat brittled it , how bout throwing the carb in a coffee can of diesel fuel for a few days, if you can wait that long.
 
You can spray clean the castings with gumout to remove and grease or gum. I glass bead (I never use sand) and wire wheel brush the cast iron castings. With the glass beads you can clean out the interior passages without drilling out the brass plugs. Jets can be soaked in penetrating fluid and or ultrasonically cleaned. They should always be flow tested and repaired if needed.
 
I've done the soaking in cleaner a few days and thought they were clean, NOT. I drilled out the brass plugs (starting small and working up) then chasing the passages. I could not believe the junk that I pulled out. I made plugs from solid house wire. FWIW

GW
 
Two cup of Simple Green and a quart of really hot water. Let 'er soak for a day or so. Lotsa dirt will come out. DO NOT LEAVE IT IN THERE FOR A MONTH! Rinse well with hot water and blow it out with air. If you use the little air gun fitting with the rubber tip, your can tell if the passage is blocked or not. Be sure you chase all the threads that will have brass gets screwed into them. (I have a really nice Zenith bottom with a broken-off get that is neatly fitted with a broken-off easy out. 80 years good ... then I fixed it!).
 
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