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Tue Nov 02, 2004 8:56 am

I'm about to get into a rebuild of not one, but two carbs simultaneously. They both are gunked up and need a good soak, what cleaner do you recommend?

Tue Nov 02, 2004 9:30 am

carb cleaner...the worst smelling the better. wear latex gloves, that stuff will dry your hands out like that.

Tue Nov 02, 2004 10:44 am

I just got the gallon can of parts cleaner, with the little basket, at Car Quest...it's big enough to dip a carb body in, and the basket keeps all the little parts together.

Tue Nov 02, 2004 10:56 am

The gallon can of cleaner they sell at NAPA is pure evil. That stuff works AWESOME, just don't put it on anything you want to retain the paint on, because it will be STRIPPED. Aerosol cleaner is a waste of money for doing carb rebuilds except for blowing out passages after it comes out of a soak.

Tue Nov 02, 2004 11:01 am

It's probably not as aggressive as parts cleaner, but I've had good luck with Simple Green. I used it for my carb rebuild and it worked great.

Tue Nov 02, 2004 12:05 pm

b-12 chemtool by berryman. they sell it in a spray, by the pint, or by the gallon. works better than mama's spit. the gallon come with a neat parts dipper inside of it. b-12 is some bad stuff man.

take care when working with any carb cleaner. dipping your hand in carb cleaner is as bad on your liver as drinking a fifth of whiskey. if you use the spray be sure you are out in the open, the stuff can eat your sinuses up.

Tue Nov 02, 2004 11:56 pm

Most everyone here is not old enough to remember real carb cleaner.. It worked in about ten minutes and cleaned stuff like brand new.. Thank the EPA for removing the active ingreidient which now renders this same Berryman's product nearly worthless...

If you want real clean find someone with an ultrasonic cleaner, usually a carb rebuild shop has this anything less is pissin up a rope..

Jim-

Wed Nov 03, 2004 12:34 am

My local NAPA store told me they can't even get the Berryman B-12 in Califor-ni-ay anymore.... GUNK was better but haven't seen that in a couple of years either.... :-(

Wed Nov 03, 2004 1:00 am

Second vote here for B12 Berryman.

Wed Nov 03, 2004 8:16 pm

just get a gallon of carb cleaner (the dipping tray kind) let that soak for a while, then wash it off then get your carb cleaner can and spray it down then use compressed air to spray that clean. if you want the bodies looking new then take them to a shop with a parts cleaner.

Wed Nov 03, 2004 10:49 pm

What about brake cleaner? That stuff seems to eat everything.

Thu Nov 04, 2004 7:49 am

I rebuild all me carbs sittin' in front of the TV in the living room. I use a TV tray, a Cool-Whip tub, plain old mineral spirits and a tooth brush. For stuborn grease, I step up to a brass brissled brish. A steel brush will damage the aluminum slightly. Acetyline Torch tip cleaners work well for unclogging jets, just make sure you don't damage the jet. For aresol stuff I use Wal-Mart Supertech brand stuff. It's only $.84 a can, and I've got a feeling it's made by Gumout.

-Jeff

Thu Nov 04, 2004 7:59 am

VW Nut wrote: What about brake cleaner? That stuff seems to eat everything.

yea, i use that stuff too. It dries your hands out, and if you have any cuts on your hand, big or small it sure finds them, quick!

Thu Nov 04, 2004 12:46 pm

Brake cleaner spray and carb cleaner spray do have differences, IMO. The brake spray leaves no residue and seems to evaporate faster. Good for prepping threads for Loc-Tite. Brake spray "may" not take off spray-can paint, but carb spray sure does.

WEAR GOGGLES when you spray your carb with either type of spray! The stream can shoot out of a jet or pipe that you don't expect and can get you in the eye!

If the current Berryman's or Gunk 1-gal. carb cleaner cans are "don't make 'em like they used to", then that old stuff would be unbelievably strong. Then again, my old boss told me that in the '60's he would get a 5-gal. pail of that carb cleaner and dunk an entire old Vw cylinder head in it. Let it soak overnight, and without any scrubbing- would be as good as "new".

I bought a set of used Kadrons from a friend who cleaned them in an ultrasonic cleaner- they really are "good as new".

Thu Nov 04, 2004 12:54 pm

the dollar store in town sells oven cleaner for...your guessed it, $1.00 and it took of the factory coating on the underside of my pan! plus, the fumes are AWESOME!!!! Anyways, I use it to clean or degrease anything and everything.

Thu Nov 04, 2004 2:46 pm

Rome wrote: Brake cleaner spray and carb cleaner spray do have differences, IMO. The brake spray leaves no residue and seems to evaporate faster. Good for prepping threads for Loc-Tite. Brake spray "may" not take off spray-can paint, but carb spray sure does."

I find that brake cleaner It's an excellent degreaser for prepping surfaces, for like painting or anything else.

Thu Nov 04, 2004 2:59 pm

just a thought on the rebuild, I find that if I'm doing two carbs at a time, I will actually do one, get it clean and put back together and then do the next one... why? so if I can't remember exactly how things go, I have one as a reference.

I use the gallon chem dip stuff with the basket in it. I have one that has older cleaner in it that I just clean up old hardware in and another that is for 'good stuff' like carbs.

Thu Nov 04, 2004 6:36 pm

Has any of you tried a firearms cleaning solvent? The one used to remove burnt powder, lead, and copper from the inside of the barrels.

Thu Nov 04, 2004 8:46 pm

Super Clean(by Castrol) or Purple Power degreaser are my chosen solvent, ever since I used it to clean the nasty innards of my 16 valve Jetta's 200,000-mile cylinder head. It also works well as a paint stripper for model car bodies, and doesn't harm the styrene.

Both are available by the gallon at my local "Great Wal of Mart," for no more than about $3-5 per gallon. 8)

Fri Nov 05, 2004 9:28 am

plasticman, yup, SuperClean is very strong stuff for "over the counter". Get that part heated up a bit (hot water), and the stuff works even better. Scrubbing usually needed afterwards, and wear a face mask when rinsing off. But it will dissolve a thin aluminum "turkey tray" if left in it overnight for soaking a part (full strength)!!