metaltriumph
Active Member
I have tried a few methods for cleaning over the years, carb cleaner spray, brake cleaner, WD40, elbow grease - none have been either easy or that effective. However, i heard boiling carbs in lemon juice works. So i tried it and can confirm that yes it certainly does work. Amazingly well.
This is an XR600 trail bike carb im using to test this method.
Equipment needed:
- An old cooking pot (whatever size that suits)
- A few bottles of lemon Juice (I just bought a few 500ml bottles from the supermarket)
- Heat (I used my BBQ)
- A toothbrush for scrubbing and a strainer so you can sift for any small bits that may come loose
- A bucket full of water for washing off the lemon juice after it has been boiling in the juice.
- Air compressor
First remove the carb from the bike and disassemble completely. Remove all rubber o-rings and gaskets, all plastic parts, remove all jets and needles. Place the needles, springs etc in a container and keep nearby because these are going in aswell.
here is the before shot: (excuse the blurry pics)
Get about 3 parts Lemon Juice to 1 part water boiling, not boiling over just bubbling is all you need.
drop in your carb body, and whatever other parts you can fit in to your pot. I did mine in stages because i only had a small pot. Leave for 15-20 minutes, turning every so often so all sides have been cleaned.
After the parts have been boiled take them out carefully and drop straight into the bucket of water. Scrub the crud off with the toothbrush getting into all the nooks and channels. If the crud isnt coming off easily, drop the parts back into the boiling lemon juice for another 5-10 minutes or whatever is necessary. When finished with the lemon juice, pour it all and the water through a strainer so you don't lose any small pieces. You wont be able to see them in the juice.
Once the parts are clean, blow through all the chambers with an air-compressor.
The lemon juice will give the parts a slightly powdery feel so give em a hit up with some WD40 inside and out, and then use a rag to polish the metal. Use the air-compressor to blow through all the chambers again, and remove any excess WD40
Re-assemble the super clean carbs.
Look great hey? If you want to polish the bowls, steel wool will get them shiny, however this was for a trail bike so I didn't bother bother.
WARNING: lemon Juice contains citric acid which will eat EVERYTHING if exposed for too long. I kept an eye on this whole process and found 15-20 minutes was enough. I have read about others who have left their carb in the boiling lemon juice for hours and hours, and the carb body has been eaten away and pitted. After this the slides wouldnt work because they were not smooth, and the the finish felt very rough and powdery. They obviously boiled the parts for way too long. Keep and eye on it and check evry 10 minutes and you' ll be fine. Others have found good results by leaving the carb in the lemon juice overnight (not boiling). However my method was quick and allowed me to monitor the process.
Also best not to do this inside on the gas cooker because of the smell of lemons and petrol. I used the BBQ and it worked fine.
This is an XR600 trail bike carb im using to test this method.
Equipment needed:
- An old cooking pot (whatever size that suits)
- A few bottles of lemon Juice (I just bought a few 500ml bottles from the supermarket)
- Heat (I used my BBQ)
- A toothbrush for scrubbing and a strainer so you can sift for any small bits that may come loose
- A bucket full of water for washing off the lemon juice after it has been boiling in the juice.
- Air compressor
First remove the carb from the bike and disassemble completely. Remove all rubber o-rings and gaskets, all plastic parts, remove all jets and needles. Place the needles, springs etc in a container and keep nearby because these are going in aswell.
here is the before shot: (excuse the blurry pics)
Get about 3 parts Lemon Juice to 1 part water boiling, not boiling over just bubbling is all you need.
drop in your carb body, and whatever other parts you can fit in to your pot. I did mine in stages because i only had a small pot. Leave for 15-20 minutes, turning every so often so all sides have been cleaned.
After the parts have been boiled take them out carefully and drop straight into the bucket of water. Scrub the crud off with the toothbrush getting into all the nooks and channels. If the crud isnt coming off easily, drop the parts back into the boiling lemon juice for another 5-10 minutes or whatever is necessary. When finished with the lemon juice, pour it all and the water through a strainer so you don't lose any small pieces. You wont be able to see them in the juice.
Once the parts are clean, blow through all the chambers with an air-compressor.
The lemon juice will give the parts a slightly powdery feel so give em a hit up with some WD40 inside and out, and then use a rag to polish the metal. Use the air-compressor to blow through all the chambers again, and remove any excess WD40
Re-assemble the super clean carbs.
Look great hey? If you want to polish the bowls, steel wool will get them shiny, however this was for a trail bike so I didn't bother bother.
WARNING: lemon Juice contains citric acid which will eat EVERYTHING if exposed for too long. I kept an eye on this whole process and found 15-20 minutes was enough. I have read about others who have left their carb in the boiling lemon juice for hours and hours, and the carb body has been eaten away and pitted. After this the slides wouldnt work because they were not smooth, and the the finish felt very rough and powdery. They obviously boiled the parts for way too long. Keep and eye on it and check evry 10 minutes and you' ll be fine. Others have found good results by leaving the carb in the lemon juice overnight (not boiling). However my method was quick and allowed me to monitor the process.
Also best not to do this inside on the gas cooker because of the smell of lemons and petrol. I used the BBQ and it worked fine.
