What spray cleaner do you use for inside carburetor bowl/jets?

[kinggeorge13]

More progress on my 1974 1700 bus engine with it's original Solex PDSIT 32/34 dual carburetors. Time to clean out all the gunk inside. There is a myriad of cleaners out there but a lot of the "carburetor cleaners" seem to be more of the "spray down the intake" type cleaner which of course does nothing for what's going on in the bowl or even the various jets, I would imagine.

Do I use just plain ol' carburetor cleaner and spray and clean with a small soft bristle brush and then compressed air or am I better to use brake cleaner or throttle body cleaner or injector cleaner or Varsol (or something like that)?

I don't have an ultrasonic cleaner and don't really intend to get one right now so for now I'm kinda looking for the best spray cleaner I should be using to get all the gunk out. Amazingly on the right side carburetor the main jet was fairly clear and I could blow it out with just my mouth. I was actually hoping I'd find it really clogged up and providing the main cause of issues but I'll work through them all one by one. Meanwhile, I just want to make sure I'm using the best and most effective cleaner for this kind of work inside the carburetor bowl/jets.

Note these photos are after I'd mostly dried them out so I didn't have gas everywhere. When I started they were quite "jellied" up with old ethanol gas crap.

Thanks!

_________________
1975 Westy, Serenity w/FI
1975 Westy, Jack Sparrow w/FI
1979 Kombi, Pistachio w/FI
1979 Kombi, Oliver wFI
1977 Tin top camper, Cosmos w/FI
1974 Westy, Garfield w/ Dual Solex PDSIT
1973 Tin top camper, Bart
1974 gutted Dorper Casper w/ Dual Solex PDSIT
1975 Westy, Stella w/single progressive Weber
1979 Super Beetle, Penelope w/FI
1967 Fastback, Green Hornet w/dual Solex

[SGKent]

There are two solutions -

For spray and fast dry - Berryman's B-12 Carb Cleaner. Wear safety glasses in case you point the nozzle the wrong way.

For soaking use Berryman's CHEM-DIP but do not leave it more than 15 to 20 minutes at a time and use tongs or heavy duty gloves to handle it until you wash it off.

_________________
“Most people don’t know what they’re doing, and a lot of them are really good at it.” - George Carlin

[kinggeorge13]

[SGKent]

ask BusDaddy what he uses. He is in BC. Also you can ask Scott at German Supply. He is in Toronto.
_________________
“Most people don’t know what they’re doing, and a lot of them are really good at it.” - George Carlin

[Brian]

[Wildthings]

If the engine is running well enough to drive I typically start by adding some Tectron or Lucas to the gas tank and let it do its magic. If I go into the carb later any debris on the bottom of the bowl maybe be removable with a rag or by blowing the bowl out with air. Sometimes I have found a brittle shellac like buildup in the jets and just use a wooden toothpick poked into the jet break it apart.

[Abscate]

That level of dirt requires disassembly.

Your putting a band aid on a myocardial infarction
_________________
.ssS!

[busdaddy]

[obieoberstar]

+2 on the ultrasonic cleaner.

I picked up a 10 liter unit for under $200 shipped.

My job involves cleaning parts for motorcycles and cars. This thing is a game changer.

Carb dip in the gallon pail may be the ticket otherwise. (if you can get it in Canada)

[kinggeorge13]

So I went the manual route and bought a house-brand carburetor cleaner (Canadian Tire) spray and a can of Tools and Parts Cleaner (also Canadian Tire). Gotta say locally the choices of brands of Carburetor cleaner seem to be shrinking as less and less carb cars on the road, I assume.

Anyways, it was a chore. Lots of spraying, wiping and brushing as I used both toothbrushes and brass wire brushes and my compressor with an air gun. In the end, the carburetors were pretty darned cleaned up. But it was even better than that:

And I believe that hallelujah I found the exact cause of my lack of engine speed when I press the gas pedal. And I mean zero engine speed increase when pressing the gas pedal except some stuttering, stumbling and if I take my foot of the pedal, it finally stutters back to a regular steady idle.
This would be the main jet of the left-hand carburetor (below):

And this would be that same main jet after cleaning it carefully out and lots of carb cleaner and air-compressor air-blasts:

So today I go pick up my kit of replacement gaskets. Mine were almost certainly original and frigging rock-hard stuck. Took more than an hour to clean them off down to nice clean metal facing again.

