Cleaning carbs on the rack by boiling in lemon juice

A

anarki650

Been Around the Block
Just thought I'd throw up a couple of pics of my carbs after boiling them in lemon juice. My pilot jets were partially clogged due to a winter of sitting without properly winterizing (I normally get a chance to start it every couple of weeks for a good garage warm up but this year proved to get the better of me...will be winterizing from now on!!!)
lemonfreshcarbs_1.jpg

lemonfreshcarbs_2.jpg


The process is really easy. I pulled the top covers off and removed the slides. Also removed the float bowl and all internals from there (pilot jets, main jet/main jet holder, floats seats and needles, air screws and pilot screws (plus springs). Boiled the carbs in lemon juice for about 15 minutes. After boiling rinse thoroughly with tap water and blow dry with compressed air (helps ensure all passages are clear as well). They'll get really chalky looking as they dry. I took some PB Blaster and rubbed them down with that and they took on a much more normal, albeit dull, look. I was assured by my buddy who's done about 2 dozen racks of carbs this way that they may look dull but will perform like new. That's all there is to it. No toxic chemicals blasting you in the eye because of partially clogged (or fully clogged) jet passages. No toothbrushing to remove crud build up, really no work to it at all.
One word of warning however, DO NOT DO THIS ON YOUR WIFE/GIRLFRIEND/MOM'S STOVE! It makes a rather unique smell that those not predisposed to wrenching will likely find offensive and I'd hate to see you sleeping on the couch!! Still smells better than carb cleaner though!
Bike runs like a million bucks after the cleaning too.
Wish I would have taken before pics as they were pretty grimy on the outsides before the lemon bath.
 
I did this as well. I did do it on my moms stove, and luckily she was pretty cool about it. Had to open all the windows though as there was a pretty nice smell of oil gas and lemon juice floating around the house..
 
Tried this last weekend on a set of Bings from a R75/5, just be sure to remove all brass parts or they will discolor. I hit them with a small brass brush and all was cool, but it kind of freaked me out at first, instant patina green.

Terry
J'ville, Fl
 
goodfornothing said:
Can you boil the jets as well? Or will it ruin them?
Click to expand...

I dont see why it would ruin them. Like someone else said, the brass will tarnish, but this shouldnt affect performance. I had to boil the old jets that were in there cuz they wouldnt come out otherwise! Once I boiled them though, they slid right out.
 
I just read where one of the guys said they brushed it with a brass brush.

Thanks guys! Hopefully this will save me from buying new jets.
 
Guys,

I've done two sets of CB 750 carbs this way and highly recommend it. I tried carb and choke cleaner, paint thinner and the Gunk can of toxic waste they call carb cleaner and still no luck......lemon juice was the way to go. 1 part lemon juice and 6 parts water, boil for two hours and wash with dishwashing soap using a toothbrush. I took everything apart and threw it all in except the plastic bushings, o-rings and gaskets.

I still recommend getting a rebuild kit and replacing the jets, o-rings, and gaskets. The CB750 set, four carbs was $67 bucks from an eBay store and well worth it.

Scott
 
This worked great for me as well. I didn't really even boil them because I didn't have a cheapo pot. So I just boiled the lemon juice solution and poured it over my 350 carbs. I put each body in an empty plastic coffee can, added the juice, put the lid on and let them sit over night. They came out clean and the lid helped with that distinctive odor. Just another great idea I found on this forum. Thanks!
 
Andrew,

After you boil them, then using a toothbrush, scrub them with dishwashing liquid. After they are dry spray them with WD-40 and a light scrubbing with the toothbrush.

Scott
 
Skyeye said:
Andrew,

After you boil them, then using a toothbrush, scrub them with dishwashing liquid. After they are dry spray them with WD-40 and a light scrubbing with the toothbrush.

Scott
Click to expand...

Awesome, thanks Scott - Rat400F and I are going to have a carb cleaning party on Friday - I'll post pics.
 
I did this last week, and as everyone says, it works great.

I was hoping it would fill my apartment with a warm lemony "joy" smell. As originally stated, that was not the smell I got.

Here are some before and after pics to show how the carb bodies turn gray. (I think I am going to leave as is. I like it more then I like the idea of sanding all those little nooks and crannies.)

Before
<img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_vZZxEy5HMKM/SgJzbnpjDfI/AAAAAAAACGs/f1rxMaq2TIA/s800/IMG_6327.JPG" />

After
<img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_vZZxEy5HMKM/SgJzcGTrEiI/AAAAAAAACGw/htaRHpuS8A4/s800/IMG_6341.JPG" />
 
Hello all,

Having a problem.

After reading the lemon juice procedure, I tried it on my cb750 carbs. Unfortunately they now all have a very hard gray coating on everything including the inside. Now the slides won't fit in anymore.

I tried scraping the stuff off with a toothbrush (no good) and then a small wire wheel on a Dremel (stuff came off a tiny bit, but not much).

Does anyone have any idea what this stuff is? Has this happened to anyone else? It seems to be more than just the chalky coating everyone mentioned.
 
that sounds like a terrible method. aluminum reacts with acidic foods, leaving a white residue. it'll take a long time to get off, get to work with some steel wool.
carb cleaner isn't that expensive
 
Sounds like a pain in the ass to me. I use Stone Mason concrete driveway cleaner, which is available at Canadian Tire, or pretty much any hardware store. I mix 2 litres of it with about 2 more litres of water in a rubbermade pan big enough to fit 4 carbs. I usually let them soak overnight, but a couple hours is fine too. I rinse them with water, and quickly scrub them if they're really grungy. Then I dry them with compressed air. Make sure all the jet passages are clear! If they're not clean, or replace them.
I have also read that an overnight soaking in CocaCola works well too.
 
Update.

I wet-sanded the inside with a bit of 320 grit sandpaper. That removed enough of the coating to allow the slides to function freely. However...there's another problem. This hard coating has made the choke mechanisms bind up. I was able to free three of them, but one broke.

It's the actual part of the choke that slides up and down. I'm fairly new to wrenching on a motorcycle, so I don't know the actual name of this part. But it broke right on top where the thinnest part is due to the slot that the little armature sits in.

I sure hope this part is available for replacement.

I know a lot of people said they've had success with this lemon juice method and that it was really easy. But this has not worked out for me at all. Maybe I left them in too long. I don't know. It was only a couple of hours and the solution wasn't boiling the whole time.
 
it may have been because it wasn't boiling the whole time
 
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