Technical CARBURETOR, Stromberg Emulsion Tube Removal

This comes up frequently and for us new fellas it's like an initiation.......

Ole' hot rodders always say, "Be sure to remove the emulsion tubes" and then disappear before we know it. So, then, it becomes a mystery.

Well, after you go through this, the ole' guy's secret is out and you can become an official member of the Emulsion Tube Removal Association (ETRA sound cool, huh)....secret hand shakes and all.

Well, enough of my sad attempt as joking...here we go.....

First, here are some basic tools you'll need.

1. Get a GOOD jet wrench...I think Uncle Max has some left over in the Classifieds last I looked.

2. Some sort of small controllable hammer

3. A good flathead screwdriver (grind it if you have to) that fits the jet plugs real snugly....that's why most plugs are ugly.....farmer used a chisel

4. # 6 tap.......28 or 32 tpi is fine but you have to have a long bolt, nut and a couple of washers that all match the tap...a #4 is too small and a #5 would probably be just right but most tend to use the #6 and most people have a 6 on hand....5 is kind of hard to find unless you mail order it....

6. a good phillip or flat head screwdriver that matches your long #6 bolt

7. I use a ratchet wrench for running the nut down the bolt....Bruce lancaster sent me a setup that uses a wing nut......you get more leverage with the regular nut but the wing nut is faster

8. And, whatever else you choose...

Also, you should have been soaking those jet plugs for quite a while in some PB blaster or something similar....once you get those out, then soak the jets themselves for a while.....be patient on this one, you don't want to strip those soft threads and ruin that legendary 97, now do ya!

 

Take the "good fitting" screw driver and take out the jet plugs......

 

haha, not THAT screw driver, that's an over-sized pry bar!

one like one would be ok......

 

Once you remove the plugs, take the jet wrench and lightly tap it onto the jet.......and carefully back it out.....use some light oil or PB Blaster on the threads and if it comes out hard, I would run them in all the way and then back them out as far as I can....to help keep from raping the threads out of the holes.....


Side Note, this is a good time to see what size jets are in your carb...I had to take a pocket knife and lightly scrap off the crud to see what was in it....this one had .46 jets....I think stock is .45....

 

NOW for the big secret (not so big after you see and do it...really)

Take your tap and start it into the emulsion tube as straight as you can.....

You only need about 3-4 good threads.....

When I feel it start "taking" and then I go about 3 more complete turns of the tap....

 

This is the patented Bruce Lancaster special (he sent this to me)

Start your long bolt into the tube and run it in until you feel it stop....don't crank on it, remember this is brass !

 

Gently tighten the wing nut until the tube begins to pull out......

 

.......and THIS is why you remove the emulsion tubes!

nasty!

 

PLUG for Uncle Max!

Uncle Max sells these little nylon washers that go on to your jet plugs.......I haven't installed them yet on the 97 in my roadster but I should.....Max says it'll stop the leaking 97!

As a matter of fact, I still owe him for these......he's a heck of a guy!! (not saying there aren't others, but I've dealt with him directly....)

 

If you get one that is stubborn, you may try this........remember, though, this stuff is soft.........but if ya gotta get 'em out, you don't have much of a choice......

Here's my contraption....basically the same thing.....I think my washer is aluminum.....

Oooo, this one's nasty!

Does anyone have a good suggestion about cleaning the bores for the tubes? If the threads are about gone, I really hate sticking the bead blast gun in there....

 

Lastly, be sure to install them back in correctly. You could easily get them 180 degrees out.......

Here, I get to show off my cut-away Stromberg.......

Well, there you have it. Welcome to the club!!!!

I really do hope this helps others. I didn't invent this but people from MSN, Fordbarn and here helped me figure it out!

Viva la HAMB!

 

Beautiful tech. If anyone ever wondered, this is THE best way to get the emulsion tubes out. Pics are great, and i love the cut away carb!!!

Thanks, ROB PAUL

 

Another thank you is in order. Well done.

 

Hello...Excellent job Youngin..Only suggestion is put the 97 in a vise.
Duane..

 

Well done

 

Couple suggestions: First, use a gun cleaning brush kit for all your orifices. The brass bristles will clean well, but not harm the pot metal or brass parts.

Second, buy some hex head jet and dump plugs from Uncle Max along with his washers. It will make reassembly SO MUCH easier, especially if you need to tighten a bit more after all three carbs are bolted onto the intake.

 

I've done this method when I pulled my 28 out of storage. worked awesome! unfortunately one of my carbs is fully plugged up now and i have to go through it again! GRRRRR

 

Brushes: Cabela's has gun brushes in bristle and brass from .17 to .50...nifty smaller ones are available to clean paint sprayers and electric razors...
Jet plugs: Turns out the reason no normal screwdriver fits is that they weren't meant to be removed with a normal screwdriver...
The official stromberg tool was a big flat blade made as a snug fit in this groove, with a CURVED bottom so it fully fit...the blade was mounted in a slotted 1/4" drive socket. I measured once, I think curve was about a 6" radius...
Find a heavyish steel sheet that can be matched to width of slot--I'm thinking a heavy duty cover plate from electrical box. Grind radius so it can bottom in the slot, file so it is a perfect fit to groove, then just hacksaw a slot in a cheapo chinese socket to mout it. Prest0-official Stromberg-Bendix tool!
Original was Snap On--they are around at flea markets, and cheap because no one knows what the hell they do.

