white goo in carb...help

D

d.

Well-known member
I am posting for a non-computer buddy and will pass any info along...
He is running 3 '81 carbs on a hot Model A block...all has been well for 5 years plus, until this past season when the A sat for 4 months without running.
Now the carbs are jammed with white Elmers Glue kind of stuff.
What is this junk?
Berrymans carb cleaner has no effect.
How can he clean this stuff out?
Car was running good until the storage time.

thanks for any tips/ help on this
Doug
 
I'm not sure what the goo is but you could use lacquer thinner to clean the carbs. Just let them soak in it and then brush it out.
 
Hmmmmm, sounds like someone used a Tank Liner like POR 15 or something like it and the alcohol Laced fuel atacked it,seen that happen in motorcycle tanks before
 
ethanol for sure! DOES leave a white residue if not used for a period of time should use some Stabil addidtive or I use Marvel Mystery Oil in all my A's. with ethanol gas if left sitting.
 
I agree that it sounds like gas tank sealant partially dissolving although I haven't encountered it. I've seen folks inappropriately white Teflon tape and have it work it's way in but it remains stringy.
 
I concur it sounds like tank sealer. We used POR15 and have had not problems with fuel dissolving it, but have seen sealers used several years ago break down with the new fuel mixtures. About the only solution is removing the tank and having it cleaned, which is probably going to make you repaint it. We did this on a coupe a few years ago and took the tank out and had the paint matched before taking it to a radiator shop to be boiled out. After it was cleaned and sealed it was repainted and reinstalled.
 
The last time I ran into a white goo in the carb after sitting for months was a lawn mower that had Shell gas put in it right before it was stored. The additives in the Shell gas gummed up the carb during storage. This was in the pre-ethanol days, but I believe Shell still uses a lot of additives, so could be possible.
 
In our older unsealed gas systems, the ethonol fuel will seperate, over time. We had a speaker at a Club meeting, one time, to tell us to put some ethonol in a glass jar, punch a pin hole in the lid and just put it on the shelf. He said to look at it in one month, at two months and at three months. What is in the bottom is what gets into your carburetor and onto the valves. He said you won't respect ethonol in your vintage cars anymore, after seeing that. Driving them will keep it stirred up.
I wish that I had done that, then I would have been able to show photos.
I have been using non-ethonol fuel, ever since. It's more expensive, but, probably, not in the long run.
MIKE :)
 
thanks for all the advice.
to be more clear...no tank sealer, Berrymans has no effect. He will try lacquer thinner next.
It looks like over-winter Ethanol is the cause.
I'll tell him about Stabil...I see they have a new Ethanol specific additive.
His car was built in the '50's, so he's not all Ethanol savvy.
All your help is appreciated.
thank you
 
Sea Foam does a pretty good job of cleaning up the goo left by the ethanol.
It is used widely in Long Island Marine Businesses where boats are stored for many months at a time. Its available at WalMart.
I have been using it, in addition to MMO in my engines and it has been cleaning even those stored for a couple of years.
I DO run all engines dry at season's end, but there still seems to be a residue.
 
Not sealer, impervious to pretty strong solvent...is this stuff hard and somewhat crumbly when stabbed??
It may be water corrosion to the zinc carb body, as water is carried nicely by the alcohol. Traditionally on old racers running straight methanol with Strombergs, the cars were given a short run on gasoline (alcohol free back then) before being put away in order to get rid of corrosion inducing alcohol...
If it is that, in my experience you need acid, which must be applied carefully because it will happily eat the carb too.
I've killed off white water corrosion with a toilet bowl cleaner whose safety warnings mention HCL...I put some on the white, give it a minute to chew on the crud, then rinse thouroughly with hot water and inspect. Repeat until all white stuff is gone, never allowing the acid stuff to sit long, and rinse-rinse-rinse when done.
 
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