Hey folks, i have bought some carbs for the later F3 (97-98) and they're in a bit of a state, the butterfly valves are very corroded, i have managed to get them moving being very gentle with them after a soaking in penetrating oil and a bit of heat but they're very stiff.. am i looking at wasted money here? Will upload some pictures later today.

Many thanks as always!

Danny

 

The old adage “nothing ventured, nothing gained” applies here.
Generally speaking as long as nothing is broken or permanently frozen due to corrosion, these carbs are generally able to be brought back to life.
eveyone has their own recipe or solution they like to use but I’m a fan of Chemdip. It’s always done a good job for me. It’s fairly cheap and is reusable. I’m sure others will chime in with products that do the job as well.
the good news is there are tons of threads on here about rebuilding carbs. Also there are several here with experience doing what you are attempting so ask away.
One tip, when you think you have the carbs clean enough and we say you don’t l, we are correct. These carbs are fantastic but most be spotless in every nook and cranny.

 

Hey Hamlin, we dont seem to get Chemdip in the UK! Would love a pot of that stuff, going to have to boil them in lemon juice or something in the meantime. No I totally agree, everyone should invest in an ultrasound cleaner for these, will update with pictures shortly...

 

If you get to the point where the only way to get them to move freely is to remove the butterfly's and shaft, I'd consider sending to a carb shop. The screws are staked so they don't come out. The brass they're made out of is soft and easily damaged. The shaft is also easily damaged and bent since it has the slot through it that the butterfly plates slide through. You'd most likely have to grind off the part of the screw that protrudes out the back, and then properly support the back side of the butterfly plate and shaft in order to apply a large amount of down force on the screws in order to remove them. They are not Philips head screws, they are JIS and require that type of head, otherwise they're easily stripped.

 

Hey Dirt, wow we're getting in deep now.. its looking likely that will be the case, they're pretty stiff. Just trying to make money back on a crappy engine I bought but got more than I bargained for as per usual.

Thankyou for your input buddy, these doer uppers are very labour intensive..

 

At times, I've picked up spare sets of carburetors for $50 or $60. It just depends on the timing. Create a saved search on ebay and have it alert you as new ones come online, you could be lucky.

 

So these carbs were NASTY.. they needed complete disassembly and a toothbrush with petrol injector cleaner (redex, carlube) around the pivots at the ends of the bank of carbs and some back and forth and they are free as a bird. They snap back with no resistance at all, life in these old Mikuni yet.

The souvenir they gave me.. the END of a choke plunger snapped off in the hole any ideas?

 

Can you get a set of "hemostats" down in there? Back in the day we called them roach clips, but that's another time.

 

Hahahaha yeah I’m with ya, I used to go out with a Veterinarian and still have an old kit she gave me, managed to get the plunger out but the wee needle on the end is stuck in the hole, it’s a disaster I think.

Trying to find a No.1 carb body is a nightmare. Totally addicted to drilling stuff out now though.. very symbolic but nothing is safe at the moment, welcome snapped bolts!

 

Generally speaking as long as nothing is broken or permanently frozen due to corrosion, these carbs are generally able to be brought back to life.