RSF Posted December 13, 2008 Share Posted December 13, 2008 I have an 400 Special that I picked up from a guy who has let it sit for about 6 years. I took the carbs off, and sprayed them with carb cleaner really well, and got it running, but not great. Replaced the plugs, wires, etc, but still runs a little ragged. I've heard a couple people mention ultra sonic carb cleaning here, and was curious just what this involves. I have a good buddy that runs a repair dept. for industrial water purification equiptment. He has one of these units at his work and offered to clean my carbs for me. Should the carbs be completely disassembled for this, or just put into the cleaner as a whole? He doesn't use the machine for anything as intricate as carbs, and asked me if they should be torn down to do it, or just left alone as they are. I'm a novice at bike repair, and do not really want to get in over my head with needles, jetting, floats etc, possibly making the running issues worse if it's not necessary just yet. If it is necessary however, I'll go ahead and do it. Any help on this would be appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimR Posted December 13, 2008 Share Posted December 13, 2008 I have an 400 Special that I picked up from a guy who has let it sit for about 6 years. I took the carbs off, and sprayed them with carb cleaner really well, and got it running, but not great. Replaced the plugs, wires, etc, but still runs a little ragged. I've heard a couple people mention ultra sonic carb cleaning here, and was curious just what this involves. I have a good buddy that runs a repair dept. for industrial water purification equiptment. He has one of these units at his work and offered to clean my carbs for me. Should the carbs be completely disassembled for this, or just put into the cleaner as a whole? He doesn't use the machine for anything as intricate as carbs, and asked me if they should be torn down to do it, or just left alone as they are. I'm a novice at bike repair, and do not really want to get in over my head with needles, jetting, floats etc, possibly making the running issues worse if it's not necessary just yet. If it is necessary however, I'll go ahead and do it. Any help on this would be appreciated. Hi, I would not use this method to clean the carbs out XS400 sohc ran bad any how but I would set up the tappits, dwell & timing before going to the carbs ... as you have the bike running tappits, timing & dwell will be easy... then hit the carbs, if the bike then runs better from those adjustments do carb balance & mix strength if not its time to pull the carbs to bits and use some carb cleaner & high pressure air. I'm wondering what ultra sonic cleaning is but I would guess that older carbs may suffer from this approach. Regards Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator Airhead Posted December 13, 2008 Moderator Share Posted December 13, 2008 Hi, I would not use this method to clean the carbs out XS400 sohc ran bad any how but I would set up the tappits, dwell & timing before going to the carbs ... as you have the bike running tappits, timing & dwell will be easy... then hit the carbs, if the bike then runs better from those adjustments do carb balance & mix strength if not its time to pull the carbs to bits and use some carb cleaner & high pressure air. I'm wondering what ultra sonic cleaning is but I would guess that older carbs may suffer from this approach. Regards Jim Ultrasonic cleaning will do no harm to your carbs, it is a completely non aggressive approach to cleaning and all it uses is a little warm water, a little washing liquid and ultrasinic waves that 'explode' the crud from the surface of the workpiece, It is a method used extensively for cleaning jewellery and dentures etc, i have used it on my carb and was pleased with the results, you may not need to use it yourself, thats your call but as Jim says, a carb cleaner aerosol and a compressed air line may be enough. heres mine that i did recently, I admit I went to town on it with polishing and tarting it up, but the ultrasonic was a good springboard for this (Not bad for 30 years old) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimR Posted December 14, 2008 Share Posted December 14, 2008 Ultrasonic cleaning will do no harm to your carbs, it is a completely non aggressive approach to cleaning and all it uses is a little warm water, a little washing liquid and ultrasinic waves that 'explode' the crud from the surface of the workpiece, It is a method used extensively for cleaning jewellery and dentures etc, i have used it on my carb and was pleased with the results, you may not need to use it yourself, thats your call but as Jim says, a carb cleaner aerosol and a compressed air line may be enough. heres mine that i did recently, I admit I went to town on it with polishing and tarting it up, but the ultrasonic was a good springboard for this (Not bad for 30 years old) carb looks good but will ultrasonic cleaning clear all the drillings in the carb ? XS carbs have quite a few of these and will the ultrasonic remove crub from these holes that are fractions of a mm in diameter ? Regards Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator Airhead Posted December 14, 2008 Moderator Share Posted December 14, 2008 carb looks good but will ultrasonic cleaning clear all the drillings in the carb ? XS carbs have quite a few of these and will the ultrasonic remove crub from these holes that are fractions of a mm in diameter ? Regards Jim I wouldnt recommend it as a be all and end all when carb cleaning no, but combined with carb cleaner and a compressed air line, it gives a more comprehensive result when carb cleaning, I'm wondering what ultra sonic cleaning is but I would guess that older carbs may suffer from this approach. Regards Jim I really only answered this to say that carbs will not suffer from this approach at all, not to push it as a sole method of cleaning As far as the running of the engine goes; if that is your only concern, like you say Jim...Carb cleaner and compressed air is the way to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator drewpy Posted December 14, 2008 Moderator Share Posted December 14, 2008 I used JRS to clean my carbs (ultrasonic after strip down) as you say there are loads of tiny holes which ultrasonics will shift. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RSF Posted December 17, 2008 Author Share Posted December 17, 2008 Thanks for the replies! Is there anything in the carbs that should not be cleaned that way? Or is it safe for all parts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator Airhead Posted December 17, 2008 Moderator Share Posted December 17, 2008 Thanks for the replies! Is there anything in the carbs that should not be cleaned that way? Or is it safe for all parts? its safe and is a well adopted method of cleaning so long as the solution in the tank isnt aggressive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator drewpy Posted December 17, 2008 Moderator Share Posted December 17, 2008 its safe and is a well adopted method of cleaning so long as the solution in the tank isnt aggressive. yep too agressive and you'll get a black eye!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeepurz Posted December 18, 2008 Share Posted December 18, 2008 dissassemble carbs pour common lemon juice in pan, put in carbs, bring to simmer 5min., dont drink lemon juice, & carbs will look new. it works . got this tip from a buddy in canada so those long winters are good for something! . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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