Carb cleaning

[yyolowl]

I have a 5 gallon bucket of brake clean. Will it clean a carb and it's parts if soaked overnight in it? I know there are carb cleaners on the market, but I hate to buy a gallon of it if this stuff will work.

[DOOmsman]

brake cleaner
Tetrachloroethylene (PERC) 127-18-4 > 95


Carb cleaner
ACETONE 67-64-1 40 - 70 Yes
XYLENE 1330-20-7 15 - 30 Yes
METHYL ETHYL KETONE 78-93-3 2 - 10 Yes
HYDROTREATED LIGHT DISTILLATE 64742-47-8 5 - 15 Yes
PROPANE 74-98-6 5 - 12 Yes
ETHYL BENZENE 100-41-4 1 - 5 Yes

The carb cleaner seems to have a lot more variety of solvents.
But heck it won't hurt to try the stuff you have.

[yyolowl]

Thanks for the reply. Looking on the label of the can, it states that it contains:
Hexane CAS# 110-54-3
Methanol CAS# 67-56-1
Isopropyl Alcohol CAS# 67-63-0

The description calls it "brake wash". I used it to spray on and clean various yucky things when I was in the garage equipment business. Never soaked anything in it, but I really don't think it's caustic, just very flammable. I'll have to keep the container with the carb parts covered. It evaporates really fast.

[pachanga90]

I've used Brake-Cleaner in the past,but it doesn't seem to work as good as carb-cleaner.If its' commercial-grade stuff,its' probably stronger than what comes in a spray-can,so give it a shot.Brake-Wash is used in Auto/Truck shops to clean brakes and backing-plates of dust and gear-oil,it may do more to disolve those things than actually clean the components like a carb.One of the best soak-type carb cleaners is the Macs' Brand from Napa,Its' nasty stuff.I've used alot of carb-cleaners over the years,but I had no choice but to wear gloves with this stuff(I know you always should,but I never needed them before this stuff).Let us know!!

[yyolowl]

Pachanga, how long has it been since you bought the Mac's cleaner? It seems that a lot of carb cleaners that used to work have been regulated down to where they are almost useless nowadays. I would like to buy some that's at least a little scary to use. Also, the nearest NAPA store is quite a distance from me. I have been reading about Berryman's chem-dip. It seems that opinions about it and a lot of the cleaners vary widely depending on who you ask. I need to do something. This cart is being very hard to start and run at low speeds.

[pachanga90]

If you get some GumOut Carb-Cleaner in a spray-can,and some torch-tip cleaners,You will be able to clean everything out good.An air compressor helps too,after cleaning.I haven't bought the Macs' stuff in about 10yrs.i have a soak-tank full of it at my Parents Shop,but I don't know how good it is still.90% of carbs can be disassembled,cleaned,reassembled,and adjusted in an hour or so,just with spray-type cleaners.Also get a new spark-plug,and set the gap.

[yyolowl]

Yeah, I've had the carb apart already and made sure that all of the jets and removable parts are open and clear by passing something like a paper clip through them. The passages in the carb body itself are my concern. To me, that would require soaking the body in cleaner and blowing the passages out with compressed air. I can do that, but I would like to do it once and be done with it. I haven't read anywhere about the proper way to set the float level. Maybe someone knows the correct setting. I have the air/fuel mixture screw set at 1 1/2 turns out. When I took the carb apart before, someone had it about 4 turns out.

[pachanga90]

There are passages in the jets that are alot smaller than a paper-clip,thats why I said torch-tip cleaners.The float-height is when the float is parallel with the bowl-gasket surface.

[yyolowl]

Thanks again, The float setting you describe is how I set mine when I had it apart before. Also, while I was out in the big city today, I bought some torch tip cleaners. A whole $1.57. Next is trying to settle on using spray or trying to find a suitable soaking medium. As I said, I would like to do this once and be done with it. Do all of the needle valves have the spring loaded 'pin' in the middle? Mine has no way for it to be attached to the float, but it is trapped so it can't fall out.

[yyolowl]

While disassembling my carb, I managed to break one of the jets. A new carb from Buggies Unlimited solved all of my problems. Thanks for everyone's replies.