General Category > Quadrajet Carb Talk and Tips
The BEST Cleaning Method ?
PMD1969:
--- Quote from: Shark Racer on March 15, 2013, 08:54:14 AM ---Curious what the warnings were you've heard? (for my sake :) )
Aside from wear gloves and goggles, of course. Muriatic acid is HCL, so as long as you're careful it'll be OK. It is also easy to dispose of as HCl(Hydrochloric acid) + NaOH (sodium hydroxide, baking soda) = H2O(water) + NaCl (table salt). In other words, carefully pour some baking soda in there and it will eventually just turn into salt water (and salt deposits).
And this is by far and wide not something I'd recommend for rebuilding *every* carb. It also has to be followed up with replating. A few seconds in acid will take most of the chromate off the carb.
--- End quote ---
Besides the health warnings it has been mostly about hurting the carb. The two carbs (Quads) that I am working on are very rare carbs that I cannot risk damaging. Since these things are not cheap I will always seek a better way to clean them. If I had to I would send them off to be ultrasonic cleaned by a professional long before I cooked them with acid.
Shark Racer:
--- Quote from: PMD1969 on March 15, 2013, 09:56:53 AM ---Besides the health warnings it has been mostly about hurting the carb. The two carbs (Quads) that I am working on are very rare carbs that I cannot risk damaging. Since these things are not cheap I will always seek a better way to clean them. If I had to I would send them off to be ultrasonic cleaned by a professional long before I cooked them with acid.
--- End quote ---
I apologize for intruding in the thread, really. I wasn't meaning it as a solution for general cleaning. If the car's finish is beat (like many of the $10-$50 QJets are), there's a strong chance you'll have to replate and rechromate it anyways.
So mostly I meant to pop in and say "while learning how to zinc, I figured out that this acid stuff really knocks off surface contaminants" :) not so much recommend it as a real solution to general cleaning.
omaha:
I think it is important that you stay at a certain level with the acid and not go past that. Acids like muriatic are just too strong. I think if you stay in the 4.5 to 5 level on the ph scale and mix that down with some water and then use heat you can get some decent results. I think certain acids work better than others on carburetors.(citric acid works good) That is why a multi level process with various acids, cleaners and solvents I think would be the next best thing to a sonic cleaner. AND if you look at some of the web sites that sell sonic cleaners, they actually recommend and sell additives to put in the sonic cleaners that are on the acid side of the scale. So that is why I like to start with the diesel soak first, then a blast of the spray carb cleaner and then the boil job with the acidic (somewhat) solution. usually if you are careful you can save the original chromate "wash" finish. I also would like to find some MEK to try and "aluminum brightner" for the aluminum parts. yes, if you want to take off everything, use the muriatic or easy to find "the works" bathroom cleaner. But, like stated earlier, replating will be necessary. And a lot of the plating you will find wont match the original finish (which was a chromate "wash.")
PMD1969:
--- Quote from: omaha on March 16, 2013, 11:58:46 PM ---I think it is important that you stay at a certain level with the acid and not go past that. Acids like muriatic are just too strong. I think if you stay in the 4.5 to 5 level on the ph scale and mix that down with some water and then use heat you can get some decent results. I think certain acids work better than others on carburetors.(citric acid works good) That is why a multi level process with various acids, cleaners and solvents I think would be the next best thing to a sonic cleaner. AND if you look at some of the web sites that sell sonic cleaners, they actually recommend and sell additives to put in the sonic cleaners that are on the acid side of the scale. So that is why I like to start with the diesel soak first, then a blast of the spray carb cleaner and then the boil job with the acidic (somewhat) solution. usually if you are careful you can save the original chromate "wash" finish. I also would like to find some MEK to try and "aluminum brightner" for the aluminum parts. yes, if you want to take off everything, use the muriatic or easy to find "the works" bathroom cleaner. But, like stated earlier, replating will be necessary. And a lot of the plating you will find wont match the original finish (which was a chromate "wash.")
--- End quote ---
The carbs that I own have already lost their coatings/finishes long before I acquired them. The Purple Power solution removed everything so there was no saving the finish. The carbs look great after two washes with the solution you recommended. I foud that the first wash was so contaminated with oil/gas/sludge that I had to wash the parts again to get them clean.
If I can find "The Works" product or use acid can you recommend a safe mix to wash or Crock Pot (lol) them in?
Thanks
Marc
omaha:
Well, the only time I resort to "the works" is if I have a seriously bad looking carb body or top casting. Its kind of an all or nothing deal. Like if you were thinking of tossing the carb in the trash but just for the hell of it maybe i'll try this. I used a plastic pan, it is rectangular, just big enough to fit the body or top. Put the body in the pan and fill with water until it just covers the part. OH, BTW do this outside, and far enough away that the fumes wont cross anybody's path!! Then start pouring in the cleaner. I think I poured in about 1/4 to 1/2 cup but I cant tell for sure cause I just started squirting it in and all hell breaks loose!! IT STARTS SMOKING AND BUBBLING UP! NO HEAT NEEDED! I guess when the smoke subsides, that is when I managed to fish the carb out of the pan with a coat hanger. I cant remember how long this takes but it seems like only about 5 minutes. QUICKLY take the part over to a water hose or have a 5 gal bucket of water ready to rinse it off. I'll tell you what, EVERYTHING is removed. Carbon deposits, rust, scale, plating and maybe even some of the carb too if your not careful. But all of the threads for the jets, seat and filter housing looked good (not eroded). I guess I tried a mild mixture a couple of times with more water and heat and that seems to do only as good as the purple cleaner but takes more of the finish off the carb body. Still had some spots that wont come clean.(this is with about 3 gallons of water 180 degrees and about 3 ounces of "the works." The problem mostly are the fumes, that's why I haven't tried different mixes with this cleaner. It seems like it reacts with the metal in the carb bodies (more so than when you use it in your toilet like its supposed to be used although its pretty bad there also). Maybe this spring when it warms up a bit ill try some more different mixes and see what happens. Only tried it a few times.
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