Solex PICT 34 rebuild

[chuck c]

To my pleasant surprise my kit that I only ordered a few days ago made it here from Washington today! This means I will be able to dig into it tomorrow! The weather will be nice so I can work outside with good light for my aging eyes. Still mildly terrified by all the tiny parts in this bag. I'll make a run for carb cleaner in the morning and while it's apart I'll glue and seal the pvc manifold. Maybe with a bit of good luck it will all be back together for the final time this weekend. Stay tuned.

 

[slabghost]

Don't forget to hunt down the magnifier glass for them blasted microscopicparts. I've put on a second pair of reading glasses occasionally for jobs like these. :good:
Good luck and keep posting. :thanks:

 

[chuck c]

I really wish I'd thought to order one of these last week. I don't think I can find one locally. I'll manage but It just moved to the top of the tool wish list.

 

[slabghost]

If there is a Harbor Freight close they might have something like it. Or try the local hardware or craft stores.

 

[chuck c]

We begin. As you can see it's very clean. There are no markings about who made it. Generic.

 

[chuck c]

Someone has been in it. The screw slots are well marked up. I hope everything's actually present.

 

[chuck c]

My valve was clean and free. It also looks to have a ball bearing to contact the float where the new one is just solid brass. I'm hanging on to the original as a spare.

 

[chuck c]

Choke control and heater.

When you put the heater back on start with it rotated a clockwise away from the mark, then turn it to the mark. There's a hook on the heater that catches the lever and you have catch it. You can make sure it's on by rotating it past the mark and it will move the choke. Go back to the mark and tighten it down. That rotation allows you to adjust when the heater acts on the choke.

 

[slabghost]

Looks pretty good from here. I've seen a lot worse.

 

[brianinpa]

Oooo that's clean! Mine looked like mud inside when I opened it up.

 

[chuck c]

The ball valve in the bowl

 

[chuck c]

The accelerator jet check ball
Blow out the passage and tube with gumout. Drop the ball back in, tap the pin back in, and push the tube back in its hole. When done and before you close the carb you may want to fill the bowl with fuel and work the throttle a few times until you see the tube squirt fuel.

 

[chuck c]

The rest is just removing all the jets and adjusting screws and blowing gumout through all the jets and passages until clear and replacing all the o-rings you find. The jet in the bottom of the bowl probably gets the most crud because that's where dirt will settle or gas will leave varnish. Remove the bowl drain plug to get to it. It is very possible to remove the jets and adjustment screws to clean them while the carb is still mounted, but it really needs to come off for the other stuff.

I hope this is helpful to someone. My thanks for all the help and encouragement everyone here at CGW has given me.
:thank_you:

Here are useful pics of the Solex PICT 34.

 

[slabghost]

Wow! very nice write up.

 

[dan filipi]

Yeah for sure, great write up!

I know how long it takes and the effort needed. :thanks:

 

[chuck c]

One more for your amusement.

 

[brianinpa]

It happens...

 

[chuck c]

One more note, these vary slightly depending on manufacturer & year. They make up the rebuild kits to cover several carbs. My kit contained 5 or 6 gaskets for the top and a few O-rings I didn't need. Some were for the PICT 30 and 31. This is one time you don't need to worry about having parts left over when you're done. In fact you should worry if you don't! :hihihi:

 

[slabghost]

But that spring should be inside. oh2: :smilie_happy:
I did the same on my truck carb last fall.

 

[chuck c]

I'm still figuring out how the Solex works. Please chime in and correct me if this is wrong. If you crank the throttle before starting the choke springs closed and the idle adjustment screw is holding the throttle partially open. If you do it again after it's warmed a bit the choke will open all or part way depending on how warm it is. The idle screw will drop to a lower setting on that stepped cam. Also, the heater will slowly open the choke even if you do nothing. That prevents the air cooled VW engine from running fast for too long sitting still. Many Goldwingers leave that unconnected.

There seems to be several places to adjust the choke operation on this carb. The stepped cam makes me think it can be set to go down in stages rather than all at once. By rotating the heater you can set where it hits fully open. The little rod/diaphragm under the cap with 3 screws acts to pull the choke open when you hit the throttle.

Here's a thrilling video of the choke heater opening the choke.

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwfmiRA-kgk[/video]

The excitement starts at 1:30 when the plate begins to move.

Here's a good general video on electric choke adjustment that applies to all carbs.

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gviih8tqKxc[/video]