Synyster06Gates

Still playing with the 68 here. What is the best way to clean the carb? I've had dirtbikes for the past 3 or 4 years of my life so I can take down a basic carb. and re assemble, but I've never done it on a car. Would it be alright to remove the float bowl and let everything soak in carb cleaner and just give it some compressed air after a while like I did with my bikes? Remove the jets, ect... Nothing in there should be damaged by this, correct?

350kmileFord

I would assume not, however...
I'd picked up a large container (paint can size) of carb cleaner from NAPA once. I disassembled my carb and let it soak overnight. When I removed it, there was a nice grimey coating on every surface. It was essentially worse than before. People said I probably soaked it too long. I think it was also a cheap cleaner. So, what have other people experienced?

Synyster06Gates

Weird. When I soaked my bike's carbs, they came out SPOTLESS. Strange. Perhaps I'll just remove the carb, take off the flat bowl and spray every opening that I can see. Take the jets out, spray, compressed air, and hope that'll at least get it running again!

71Mach14spd

I would think that the longer you soaked it the better it would clean. I don't see how carb cleaner would leave a residue, especially that bad of one. Then again i have never tried this so im not too good of a source.

MBDiagMan

Yes, get carb cleaner, but DISASSEMBLE the carb completely before dunking the parts. Separate the parts that should not go into the solution, such as plastic floats.

When I used to rebuild a good number of carbs I had three buckets including the carb cleaner bucket. The first stage was the carb cleaner of course using a large enough basket to safely contain everything with no chance of parts dropping in the solution. After at least an hour in the solution, depending on how old the solution, I was ready with the other two buckets. The first of the other two buckets had hot water with a little Tide. The last bucket had clear hot water.

Pull out the basket and dip it up and down slowly in the Tide solution for maybe fifteen seconds and then hang it above the Tide for a minute or two to drip and dry. Then dip it the same way into the hot water. Pull out the basket and hang it above water or simply put it on the bench. The hot water will air dry off of the parts very quickly.

After all that, then you are ready to open your carburetor kit and get to work.

Good luck,

68stangbbf

X2 on the multi step cleaning with soap and water.

On the carb that was worse than it started out??? what carb was it? Some aftermarket/rebuilt carbs are coated or even painted and carb cleaner may have eaten that coating turning it into goo....