Sparkling clean carbs
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Sparkling clean carbs
I bought some carb dip from autozone, new glass fuel filter,and spark plugs. The carbs have no build up/enamel left on them, they look brand new. I looked at the emulsion tubes but can't really tell if the top is out of round. I am so tempted to put it all together and try it out, but since i have put it back together several times with varying levels of success; I'll wait for the new EM tubes and jets.
In another thread i asked about removing the tube under the starter jet. But it does not appear to come out. is there a trick I noticed ther is a hole near the base but not sure if its ok to force it out.
In another thread i asked about removing the tube under the starter jet. But it does not appear to come out. is there a trick I noticed ther is a hole near the base but not sure if its ok to force it out.
Re: Sparkling clean carbs
That carb cleaner from the zone is some good stuff. Its always good to clean it with soap and water when through dipping it.
Re: Sparkling clean carbs
I dipped them for the recomended 20 min and then sprayed em down with a hose, air dried curtesy of the July sun. After I synched them The bike has been running great. I have driven it to work (50 miles round trip) twice now. Tommorow too if weather stays dry.
Re: Sparkling clean carbs
I'm curious, did you have any rough idle issues, or was it smooth before? I have been trying to figure out why my idle is "searching". I cleaned my carbs by hand last last season when I got the bike, since the PO had it sitting for a couple of years. I used the spray carb cleaner, and got into all the small parts with a toothbrush. I replaced the idle jets while I was in there also. I have triple checked everywhere to make sure I have no air leaks, and the bike runs awesome, other than the searching idle. The best I can describe it is it goes "up and down" between around 1050-1200, no matter if the engine is hot or cold.fadlan12 wrote:I dipped them for the recomended 20 min and then sprayed em down with a hose, air dried curtesy of the July sun. After I synched them The bike has been running great. I have driven it to work (50 miles round trip) twice now. Tommorow too if weather stays dry.


'03 Liquid Silver R6
'91 FZR 600
'97 Forks w/ .85kg/mm Race Tech springs, Gold-Valve Emulators (2 turns), 20w fork oil / Fox Twin Clicker
R6 front calipers and master cylinder, R6 tail
YZF swingarm conversion
'01 R1 Digital Cluster conversion
K&N Drop-In, Factory Pro emulsion tubes, stock 5CFZ4 needle on clip 2, 22mm floats, mixture screws temp tuned
Bridgestone BT-016s 110/170

Re: Sparkling clean carbs
Yes Mine had a nasty idle, as in not much unless the choke was on and then 3.5-4k. Turn of the choke and it would drop below 1k and die. Now just a hair of choke and off then it idles at @1500, but I need to decrease it a bit back a little but still gun-shy about friction zone.
Re: Sparkling clean carbs
mszilves wrote:I'm curious, did you have any rough idle issues, or was it smooth before? I have been trying to figure out why my idle is "searching". I cleaned my carbs by hand last last season when I got the bike, since the PO had it sitting for a couple of years. I used the spray carb cleaner, and got into all the small parts with a toothbrush. I replaced the idle jets while I was in there also. I have triple checked everywhere to make sure I have no air leaks, and the bike runs awesome, other than the searching idle. The best I can describe it is it goes "up and down" between around 1050-1200, no matter if the engine is hot or cold.fadlan12 wrote:I dipped them for the recomended 20 min and then sprayed em down with a hose, air dried curtesy of the July sun. After I synched them The bike has been running great. I have driven it to work (50 miles round trip) twice now. Tommorow too if weather stays dry.
The stuff costs like $20 bucks, you should dunk them mark.
- the_finch
- Level 8.5
- Posts: 882
- Joined: Tue Jun 03, 2008 8:06 pm
- Location: Midland City, AL / UAHuntsville, Huntsville, AL
Re: Sparkling clean carbs
I have a question that may be a stupid one.fadlan12 wrote:I bought some carb dip from autozone, new glass fuel filter,and spark plugs. The carbs have no build up/enamel left on them, they look brand new. I looked at the emulsion tubes but can't really tell if the top is out of round. I am so tempted to put it all together and try it out, but since i have put it back together several times with varying levels of success; I'll wait for the new EM tubes and jets.
In another thread i asked about removing the tube under the starter jet. But it does not appear to come out. is there a trick I noticed ther is a hole near the base but not sure if its ok to force it out.