Pouring rain today so tomorrow is supposed to be sunny yet cold and I'll get both carburetors re-installed and see if my engine will actually speed up when I give it gas. I have high expectations as I've tested/fixed/tuned pretty much everything else including full tuneup, valve adjust, adjusting accelerator pumps, etc, etc. That fully blocked main jet has to be the culprit.

Thanks!
-George
_________________
1975 Westy, Serenity w/FI
1975 Westy, Jack Sparrow w/FI
1979 Kombi, Pistachio w/FI
1979 Kombi, Oliver wFI
1977 Tin top camper, Cosmos w/FI
1974 Westy, Garfield w/ Dual Solex PDSIT
1973 Tin top camper, Bart
1974 gutted Dorper Casper w/ Dual Solex PDSIT
1975 Westy, Stella w/single progressive Weber
1979 Super Beetle, Penelope w/FI
1967 Fastback, Green Hornet w/dual Solex

[Wildthings]

If you leave your rig parked for extended periods of time use ethanol free gas before you park it. Having a shutoff valve (manual or electric) in the fuel line would allow you to run the carbs dry of fuel when you park its. With some electric pumps you can just disconnect the power and run the pump dry, while others will let fuel pass by gravity. The stock Type 4 mechanical pumps were supposed to prevent gravity flow, but I am not sure that the replacement ones do or not. A valve is good no matter what

[kinggeorge13]

[kinggeorge13]

Ok, we are wrapping up a bunch of my posts about these Solex 32/34 PDSIT carburetor problems in my 1974 Bus including this post about cleaning.

I got them all put back together yesterday with new gaskets and as clean as I could possibly get them with various carb cleaners, tooth brush, brass brush, air gun, etc, etc.

Other than lots of gunk, junk, grit and crap inside various places, especially the float bowl, the two smoking guns were the main jets at the bottom one of which was 100% solid-blocked and the vacuum nipple/tube off the left hand carb that is supposed to go to the advance side of the dual advance can on the distributor. It previously had a hose on it that was plugged off: it was also 100% blocked and I mean blocked with some nasty rock-hard crap in that super-tiny airway. In the end I know it was cleared because I could spray cleaner into it and watch it spray out the carb throat area. A wonderful thing!

So today I finished reinstalling the carburetors back onto the engine and hooked up all the little linkages, springs, wires, etc, etc and after a 2nd and 3rd double-checking, I went to start him up. After the seconds it takes for the float bowls to fill up again, he fired up to life. I let him idle for a minute or so and then hit the gas pedal. For the FIRST time since I got him, he now roars to life with high RPMs when I hit the gas (as opposed to stumbling and stalling if I even gently pushed the accelerator). Sounds frigging awesome!

So before I put the air cleaner back on and reconnect the rest of the vacuum lines, I need to set the idle speed (it's running around 1100 - 1200 rpm right now) and do the dual carburetor balancing thing with the cool meter I got that plunks down on the top of the carburetor. Then it goes all back together.

Thanks everyone for all your help, suggestions and direction!

VROOOM! VROOOOM!

-George
_________________
1975 Westy, Serenity w/FI
1975 Westy, Jack Sparrow w/FI
1979 Kombi, Pistachio w/FI
1979 Kombi, Oliver wFI
1977 Tin top camper, Cosmos w/FI
1974 Westy, Garfield w/ Dual Solex PDSIT
1973 Tin top camper, Bart
1974 gutted Dorper Casper w/ Dual Solex PDSIT
1975 Westy, Stella w/single progressive Weber
1979 Super Beetle, Penelope w/FI
1967 Fastback, Green Hornet w/dual Solex