Vinegar bath ok for a stuck Holley carb?

I am working on a 500CFM Holley 2 barrel. It looks like it was rebuilt many years ago, and than was set on a shelf in my Dad's shed. It has gotten some moisture in it over the years. The insides have that white residue that water leaves on aluminum. The throttle plates are free, but have surface rust. Big problem is the choke plate is stuck tight. I have been soaking it with Liquid Wrench for a few days, and got no where. I don't want to force it and bend or break something. I have thought about a little heat, but am nervous about putting the torch to the aluminum carb body. Thinking about a nice long vinegar bath to eat up the rust. BUT, I don't know how that would affect the carb body. Anybody ever tried this?

Thanks, Guys.

 

I would try something like clr over vinegar

 

I've used it with varied success. Vinegar is considered a weak acid (usually 5-9 % acetic acid) so maybe try that first. It may discolor the carb if it still has the original finish.

 

Vinegar may just be the ticket.

 

I've had great success with PB Blaster and a heat gun. No flame to screw up the aluminum, and it will.

 

I tested vinegar on a broken Stromberg 97 top once and it ate into the potmetal.

 

I've used clr or lime away

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Don't ...repeat do not do it,vinegar will eat the pot metal.

 

Hydroseal

 

I have used a soak of a 50/50 mix of Automatic Transmission Fluid/Acetone to free up bunches of old rusty Holley 94's. Really works!

 

Is a 2300 series Holley carb body made of pot metal? I was thinking it is aluminum, but not sure...

 

Don't these products have an acid base like the vinegar?

 

this and better if its in an old pot and warmed, not boiling to catch fire, jst warmed, but real world, atf and acetone works wonders at any temp.

 

TCE ( if you can still find TCE) in an ultrasonic. Than a Acetone wash.

 

I've used an old crock pot and dish soap to loosen and clean up old carbs, really works well. leave in the crock pot over night and they loosen up and are really clean.

 

I would have never thought of that. What a cool idea...thanks for the tip.

 

I used to take them apart, gather up the main pieces and have the local parts house clean them for me. They always came back sparkling clean and they blew them out too.

There used to be a carb dip kit available, which came with a can of solvent and a basket for the small parts. I haven't seen that in years, it was probably something like trichlor or worse.

Bob

 

I picked up a can of Berrymans carb cleaner as you describe no long ago at a FLAP... AZ maybe? I use it or my paint gun cleaning but you could use it for intended purpose just as well...

 

With the risk of sounding like spam and if it didn't work I would say so, but I would look at metal rescue. Do a search for carburetor and metal rescue. I used it on a old stationary engine with brass and potmetal pieces. Worked very well and no stink. I was mostly worried about the brass and bronze bushings being damaged with any type of acid. Best of luck.

 

soak in pinesol was posted on here before.

 

I soaked a quadrajet in lemon juice, from 4 pm to 8 am.
Ate a hole right thru the side of it.

Boiled some Yamaha carbs in lemon juice for an hour and they came out like brand new.

 

yes I use Pine Sol always on my old Holley 94s. Then a quick rinse in a parts solvent to wash clean the pine sol which leaves a slight residue. The cast base and metal linkage parts can be soaked in vinegar to remove rust.

 

Thanks for the input, guys. I soaked the parts in vinegar for about an hour last night. It got the white powdery water residue off, and seemed to help with the rust on the throttle plates and choke plate. The short soak time did not seem to affect the housings, and I rinsed and blew them out promptly. I used a small wire brush and WD 40 to help with the rust clean up. The choke was still stuck tightly. I put it in a can with a mix of ATF and acetone last night, and will check on it tonight.

 

Well, the ATF and acetone are working! I got the choke plate to move tonight without destroying it. It is still sticking, so I plan to let it soak another couple of days. Looks like I will be able to salvage this carb! I went ahead and ordered a Holley rebuild kit from Jegs tonight.
( Plug for them, they are much cheaper than both online and local competitors, and offered free shipping.)

 

Late on Sunday night, stores closed, and a Zenith carb bowl full of white corrosion...no vinegar here, so I let it soak overnight in orange juice. It cleaned all the white out, but barely touched the light rust on steel pieces.

 

Woo Hoo! The ATF and Acetone worked! I salvaged this carb. Got it installed today, and just came back from a drive in my truck. It runs 200% better than it did with the old original carb! Thanks for the tip.

 

How long do you leave it in the Pine sol, and how crusty was the carb ?

thanks

 

Don't use the vinegar....it's to dangerous to the metal the carb is made from. If you use vinegar on any metal you have to remember to stop the action of the vinegar by nutralizing it by mixing baking soda and water and submerse the part in this solution to STOP the action of the vinegar....I tested an old valve cover and I did not nutralize it. The vinegar keep eating the metal even though i rinsed it real good. The valve cover ended up with pit holes all over the surface about 3weeks later.

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