Who has any "tricks" for freeing stuck carbs? Especially carbs with aluminum bodies and steel shafts... I got a matched pair of 1964 AFB's that the throttle shafts have seized from sitting. Heat and Kroil did not work so far. They don't look too bad, but they are still stuck I have tried to search for this topic but came up empty...
they make buckets full of chem dip you could just put them in one of those. I'm not sure if it would do anything to the aluminum. I had two motor cycle carbs that were stuck and full of nasty gasoline left overs. I just bought a paint bucket, filled it with MEK and broke down the carbs and let them sit. It freed them up and it didn't stain the aluminum. hope that's helpful.
Cheap Cola frees off anything, just drop into a bucket load and go do something else for a week or so.
I've seen seized AFBs that dynamite wouldn't break loose. However, I have freed up stubborn aluminum carbs with a torch--just don't go overboard. It's best to simultaneously apply the heat and the pressure on the throttle arm, and as soon as it gives, back off on the heat before you end up with a glob of aluminum.
vinegar works GREAT on metal, but messes up aluminum sometimes... not sure why it happens.. but it seems to happen on some carbs, didnt mess up my 94s any though, and they were in there for like a week... freed em up nice!
Gibbs oil, Kroil, or just plain diesel works if its not too bad. Make sure you remove the butterflies, then try working the shaft with penetrating oil . Heat up the aluminum casting with a propane torch and quench with penetrating oil. Or heat up the shaft with a small tip on the oxy/ace setup and quench with oil. Then carefully dry to drive the shaft out. It might take several attempts but will eventually come out. If they are that seized however, you usually have to bush the casting to keep it from giving a vacumn leak.
If heat and kroil didnt work your doomed.That would have been my suggestion,kroils and heat has never let me down.
Yeah, Kroil...if you don't need the carbs quicky, fill up a container with diesel or heating oil. One tip is that most carbs have a minute amount of endplay available in the shafts, so you cam smack the ends of the shafts to move them nack and forth a bit perhaps. This is valuable motion because you simply can't apply much rotary force to the shafts without destroying major bits. An oil opinion: Though it is inferior to Kroil as a penetrating oil, once things are starting to move 3-in-1 oil works the best for floating rust out of the bearing area.
I had luck also with tapping on the throttle shaft and using penetrating oil, as well as an overnight bath in parts cleaner.
Vinegar take care of some real Nasty Things But I have to agree with PB Blaster (smells but maybe the vinegar would take care of that!). Works great on door hinge pins etc. and if you have access to heat That should help as well.
One of the most important things to remember is to not be in a hurry (and I'm guilty of this myself). It's tempting to try to break it loose as quickly as possible, but more often than not, the result will be a piece of unuseable junk. I had some tripower end carbs that were seized solid. Over the course of 3-4 months, I sprayed them with every kind of penetrating oil I had. Every time I was in the garage, I'd hose them down. Finally, I grabbed the throttle arms with a pair of soft jaw vise grips, and they came loose.
I had an AFB once that had sat for 12 years. After several weeks of soaking with what the above guys used, I finally got mad at it. I drilled 1/16 holes up from the bottom of the base toward the shafts, when the fillings changed color, I stoped drilling and put WD 40 in the holes. Two days later, the shafts were free.
bttt, please add to this post if you have any more suggestions, ive got about 6 94s soaking in diesel for over a month now and they are all still stuck, but maybe I need to try to tap/turn some stuff.
I cant remember the name of it right now (I think its a supekleen product) but we use it at work to clean old carbs for ATVs and other small engines. I took one carb, was clogged solid with that chalky green scum, tossed it in in the morning and by the end of the day you could blow compressed air through the jets, by the next day the brass bits were shiny. Nasty stuff though, get it on your hands and you will stink to high heaven for the next week (the little lady kept reminding me...) its in a 3gal steel bucket, kinda pricey but worth every penny IMO. One thing though is it does turn some castings a bit darker, so you might want to watch for that. I'll get the name of it tuesday. Scott
gibbs oil is unbelievable stuff i've been testing it out takin my 31 harley apart and cleaning up didn't believe the ads had to see for myself IT WORKS GREAT
I got them freed up. Kroil as well as the heat from a propane torch just wasn't enough. I ended up using a propane-oxygen cutting torch and heating the castings around the throttle shafts until I saw the casting deform (melt) slightly. Then I quenched the shafts with WD40. Then I repeated as necessary (~4 times) until they were just barely moving... more WD40 and a few smoke clouds later, they were free again
Wow, did you find them in the bottom of a creek! Glad everything worked out, heres the info on that cleaner I was talking about anyway, just incase anyone was wondering. Kleen-Flo Carb & metal parts cleaner Stock# 652 9.1 Litres SKU 6073300652 Just tossed in a set of carbs today from a sled that had an engine fire, cleaned them up almost new. Scott
Thanks for the info, I still need to clean them. Where do you get that stuff from/through? The carbs are from some 413 engines that sat in a barn... a humid barn...
NAPA and the like should be able to get it in, might have to go through a business as its an "industrial chemical" though. Scott
Kinda on the same deal, how do you get a temp sender out of an alumn. intake? Been soaking with pb blaster and heating with no help.
soak them in tranny fluid,,,put them i a small bucket cover them with the fluid ..go about your bis for a few days when you pull them out wash them in a parts washer .rebuild, put on car go really fast......it really works ...
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