Technical Is there any decent soak type carb cleaner on the market?

Absolutely, they say that ignorance is bliss but ignorance will only cover you for the first 9 lives after that you're on your own.

Sent you a PM by the way.

 

The Pine Sol method was the subject of a long thread concerning some thoroughly nasty cycle carbs that were cruddy as all hell. I like the idea of the crock pot, and I have a buddy that loves yard sales for items he collects, and I think I'll ask him to pick up one for me if he spots a big one.
But in my memory of that thread, I don't remember the Pine Sol being diluted. I'm thinking it was straight Pine Sol.

 

I've had really good luck with this product from Yamaha.
http://www.amazon.com/Yamalube-Carburetor-Cleaner-Dip-oz/dp/B002GU4SPA

 

The Berryman Chem Dip is not very aggressive. Simple Green works as good as that does.

 

I just bought some paint stripper to get the paint off a front axle, it worked so good an dthe metal is so clean I thought thats' just the shit to dump into my carb cleaner bucket. I have a couple more pieces to strip with it and I'll dump the rest of it in the carb cleaner, if I don't gas myslef or blow the building up I'll let you know how it does.

 

Dish soap and warm water in an ultra sonic cleaner is the ticket. It will clean off years of buildup off in 45 minutes. You can't beat it.

 

Way back my Dad and I walked into my Aunt's kitchen to see my uncle Paul (not a car guy) standing at the stove with the carb from his '46 Ford in a pot of hot water. He said he was boiling out the carburetor! Judging from the crock pot and soap comments - he might have been on to something!
I miss the stink of the good old Mechanic's Brand carb cleaner my Dad used to get from Pep Boys. It stunk up your skin and clothes for a week and the shop for months, worked great though. Cleaned many a 4GC in that.
I usually just use aerosol Carb and Choke cleaner (whatever brand is on sale), trimmed acid brushes and lots of patience. Most of the currently available EPA certified dips have been a waste of $$. Gonna look into that Yama - dip though.

 

I don't have first hand experience but I've heard that antifreeze in a crockpot works very well also

 

I soak my carbs in laquer thinner, cheap and effective.

 

NAPA sells a very good carb cleaner in a gallon bucket

 

I don't think that carbon tetrachloride has been available to the public for years, for good reasons. MEK is still around as a solvent (used as model car plastic glue). I know machine shops that are careless with it... use it for degreasing with little to none PPE.
Carbon tetrachloride was readily replaced by trichloroethylene, another thing not to play with. The exposure to toxic substances was one of the thing that got me out of fixing cars for a living. Now I make my own choices and limit my exposure accordingly.

 

The wife brought me some home to remove some mastic from a hardwood floor. It is still widely used in the electronics industry and I think all you need is a tax number. There are a lot of job shops around still building circuit boards.

That said if I recommend it, it is tongue in cheek.

Something else that has been basically outlawed at least by *OSHA is naphthalene. it works well, it is not considered to be a carcinogen but it is associated with cataracts and kidney and liver damage. It will clean up a carb for sure, I don't like the smell of it so I don't use it.

*Oklahoma Saddle Horse Association

 

111Triclorethelene is nothing to fool around with- I had a house that had the well contaminated
because the land next to me was run as an illegal junkyard that dumped who knows what into
the soil. A dozen homes with contaminated wells and it is most dangerous when inhaled so
using the dishwasher or taking a shower was bad for you. I wish the EPA was more aggressive
about these dangerous chemicals.

 

Sorry to rehash this old thread but is it necessary to take the carbs apart before soaking them or just soak the whole unit? Thx

 

Take it apart as you want to remove any rubber parts that might swell , also so the product can get into the nooks and crannies . and you also want to inspect to see if there is any more problems before you spend time on it , I have found a few that had non repairable damages , ( corrosion thru the body and around jet threads ) and when taking it apart try to pull as much gasket off as its gonna be stuck on it , you can leave some on as the soaking will make it easier to remove the remains

 

Have to disassemble completely to do a proper rebuild, and it's a waste of time to do any other. It helps to coat the gaskets light with vaseline so they will not stick the next time. Take pictures, especially of the linkage so your memory won't be called on too much. Some stuff can get tricky.

The carb soak is just part of the process. Have to blow out all the passageways and orifice with compressed air. There are a bunch of them, I'm rebuilding an Autolite 2100, about as simple as it gets and the venturi booster alone has about 25 or 30 frickin' holes, tiny ones. Each has to be checked for free passage of air.

 

As far as sonic cleaners go, I used to used a large, industrial one at work. It had a pump, filter and heater. To do it right, you ran the pump long enough to heat the water and then shut the pump off and turn the sonic generator on for a few minutes to "degas" the solution. I then lowered the parts in the tank without agitating the solution any more than needed. If you kept the parts near the surface, you could see the dirt swirl around and release from the part.
If a smaller one isn't working, maybe the solution needs to be "degassed", especially if it was filled from a faucet with an aerator.

Gary

 

I almost bit the bullet and bought the HF unit when I found a 6 qt one for 40 bucks more , but I am going to get the 10 L unit as I have some larger stuff I have to clean and this will give them the room , and the price isn't that bad ( $200ish )