stoopid carb question

[oldsmoker]

Opps, I was thinking of Harley carbs.
 You are right, you need to turn the keeper about 90 deg. A #2 phillips should work fine and you may need to apply a little down force as you turn.

[xstreamcanadian]

ok thank you. is it ok to soak that jet? also, when the manual says to 'align' it and i have been warned to put it back carefully, is there a procedure on this or is it as simple as it appears, as it just seems to slide back in its hole when gently guided(the hole where it sits in the carb not the keeper)

thanks in advance

[oldsmoker]

Yes its OK to soak it. When they say to align it that just means the keeper tangs so when you turn it, it locks back into place.

[xstreamcanadian]

ok. so i went ahead and removed the jet needle, and cleaned them all and put them back, removed the slow jet, and needle jet(once i figured out that the jet needle and needle jet were two items! duh) so where is the main jet? and how do i get that bugger out? I have the schematic and it looks like its under one of the other ones, but that cant be right?

also, removed all the floats, a couple of them dont spring like the other two, as in I push on them and there is no bounce. I removed the little pointed dilio that they ride on, and two look kind of worn, is there anything needing done here? I did not remove the brass nut that they sit in, but can the floats be adjusted in some way? by bending the clip or something?

again you help is appreciated. The carbs arent as scary as they looked so far....

[xstreamcanadian]

since no one is jumping to the pump here......... i ended up removing prety much everthing you can, while leaving the carbs still attached to the rack, and each other. i then bought a huge ass crab pot from the local thrift shop, and a tonne of lemon juice from concentrate, fired up my camp stove on the deck, and boiled the assembly for aout 20 minutes. i soaked the jets, needles, bowls and diaphragm covers in juice as well. then cleaned them all off using wd40, and  my compressor. they look like new, even the brown colored floats came clean. moment of truth this week to see if they work or not....i will do a step by step rebuilding your carbs for dummies photo how-to if they work, using my second set of carbs, for anyone like me who has no idea of what they are doing and is/was scared of the carbs. I am looking to make/get a synch 'kit' of guages to try that myself next.

how many turns on the mixture screws??? Is the consensus under two and over one.

[clarkdw]

since no one is jumping to the pump here......... i ended up removing prety much everthing you can, while leaving the carbs still attached to the rack, and each other. i then bought a huge ass crab pot from the local thrift shop, and a tonne of lemon juice from concentrate, fired up my camp stove on the deck, and boiled the assembly for aout 20 minutes. i soaked the jets, needles, bowls and diaphragm covers in juice as well. then cleaned them all off using wd40, and  my compressor. they look like new, even the brown colored floats came clean. moment of truth this week to see if they work or not....i will do a step by step rebuilding your carbs for dummies photo how-to if they work, using my second set of carbs, for anyone like me who has no idea of what they are doing and is/was scared of the carbs. I am looking to make/get a synch 'kit' of guages to try that myself next.

how many turns on the mixture screws??? Is the consensus under two and over one.

Lemon juice concentrate? I will have to remember that one. I am old enough to remember when you used to be able to buy carb cleaner that
REALLY worked. Mind you, it was not very safe to work with but it sure did a better job than the so-called carb cleaner you can buy now.

Great idea to do a how-to for the carbs. It would be much appreciated. As far as the mixture screws, mine are all between one and two turns.

Good idea to have your own synch gauges. The more work you can do on the bike the more you enjoy riding it. It will also pay for the gauges the first couple of times you use them.

[xstreamcanadian]

I cant take any credit for the lemon juice idea, I googled it and came up with a good compromise based on a few threads. The real benefit is that my shop doesnt reek, and my two little kids arent breathing nasty chemicals. The other upside is that it doesnt hard the rubber, carb clean is a bear to that stuff and youre right, it doesnt seem to work worth a damn. I will post a couple of pics of the carbs on here when I get a sec. It wasnt without work, as people will lead you to believe, i still scrubbed a little with a toothbrush, but not a lot. It also does tarnish the brass a bit, and the aluminum, but I sprayed them down with 'fogging oil' meant to put in your engine when it sits over winter, it wont harm anything either, its basically a heavy weight wd-40. It also worked well to get the outside back to normal dull shine. They are a tad greasy looking in places, so I am now having to rag them off pretty well with soapy water, but all in all, no real chemicals. The lemon juice stores as well, and works like a hot damn to clean up sprockets, chains, oil pans etc, with no ill effects. pictures to follow.

so about 1 and 3/4 of a turn mine seemed like, I will try that, thanks clark. 

[xstreamcanadian]

it went like clockwork, all up until i started messing with the mixture screws..... those castle style tops break like nothing...... bike bandit shows that they arent available any more. Any one know where they may be cross referenced?