I'm currently working on a long-neglected 1987 carburetor set which sat for years in old gasoline. This is one of the results as the gas turns to a sticky brown varnish, gluing everything together — in this case the plastic slides were stuck in their bores and the jet needles coated in crusty badness.
To free the slides I soaked the bores in Ballistol, a WD-40-like penetrant, cleaner, and lube. Some gentle prying and the slides released, revealing this mess. I feared that the needles were corroded beyond saving, but with some patient cleaning all the slides and needles survived.
To free the slides I soaked the bores in Ballistol, a WD-40-like penetrant, cleaner, and lube. Some gentle prying and the slides released, revealing this mess. I feared that the needles were corroded beyond saving, but with some patient cleaning all the slides and needles survived.
After some experimenting, I discovered that my go-to adhesive remover, 3M General Purpose Adhesive Cleaner, would dissolve the varnish with a gentle massaging using a scuff-free pad.
This entire carb set was affected — the throttle butterfly valves were stuck closed, jets clogged, enrichener (choke) pins stuck in their bores, even the tiny spring pins on the float valves were stuck. The ultrasonic cleaner helped here, but mostly hours of detailed hand cleaning. What would typically be a four-hour job turned into eight.
The photo below shows the same slide and needle ready for reassembly.
This entire carb set was affected — the throttle butterfly valves were stuck closed, jets clogged, enrichener (choke) pins stuck in their bores, even the tiny spring pins on the float valves were stuck. The ultrasonic cleaner helped here, but mostly hours of detailed hand cleaning. What would typically be a four-hour job turned into eight.
The photo below shows the same slide and needle ready for reassembly.
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