Simple green ain't fixin' this - Carb oxidation fix

[fastbroshi]

So I purchased a box o' carbs from someone, figuring I'd get some extra parts, but looks as though I got enough to make a whole new set. HOWEVER, There's a couple problems.

1. One of the carb bodies has a broken stud, the one that the brass pin goes through that the float hinges on.

No problem. This guy's gonna fix it.
www.jmfmicroweld.com

One of the carb bodies had 2 post broken and it's not worth saving due to the quality of the repair.

2. The other I can use is so oxidized it may pose a problem. It had a REAL good time in the 80s.

No problem. I put it in a 50/50 mix of apple cider vinegar and water and put it on the stove. Don't do this, you're house is gonna get real stinky and it doesn't seem to work as well as the regular vinegar. Didn't seem to work too great. So I tried again with 50/50 water and regular vinegar. After a day they looked like this:

Good, but not totally gone. I didn't want to further damage the aluminum by grinding or using a Dremel. So I poured out the tainted mix and upped the ante to a 70/30 vinegar-water mix. After about 4 hours they looked like this:

I think this one can be saved, but it's going to need some work on the main jet post as it's lost a little over a mm of height. Going to JB Weld the bowls to smoth them over. I don't want any little crevices where the oxidation can begin yet again.

 

[rockcitycafe]

I think that one's screwed the pooch, it looks like the type with the press in jet? if the inside wall of the part that holds the jet isn't nice and smooth, fuel will leak past the o ring on the jet and effectively give you a much larger jet, better to toss it now than spend days trying to track down the problem when it's all together

 

[fastbroshi]

It actually is very little, if any, pitting. The main damage to that area was from the outside until it got thin and brittle. I guess the jet being in there saved that surface area.

 

[Rocan]

soda blast it. if the soda blast takes off more then the oxidation, then the carb is junk anyway.

 

[fastbroshi]

Oxidation is gone, see the last pic. No need to resurface anything at this point.

 

[hillsy]

Looks like junk to me

 

[fastbroshi]

Yeah it does look pretty bad, though I just wanted to put the whole vinegar water thing out there in case anyone ran across any carbs that had a bit of it they wanted to get off. As for saving it, I'm just trying to make lemonade ya know?

 

[Big R]

You are a brave one!

I think the biggest problem you might face (assuming that they function ok now) is varnish and dirt collecting in all those pits in the float chamber. And I know you can clean them again with the vinegar solution (looks like it worked great BTW) but it just might not be worth it in the long run.

 

[fastbroshi]

I thought I read something that said JB Weld was tolerant of gas and wouldn't break down. My plan is to fill the craters the best I can with it and do some testing w/ various octanes just to be thorough. If someone knows for sure let it be known so we can save time. I'll use this one for 87 and the other f'ed up one for say 91.

EDIT:

Nevermind, guess I should've checked their website first. It's totally resistant when fully cured, and according to the site, with JB Stik you can actually make repairs to stuff when said object to repair is still wet with whatever.

 

[hillsy]

I thought I read something that said JB Weld was tolerant of gas and wouldn't break down. My plan is to fill the craters the best I can with it and do some testing w/ various octanes just to be thorough. If someone knows for sure let it be known so we can save time. I'll use this one for 87 and the other f'ed up one for say 91.

EDIT:

Nevermind, guess I should've checked their website first. It's totally resistant when fully cured, and according to the site, with JB Stik you can actually make repairs to stuff when said object to repair is still wet with whatever.

You'd be better off JB welding the broken float pillars on the better looking carb bodies than trying to resurrect the ones that look like they have been in the ocean for the past 20 years.

 

[fastbroshi]

Besides GM and Chrysler, who ever gained by giving up?

 

[hillsy]

It's not giving up - it's about fixing the one's that have more of a chance of actually functioning.

 

[fastbroshi]

It's not giving up - it's about fixing the one's that have more of a chance of actually functioning.

You might be more inclined than I would to buy another rack of carbs or search for a number whatever carb. I just don't like spending money if I don't have to. I'm going to use my spare time I could've used watching the tube fixing this one and learning something not to mention saving some cash. Basically I'm getting free gaskets. But that's if don't include $25 for having that post welded. We'll see what happens.

 

[hillsy]

Good luck with it. Seriously - i hope you can make it work.

I've just been there, done that and I know through experience that you sometimes need to cut your losses and bite the bullet on stuff that isn't worth the time and money to attempt fixing.

But like I said - good luck with it

 

[Wee Todd]

The "ACME SCHOOL OF METALLURGY" might be interested in these peices,,"zinc alloy deteriation",,,,,,salvage what can, and dump the castings........there fucked :