1997 FZR600RJ
Engine: K&N Drop-in air filter - stock airbox - FP 5°ignition advancer - EBC "Street Racer" Kevlar clutch
Exhaust: Stock header - Yoshimura RS-3 Carbon fiber slip-on
Body: Original paint/graphics - Clear Alternatives integrated LED Taillight - Flanders' flush front signals - YZF600 Mirrors - Comp. Werkes Stainless fender eliminator/tag bracket - 60w/55w H4 headlights
Tires: Metzler MEZ4B 120/70 ZR17 Front - Michelin Madacam 100x 150/70 ZR18 Rear
Brakes:Stock rotors with EBC HH Sinstered pads
In the works: YZF600 header, '97 Bandit 600 rear wheel, DynoJet Stage 3, Racetech Springs and Emulators fork rebuild, FZ1 rear shock, YZF600 front MC, Galfer SS Lines, CFM rearsets
Re: Sparkling clean carbs
I took them apart and really just soaked the internals (emulsion tubes, jets, and needles) removing all plastic or rubber parts(esp. gaskets). then I took the bowls and dipped them carefull not to get the plastic tube connecting them in the chemical. The actual carb bodies I poured a little in and used a gun cleaner toothbrush. If you had a sqaure pan you could concievably pour the mix in and dip the entire setup minus gaskets and tubes. My gaskets were $60 so I did not want to replace them again.
The chem would likely eat the rubber gaskets.
I got emulsion tubes and a jet kit from Factory Pro and those guys answered the phone after I bought and installed the parts and helped with setup / tuning questions.
The chem would likely eat the rubber gaskets.
I got emulsion tubes and a jet kit from Factory Pro and those guys answered the phone after I bought and installed the parts and helped with setup / tuning questions.
Re: Sparkling clean carbs
So you don't actually have to seperate the carb bodies from each other? I have no problem removing all the bits (I assume you removed the choke needles etc. as well), I was curious if there were any bushings or seals where the butterfly valve rods connect to each other that you had to watch out for.fadlan12 wrote:I took them apart and really just soaked the internals (emulsion tubes, jets, and needles) removing all plastic or rubber parts(esp. gaskets). then I took the bowls and dipped them carefull not to get the plastic tube connecting them in the chemical. The actual carb bodies I poured a little in and used a gun cleaner toothbrush. If you had a sqaure pan you could concievably pour the mix in and dip the entire setup minus gaskets and tubes. My gaskets were $60 so I did not want to replace them again.
The chem would likely eat the rubber gaskets.
I got emulsion tubes and a jet kit from Factory Pro and those guys answered the phone after I bought and installed the parts and helped with setup / tuning questions.
Other than that, I think I may go ahead and do this to see if it gets rid of the searching idle. I know that my bike had been sitting for a couple of years when I bought it, and the carbs were gummed up something fierce.


'03 Liquid Silver R6
'91 FZR 600
'97 Forks w/ .85kg/mm Race Tech springs, Gold-Valve Emulators (2 turns), 20w fork oil / Fox Twin Clicker
R6 front calipers and master cylinder, R6 tail
YZF swingarm conversion
'01 R1 Digital Cluster conversion
K&N Drop-In, Factory Pro emulsion tubes, stock 5CFZ4 needle on clip 2, 22mm floats, mixture screws temp tuned
Bridgestone BT-016s 110/170

Re: Sparkling clean carbs
Correct I left them all together, just took off each individual carb piece and cleaned it, I did not check the choke needles nor took apart butterflys, I just poured a little of the dip in and cleaned with water after 20+/- min later. But the chem worked like a charm, compared to just cleaning them with carb cleaner and gas.
good luck.
good luck.
- Luke-a-Tron
- Level 2.0
- Posts: 203
- Joined: Mon Jul 14, 2008 3:27 pm
- Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Re: Sparkling clean carbs
I just did this a few weeks ago and I separated all the carb bodies. It's not that big of a deal to do actually. I'd say the hardest part is making sure the little spring that keeps the butterfly linkage tight against the stop screw on the linkage of the neighboring carb. It's hard to explain but if you look at the linkage where sync screws are, you'll see what I'm talking about.
I did not take the butterfly valves apart. There is a felt "seal" where the pin that the butterfly valve attaches to goes through carb body but it's fine to put that in the dip. Make sure you get the tiny o-ring out where the pilot jet screws seats too. Also remove the choke valve assembly. I can't remember if there is another tiny o-ring in there or not.
I did one body at a time as to ensure I didn't get pieces mixed up. What I did was put all the metal parts in the dip for a half hour. Then I took them over the sink and with some goggles (important! the dip hurts like hell on your skin, I can't imagine in your eye), thick rubber gloves and a toothbrush went to town. Rinse everything with piping hot water. Use spray carb cleaner on any stubborn gunk. Rinse again. Then blow everything out with compressed air. Because I'm super anal, I then sprayed WD-40 into every nook and cranny to displace any leftover water and blew out with air again.
I used a heavier aerosol lubricant on all the linkage parts to stave off corrosion. I didn't replace any of the gaskets initially but found things were leaking heavily afterwards. I replaced the o-rings on the fuel supply tubes between the 1-2 and 3-4 carbs (found at autozone for very cheap) and all was well. You will need to bench sync the carbs when you put it all back together.
I had cleaned all removable parts in the dip a few years ago and the bodies, still connected, with the spray a few years back and while it did get somewhat better, it was not much. After this latest round of tedium the throttle response is 100% better and it revs and idles considerably smoother. It's a lot of work but totally worth it.
I did not take the butterfly valves apart. There is a felt "seal" where the pin that the butterfly valve attaches to goes through carb body but it's fine to put that in the dip. Make sure you get the tiny o-ring out where the pilot jet screws seats too. Also remove the choke valve assembly. I can't remember if there is another tiny o-ring in there or not.
I did one body at a time as to ensure I didn't get pieces mixed up. What I did was put all the metal parts in the dip for a half hour. Then I took them over the sink and with some goggles (important! the dip hurts like hell on your skin, I can't imagine in your eye), thick rubber gloves and a toothbrush went to town. Rinse everything with piping hot water. Use spray carb cleaner on any stubborn gunk. Rinse again. Then blow everything out with compressed air. Because I'm super anal, I then sprayed WD-40 into every nook and cranny to displace any leftover water and blew out with air again.
I used a heavier aerosol lubricant on all the linkage parts to stave off corrosion. I didn't replace any of the gaskets initially but found things were leaking heavily afterwards. I replaced the o-rings on the fuel supply tubes between the 1-2 and 3-4 carbs (found at autozone for very cheap) and all was well. You will need to bench sync the carbs when you put it all back together.
I had cleaned all removable parts in the dip a few years ago and the bodies, still connected, with the spray a few years back and while it did get somewhat better, it was not much. After this latest round of tedium the throttle response is 100% better and it revs and idles considerably smoother. It's a lot of work but totally worth it.