Fuel System: Tech: Cleaning Carb in Pine-Sol

[DEEPNHOCK]

Really! Pine-Sol... Straight and hot....

[bezhawk]

My dad used to boil them in Tide. I foolishly asked "why do you boil them in Tide?", and his reply was "because it's too cold out-tide"!

[52-fan]

Might be worth a try. I was surprised the bowl didn't look better considering how the throttle plate cleaned up.

[DEEPNHOCK]

Some people on another forum said that Pine-Sol was slightly acidic and that it would eat into the carb metal.
Haven't confirmed this.

[bensherb]

Been cleaning carbs in Pine Sol for years, but I use it in an ultrasonic cleaner. It works very well. There are some alloys it will disolve though, so be vigilant. I never keep a carb in it more than 1/2 hour. I have forgotten things overnight though, sometimes they're fine, sometimes they're gone.

Some motorcycle carbs I did: The only part that got painted is the tops.

BEFORE......................... AFTER

[Buzzard]

Cool Jeff, thanks for posting. The only thing I'll miss is the intoxicating odor of the old carburetor cleaner which I absolutely love. I'm sure it is no good for me as are most things you like a lot.
Bill

[DEEPNHOCK]

As an experiment, I am going to clean an old carb in hot LA Awesome cleaner.
Reason?
I have some.
The Ph is high (12/13)
We'll see what happens (or doesn't happen)

http://clearshineclean.com/pdfs/LAs-Awesome-Multi-purpose-MSDS.pdf

[jclary]

Pine Sol...a refreshing sensory memory from my childhood! Once we moved into a house with finished wooden floors and kitchen linoleum..., my mom's favorite cleaner! Not so sure of how safe and effective it is for carburetors...but they should smell good!

ON a serious note, perhaps we need a specific product number/name? Like other stuff these days, there are probably different chemical formulations carrying the "Pine-Sol" label.

[bensherb]

As an experiment, I am going to clean an old carb in hot LA Awesome cleaner.
Reason?
I have some.
The Ph is high (12/13)
We'll see what happens (or doesn't happen)

http://clearshineclean.com/pdfs/LAs-...rpose-MSDS.pdf

I've found the La's Awesome products to be just as the name states. AWESOME! They work and they're cheap; they actually work, so I'm sure they'll be forced to stop selling them soon.

[christophe]

I was surprised to see that the bowl of this 32 RBS has, like mine, a little round outward boss at the bottom. I thought it was a dent (not anymore) but wonder about its purpose.

[doofus]

That dent is a spot for trash to settle before getting pulled into the jet. sort of a mini "Settling Bulb" or sediment bulb as some call them.that's the spot that rusts through first! think i will stick with old fashioned carb cleaner. i get the gallon's from Wally World and dump into a plastic bucket with tite fitting lid.for rusted metal bits a small jar of water with dissolved Studebaker rad. flush will clean rust in 15 min.Luck Doofus

[christophe]

That dent is a spot for trash to settle before getting pulled into the jet. sort of a mini "Settling Bulb" or sediment bulb as some call them.that's the spot that rusts through first!

Thanks for the information. That makes sense, now. I've never encountered this before but I have mostly worked on European carbs, except for my 32 RBS of course.
Nice day to all.

[DEEPNHOCK]

Follow up review......

Rebuilt the Edelbrock AFB yesterday.
Used LA Awesome cleaner. Spray bottle and soak. No heat (too lazy).
Used one of my pristeen dentist gift toothbrushes (now retired from the medicine cabinet to the parts washer tank).
Water rinse. Carb spray all passages, ports, and holes.
Blew out all the same.
Basket soaked all the small parts.
Gave a final rinse with spray carb cleaner (onto a clean paper shop towel).
Very, very little came off onto the shop towel.
Rebuild went fine (AFB's are so easy...especially after a gabazillion of them).
This was the first rebuild of this carb. Float levels were way off from factory...adjusted.
Kit used was real nice...worth the money. (Allstate carb kit via Amazon)
Reinstall went fine.

Opinion: LA Awesome is just that. Cleaned up everything real nice.
Admittedly, my AFB was not all that nasty (except there was some old ABC extinguisher powder underneath )
Did not discolor the aluminum. Cleaned the floats up nice.
Did not touch any gasket material left stuck on. That needed picking and scraping.
Did not leave any film behind after rinsing and blow drying.

Total cost?
$2 for 2 bottles of LA Awesome (from The Dollar Tree store).
$6.92 for a can of carb cleaner spray
$36.99 for the AFB rebuild kit.

Downside?
My test run was not without issues...
Oh, the engine fired up and ran beautifully.....
But..... (There's always a 'but'......)

[Skip Lackie]

Thanks Jeff. Always entertaining to follow your progress (or lack thereof . . . ).

[jclary]

Uh Oh...looks like you have suffered an infestation of that rare "Coolant Drill Tooth Pinhole Beetle." Better eradicate it before it kills the entire machine!