@ oldschoolcarbs

[dan filipi]

I have a 83 rack that's never been opened.
I want to document a poor mans refresh and bring them back to life with as few parts or seals as possible.

These carbs are gummed from old gas, at least 10 years ago is the last time they ran.

All 4 slides will not move. The floats pivot but not smoothly, can feel the gum.
What is the safest way to dissolve the gum in the entire carb bodies?
By safest I mean nothing harsh that might damage the seals or aluminum finish.

 

[roncar]

I had a carb that was totally froze up and after ~15 minutes in a boiling distilled water bath, everything was moving and the parts I needed to remove (jets, floats, etc.) all but fell out.

Sitting that long in stale gas, normally replaced seals, gaskets, and air cutoff valves, are probably not going to be salvageable.

 

[Steve83]

I hope they're in better shape than mine were! They were full of green goo, and the rubber parts were almost liquid! The bike sat for 10+ years with a full tank of gas and an open petcock. They did come clean - finally! Boil 'em!

 

[slabghost]

If you have a transmission repair shop near get a big bucket of the waste tranny fluid and leave the rack submerged at least a few days with the bowls removed. It's messy but it will not harm any seals and everything will move including any rusted linkage.