Crazy Idea - Running carb cleaner THROUGH carburetor
Vikas Sontakke
I have been contemplating on this for quite some time. Let us discuss the
feasibility of this "crazy idea".
When I spray a can of Gumout in the carb throats, the car runs better. Also
when I put strong cleaner such as Techron in the fuel, the car runs better.
Unfortunately, these effects do not last very long. Taking off the carburetor
or rebuilding it is out of question.
Can I spray Gumout directly into carburetor fuel intake line? Can I fill up
the carb fuel intake line and the fuel filter with straight Techron and start
the car up? Apart from rebuilding the carburetor this approach sounds like the
next best thing for unclogging the jets.
I have not tried anything like that because I am not sure if Gumout or Techron
is combustible. Because, if not, then the car will stall and if the resulting
mixture is neither combustible nor compressible, it will throw a rod or two :-(
I do not know the material used in the carb floats, so I am worried that
straight cleaner such as Gumout or Techron might destroy rubber floats.
If it is of any help, the carburetor is constant velocity dual side draft on 83
Honda Prelude. I am also contemplating replacing vaccum piston springs with
low resistance ones. I have the shop manual and it seems like an easy job to
do.
Thanks,
Vikas Sontakke Digital Equipment Corporation, Maynard MA.
Internet: sont...@paxvax.enet.dec.com
uucp: {decvax,ucbvax,allegra}!decwrl!dec-paxvax!sontakke
sontakke%paxva...@decwrl.dec.com
George Scott
>When I spray a can of Gumout in the carb throats, the car runs better. Also
>when I put strong cleaner such as Techron in the fuel, the car runs better.
>Unfortunately, these effects do not last very long. Taking off the carburetor
>or rebuilding it is out of question.
>Can I spray Gumout directly into carburetor fuel intake line? Can I fill up
>the carb fuel intake line and the fuel filter with straight Techron and start
>the car up?
In my old Peterson's Auto Tuneup and Repair book from the mid '70s, they claim
no tune up is complete without pouring carb cleaner directly down the carb. My
76 Dodge pickup with a 225 always had a bad knock, so I followed their instr-
uctions: with engine running, and hand on throttle, pour a bit of carb cleaner
down carb throat, using throttle to keep engine from stalling. After pouring
half a bottle down carb bit by bit, pour other half in all at once. Engine
stalls. Wait 15-30 minutes. Start engine. LOTS OF SMOKE! Drive around,
accelerating 0-30mph at full throttle a few times. Engine smokes on startup
next few times. After doing this and driving on the freeway for 80 miles,
the knocking stopped and I haven't heard a ping out of it in 5 years.
Disclaimer: Just my experience. Your milage may vary.
--
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Walter A. Koziarz
>
>Can I spray Gumout directly into carburetor fuel intake line? Can I fill up
>the carb fuel intake line and the fuel filter with straight Techron and start
>the car up? Apart from rebuilding the carburetor this approach sounds like the
>next best thing for unclogging the jets.
>
Gumout *USED* to sell a kit which allowed opening up the fuel line at the carb
inlet and connecting a can (not the spray can; just aregular can) of Gumout to
the carb. I don't know if it's still available; but that *should* imply that
the stuff will burn.
Walt K.
Note: IF it is NO LONGER AVAILABLE, that MAY indicate a problem with the
approach!!!!!
Mike Stanbro
>
> When I spray a can of Gumout in the carb throats, the car runs better. Also
> when I put strong cleaner such as Techron in the fuel, the car runs better.
> Unfortunately, these effects do not last very long. Taking off the carburetor
> or rebuilding it is out of question.
>
> Can I spray Gumout directly into carburetor fuel intake line? Can I fill up
> the carb fuel intake line and the fuel filter with straight Techron and start
> the car up? Apart from rebuilding the carburetor this approach sounds like the
> next best thing for unclogging the jets.
I spray Berryman's B12 Chemtool directly into the carb and the float
bowl. I assume that it is very similar to Gumout as it is intended
for the same purpose.
I really like the Berryman's product and have been using it for years.
I first learned about Berryman's from an autoshop instructor at
college...he higly recommended it. You might give it a try the next
time instead of Gumout. I have used both and definitely prefer the
Berryman's product.
I also pour an entire can of Berryman's it into my fuel tank once or
twice a year to clean the combustion chambers and valve seats; it makes
a noticable difference in my car's mileage after the cleaning.
--
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Michael Stanbro Mentor Graphics Corporation
8500 SW Creekside Place, Beaverton OR 97005, (503) 626-1437
...!{sequent,tessi,apollo}!mntgfx!mikes OR mi...@pdx.MENTOR.COM
Harold Tomlinson
I have the shop manual too. Those carbs don't look easy to me. You keep
refering to them in the singular form, why? Have you considered that if
you pull them off, replacing the spring may be simple, but ensuring that
the two carbs stay in sync may not be? I could be wrong, but this is
why I never bothered to pull my Prelude motor apart. I sold it and picked
up a conventional motor instead. But then again, I'm no mechanic.
