Cleaning carbs
 

Here's something you may not know. You can use Pine-sol to clean carbs and it works great.

All you do is disassemble the carb, put the parts in a container and fill it with Pine-sol (the real original formula) until it covers the parts. You then let it soak for at least 24 hours, take it out and wash it under warm running water (when the wife isn't looking). Any grime still left on it comes right off with an old paint brush.

Sorry this is not a Kohler carb but it's the only one I have a pic of. This one was covered in grime and varnish. The throttle plates were caked with carbon and the inside of the bowl was really bad. I let it sit in the bucket for a day and just took a stiff paint brush to scrub it off.

http://www.onlycubcadets.net/forum/p...pictureid=5581

This is it's pretty much harmless to you and the environment and it's really cheap. I just strain it and put it back in a jug when done to use it the next time.

Honestly I did not know that.

What are you doing rebuilding a Rochester anyway? Those things aren't worth the time! :bigthink::biggrin2:

Seriously, I've always had good luck with them, but Edelbrocks are so cheap to buy.

Great tip on the cleaning.

Not to hi-jack your thread but I never cared for Rochester or Edelbrock carbs. This one was may fav. BLP/Holly setup for road racing, flowed 915CFM. :beerchug:

I've had good luck with them too, considering how old most are when I get them. The rebuild kit was only $30, for a stock 350 they work just fine and it leaves more $$ for other toys.

That's a bit more carb than my truck would ever handle. It's just an old square body.

Might as well push this thread right off the tracks :biggrin2:
Here's what the carb was for, note the brown on the fenders is RUST, I used molasses to get it off.
http://www.onlycubcadets.net/forum/p...pictureid=5584
http://www.onlycubcadets.net/forum/p...pictureid=5588
Here's what what she looks like before I put all the trim back on. I need to take some more of it now.
http://www.onlycubcadets.net/forum/p...pictureid=5587

Wow, what a difference. Good job.
Pine-sol and molasses....I expect to hear something great from KY-syrup..maybe buttermilk..LOL

I'll certainly try the Pine-sol...the price for those 1 gallon cans carb cleaner has gone through the roof. Thanks for sharing.

I'm a Holley w/mechanical secondaries fan myself if EFI is out of the equation for some reason... Or an autolite of the correct vintage depending on application. I've never had much luck with Q-Jets..

Since the topic is running WAY off the rails anyhow, I've never used Pine Sol to clean parts, but my mother started using it (a few cap fulls plus regular detergent) to clean my nasty shop clothes decades ago when I would come home covered head to toe in car "goo" as a kid. It works awesome there too and I've been doing it ever since.

Now I'm upset with myself that I never thought of it for parts! :bash2:

How did I miss this thread? I am definitely going to try this.:beerchug:

Now to derail again. I like the Q-jets. They are the best 4-wheeling off road carb there is. Holleys are good for racing. Just make sure you have the right float application for your type of racing.

How would you compare this to a gallon of that Gunk carb cleaner? I use the Gunk but man that stuff can really put a beating on you. Even with rubber gloves I still get the stuff on me. Pine-Sol I think might be a little easier on the body.

I don't like Gunk cleaners. Cheapo. There's better stuff. For carbs, I clean them by hand in the parts washer, then on to the jet tank, then bead blast. Seriously, cleaning carb is very tedious and time consuming when doing it by hand all the way. There's just no way around it. (Even my process takes a day to get one clean and ready to assemble.)

I will say, doing this is not for everyone. Not just because not everyone has a bead blaster..... but because if you don't clean it good afterwords, you can end up with glass beads in the motor. That = very bad.

Just used the pinesol to clean the Kohler carb I got Sunday, gotta say it worked well. Then I dumped the leftover pinesol in the shop toilet and scrubbed it out. Killed two birds one pinesol.