 

bruce, for a handy removal tool that you can purchase readily, look at a dzus fastener tool.

 

Neat idea--fortunately, I already have the official Stromberg stuff...
More on the screws: Idle jets, float pin, etc. are all abnormal slot sizes and are very soft...if they are stuck (and they are!), a normal screwdriver of suitable width will likely destroy the slot before turning the part--and drilling those things out without hurting the casting is tricky as all get out.
A screwdriver big enough to grind down to proper size will probably be something huge and clumsy...get a kit of gunsmithing screwdrivers from your local friendly merchant of death. These come in all grades and prices--cheapest way in is a set of 1/4"hex bits. These will include some suitably thick blades easy to shape for these oddball slots; fit them tightly and you can now apply lots of torque without sad consequences. The brass and the zinc in Strombergs both seem to be extremely soft and easy to damage...

 

This is an incredibly well done Tech Thread that is very timely for me as I'm looking at going through a bunch of these carbs soon. Please allow me a couple of questions.
1. I see the angle of the top of the emulsion tube as a means to insure it is installed correctly, but what about the holes down the sides of the tubes? Do they go in facing the inside center of the carb or facing outward?
2. When you re-install, do they just slip back in or do they need something like a little bit of loctite?
Let me apologize in advance if these are stupid questions that I would know the answers to had I ever dis-assembled a 97 before.

 

Thank You GOT MY VOTE FOR WINNERS OF THE TECH!!!!

 

Power valve: I actually just flail away with a big screwdriver with a notch in the middle, press down hard, and eventually gettemout somehow. Some day I'm gonna run into a mean one, and destroy the slot without moving anything, and then I'll have a long, hard thrash on my hands...
Here's what's needed in my theory, should be fairly easy to make up:
CENTERING is needed, so you can concentrate on pushing down and turning...
A perfect tool set would be so: Get some sort of socket-mounted screwdriver bit that fits slot very well--start fat and try to grind a perfect fit.
Make it a sleeve...actually, make two, one for EE-1's and one for EE-7/8's...
that perfectly fits it to the diameter of the pump well. Now you can turn til your eyes bug out and not worry about keeping the screwdriver in the slot.
Cheap and dirty: Just wrap your tool in masking tape til it fits...

 

Coming soon, on this very channel!!
Tech on making your very own FUEL level gauge for a Stromberg from standard Speedway catalog racecar bits--special for all you poor bastards who don't own the official K R Wilson one!

 

Heck of a great tech Jeff!

And Bruce you do have such a way with words!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I'm not home to look but if you put it back in like I have in the photo, the holes will be in the right direction....I think I understand your question correctly....

Yes, they just slip back in. They bottom out and your jets tighten down against them...that holds them in place.....

Don't feel badly, I thought I was the idiot of the year when I JUST couldn't figure out what everyone was sayin......"Run a tap into those little brass thingys??"

 

Great tech, as I'm in the middle of tearing down some 97's......
I lucked out, as everything has come apart very easily....gonna pull the tubes tonight!

And yes, Uncle Max is THE man!!!

Didn't see this answered......reinstalling. How 'tight' do the tubes go back in?
Few light taps?? Or do the jets hold 'em in?

*EDIT: question answered as I posted^^^^...hahaha! Thanks Flathead Youngin'!!

 

Youngin',

I already went out and got my #6 tap, screws, nuts, wing nut, washers. Looking now for an appropriate cigar box to label "'97 rebuild tool box" to keep all of that in with a copy of your tech. I trust that you recognize this is as the highest form of compliment award for your great tech report.

Is it a good idea to soak the whole carb in carb cleaner, penetrating oil or kerosene in a parts cleaner before trying to dis-assemble the animals? Once you've gotten the tubes out, does carb cleaner work on them?

And to Sinister, I fell out of my chair thinking about Will and the cowbell!

 

"ooooo, look at me.....I'm Brucey Lancaster.......I have all the cool original tools!"

hahaha

Bruce wanted me to post these.....

 

Well, to be honest, I haven't done enough of them to run into the infamous stuck plugs, etc. I do however, have a really crusty one that has been soaking in my parts washer (mineral spirits) for about a year or so. I think why I haven't run into one that is really stuck is because I squirt them with PB for a couple of weeks. If they feel tight, I don't take a chance, I keep squirting them and waiting...

I don't think you need to soak the whole carb just hit the, well, about anything that is brass

I hit all my small parts with glass bead, blow them out with the air compressor and then hit the whole thing with spray carb cleaner- being sure to squirt through any hole, orifices, etc. Some carb cleaner, a brass bristle brush and some brass gun cleaning brushes will work on most parts without damage...