I am in the process of rebuilding Ford 94 carbs for the 6x2 drag star manifold for the 430 Lincoln engine. I bought a gallon of Berryman parts cleaner. Would it work better if I heated the carb cleaner? I am thinking about using a old crock pot to heat it. I want to get the oxidation off the outside of the carbs. I have a sandblaster cabinet, but really don't like the possibility of getting sand in the carburetor passages. Any ideas?
Heat helps , the old safety clean carb cleaner machine's we used back in the '70-'80s were heated and agitated , the agitation really helps and speeds up the process. I use an old crock pot with heavy duty vinegar and it does a nice job . Citric acid is supposed to do well also , i haven't tried it yet myself.
Don't know about heating carb cleaner but this is what I use for a small poor man's hot tank. Just add your favorite cleaner/degreaser. I use this from Smart and Final.
The hot water / soap parts washing cabinets work fantastic for cleaning the visible areas on a carb , but I was never conviced they would clean internal passages. I'm sure a dishwasher would do equally well but would highly discourage it if you're married or have a girlfriend !
Heat helps most any cleaning solution. I'd stay away from open flames. Hot plate / crock pot / slow cookers are usually cheap at resale stores or garage sales. I always plug them into a GFCI and put them on a concrete floor with nothing around it, who knows the state of the electronics on a used cooker.
I just cleaned a carb in a crock pot set on high heat with 50/50% simple green and water. It did Ok, I think a little stronger mix would have been better. Final clean up was in a blast cabinet with worn out glass beads, it's almost dust but it does leave a really nice finish. Soda blasting leave a really nice finish also with no divots or marring, cleans up easy also. Cheap-o sand blaster works well with baking soda https://www.harborfreight.com/1-liter-abrasive-blast-gun-92857.html
Another vote for heat! I have a 5 gallon can of the original, great smelling carb cleaner & it definitely seems to work a little better warm! I will be doing the side draft Carters on my 55 Nash in my avatar in the next week or so. God bless Bill https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...ar-transport-hauling-open-or-enclosed.614419/
I used Berrymans to clean some pistons last year. 180k of carbon build up. An overnight soak wasn’t good enough, back in the pan they went. Two days later I was able to whisk the carbon off and out of the ring lands with a plastic bristle brush. If you’re not in a hurry just let the parts soak.
Ive used a small ultrasonic cleaner that heats up to clean up gun parts, I'd bet it would work real well to clean up an old carb. Havent tried it; but Ive read here Pine Sol heated in crock pot will clean a carb really well also.
The Jalopy Journal
