I'm trying to find something to clean out (& test) an old Carter YF. It needs to be very thin and safe for vintage carbs. Thanks
I've never had trouble with regular spray can carb cleaner but I haven't cleaned any seriously old carbs in a longtime although I have a pair of 94's that I have to do. It would seem that the dip can cleaners that we had back in the day were stronger and more agressive than what we might have now though but I may be wrong.
Can you use a carb cleaner spray that has a really strong spray? I've found some brands are like using an air compressor.
The dip cleaner from Gunk is thick. It really didn't do anything (soaked carb for 2 weeks). Even mineral spirits and paint thinners are thicker nowadays. I ended up scrubbing it with dish soap. On my carter YF that I'm working on, I'm unable to get a good shot from the accelerator pump, which I'm thinking either the solvent I'm using is too thick (paint thinner), or the p***ages are plugged. I'm hesitant on a heavy duty carb cleaner as I think it will attack the pump diaphragm, which means I will need to order another kit.
As you can see, the inlet hole is very small. The outlet is 3x bigger, so when the diaphragm goes back up, the fuel takes the path of least resistance (outlet)
Everything mentioned is flammable.... Why not use gas? That is what is going to be used in it anyway.
I have had luck soaking 94s in acetone for 24 hours or more, in a sealed container to arrest evaporation. This followed by canned carb cleaner blasting through all p***ages.
I always have a spray can or two of Berrymans B12 in the cupboard. I have also used paint gun cleaner, it is a charged can as well but stronger.
Update: I got the accelerator pump to squirt properly. Turns out that there's 2 options in the kit: one has a weight with a check ball, and the other is a pointed weight and no check ball. My carb takes the pointed weight. This goes in the hole at the top. The spray is awesome now!!!
Years ago I bought one of those handheld, household steam cleaner guns. A "Steamin' Weasel" or whatever they called it. Never use it very much because the small capacity won't let you really do larger jobs without repeatedly refilling it. But I did use it once to clean the sticky, scuzzy stuff off of an old vinyl steering wheel grip. It makes a fairly "dry" steam and cleaned well enough without making a big mess. And just using water it didn't attack the vinyl. Wonder if it might also safely do the job of cleaning a carburetor?
>>>I'm trying to find something to clean out (& test) an old Carter YF. It needs to be very thin and safe for vintage carbs.>>> Simmer on low in a covered CrockPot with Walmart or ShopRite pre-mix antifreeze for about a day. Add water as needed. Rinse. Dry upside down in the sun for a while. Shake to make sure float seems loose.