For those who don't know, '83 Preludes are dual carb units. Just how hard
is it to sync carbs?
Harold.t.
--
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Disclaimer: What you think my opinion is may not even be my opinion.
It is in fact only what my opinion is in your opinion.
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|\/~\/~\/| Harold Tomlinson
| | Computing Advisor
| | Academic Computing Services
| | York University
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'||` Ontario, Canada. M3J 1P3
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Backup: The duplicate copy of crucial data that no one bothered to make.
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Daniel R. Levy
> When I spray a can of Gumout in the carb throats, the car runs better. Also
> when I put strong cleaner such as Techron in the fuel, the car runs better.
> Unfortunately, these effects do not last very long. Taking off the carburetor
> or rebuilding it is out of question.
Why? Is there something particularly tricky about your carb? That is by far
the best way to do it, to remove the unit, disassemble and clean it, and
reassemble with new non-metallic parts. I am fairly klutzy with tools, and
still managed to do this on my own carb in an evening. I used spray-type
carb cleaner, so handling fumey dip-type cleaner was not necessary.
--
Daniel R. Levy >>> God: just say "yes" <<<
AT&T Bell Laboratories UNIX(R) mail: att!ttbcad!levy, att!cbnewsc!levy
5555 West Touhy Avenue Any opinions expressed in the message above are
Skokie, Illinois 60077 mine, and not necessarily AT&T's.
Daniel R. Levy
> with engine running, and hand on throttle, pour a bit of carb cleaner
> down carb throat, using throttle to keep engine from stalling. After pouring
> half a bottle down carb bit by bit, pour other half in all at once. Engine
> stalls. Wait 15-30 minutes. Start engine. LOTS OF SMOKE!
If you must do this, try to do it where the smoke won't be a nuisance to
others and/or be seen by a cop. I got a ticket once for a "smoke treatment"
I gave my car. (And this was at 1 A.M. with almost nobody else on the road,
in a business district.) Another time (the back of my car was toward the open
garage) my neighbors thought my garage was on fire after I had driven away!
Be Careful. (Also, all that particulate carbon [what else do you think that
black smoke is?] might not be very good for a catalytic converter...)
Roger Garnett
>
> For those who don't know, '83 Preludes are dual carb units. Just how hard
>is it to sync carbs?
Not real hard. 1st, you need to match the airflow (throttles). This can be
done by sound, using a piece of 1/4 inch or so tubing as a stethescope,
to match the hiss between carbs, or using a Uni-Syn, which is a $15-20
guage which you hold over the intake, and the air flow/pressure level makes
a little bead move up/down in a tube. (This is a type of barometric
difference guage, and this is not a full technical description!) You adjust
both carbs so that the flow is the same.
Next, adjust the mixtures on one carb at a time for best operation.
Repeat if necessary, until they're the same. If you can properly adjust one
carb, it doesn't take much more to match 2. They make quad sync guages
for motorcycles, with 4 seperate tubes so you can see everything at once.
Your tech. manual should have specific instructions for your carbs...
R.G.
Joe Matkowski <matkowsk>
>...I am fairly klutzy with tools, and
>still managed to do this on my own carb in an evening. I used spray-type
>carb cleaner, so handling fumey dip-type cleaner was not necessary.
Wait a minute here. I am not illterate with car engines myself but I do
know that rebuilding a carb is no roadside job that anyone can expect to
do correctly just by following a Chilton Manual and using a can of Gumout.
You make it seem as complex as changing a fuel filter.
Now the only cars I've had the option of doing this to have all been 4 barrels.
As a matter of fact the Chilton Manual for my 1985 Trans Am gives instruction
on how to rebuild the 2 barrel carb for the 6-cylinder but states plainly
not to attempt to rebuild the 4-barrel as they are extremely complex. So
maybe you are talking about rebuilding a mono or 2 barrel...
Joe M.
"I Lay my hands on heaven, the sun, moon, and the stars,
While the devil wants to f*ck me in the back of his car"! -- Nine Inch Nails
Peter Sheriff
As long as you can get the repair kit and have some mechanical
savvy I don't see why anyone would be any less adept at carb repair
than the 'mechanics' that get paid $$$ for doing the job. In fact,
since it is in your own interests, the job you do may well be better
than it would be done at a service station.
I started my carb repair career :-) on Rochester Quadrajets and
have worked with Hollys, SUs, Strombergs, and various carbs that came
with my old Chryslers. The latest one is the Rochester 2CVE that I
am fixing up when I get a round tuit.
It is true that carbs are complicated but they are certainly
nothing to fear.
Pete