To boil or not to boil, that is the question?
I’ve pulled my carb on the 69 cruiser, and disassembled. I’ve looked into a lot of the non boil products out there, yet being an old combat engineer, we always boiled our rifles for maximum cleaning results. I’m looking for any advice, as this is my first car carburetor rebuild. So far I’ve sprayed parts down with brake cleaner to get the heavy gunk off, with good results. Then ran some small brushes through the ports while using a carb cleaner.
Would boiling clean all those little ports I cannot get 2.
Thanks

 

I just bought a heated parts washer. I disassembled diesel injectors for my 86 Ford truck and it did a great job cleaning them. I had the thought that it would do great cleaning carburetor parts if I can get them to fit. 🤔

 

I have always taken the carburetor completely apart & put in our carburetor 5 gallon cleaning solution pail for 24 hours. This is designed for carb cleaning only. Can purchase on line or order from a part store. After removing from the pail get some compressed air & blow all the passages & bleed holes out. I don't know what is in this stuff but it works GREAT for me.. I have never boiled as you say, & I am not saying that is bad or good.

 

I have boiled a carb in the past and had good results. I feel the boiling action helps to clean those tiny passages that may not come clean from just a soak in carb cleaner. I used some laundry detergent, very small amount, when boiling parts.

 

I've never boiled one- makes me wonder how well it works? In what solution? Water??

My go-to is soaking in M.E.K. - but you've GOT to be cautious with MEK..
Flammable, explosive, the fumes, not good for skin absorption, etc, etc...

 

I think many solvents can clean a carburetor. The problem I see is the calcified deposits in small passageways. I have a two gallon can of "Hydroseal" that eats everything except carbs and transmission valve bodies.

 

I think I’m gonna boil with dawn, then use acetone 1 last time in the small ports. Depending on the boil.

 

MEK is king for solvents for sure lol, Ive used it to flush out spray pots etc. I hope you doing a full rebuild after a soak, no way any seals or gaskets would survive in that or get dryed out.

 

Same here 5 gallon chemtool

 

The good stuff is no longer available. I called Berryman's and they told me they had to take out one of the ingredients due to gov. regs and that one was the one that did the job. They have a replacement that comes in a black can and they said nobody east of the Mississippi stocks it. They had some dealers in TX. but they wouldn't ship.

 

Yep. That's what happens over & over again & again. Just like when they removed 1 1 1 trichloroethane from Tap-Magic, early 90s I think. All of a sudden - Tap-Magic wasn't as awesome.

 

You can order MEK from many sources, including Amazon.

 

And, for the love of all, wear safety glasses when blasting out the fluid with compressed air afterwards. The air will pull an Immelman in the carb body and blast the stuff right at you from another hole. Perhaps chem goggles would work better.

 

A full face shield would be best.

 

ive never boiled a carb to clean it but,i have soaked them in pine sol and had pretty good results.Its cheap and you can get it anywhere and it will make your garage smell nice and clean!

 

I've used lacquer thinner successfully for years to clean carbs, followed by blowing out the small passages with compressed air (face shield in place!). TBH, this is the first time I've heard of "boiling" carbs to clean them.

 

I’ll normally throw in a carburetor or two when I’m boiling cabbage

 

Cabbage & carbatato
😂

 

As said, never heard of boiling a carb. It was always soak overnight, then compressed air. Consider an ultrasonic cleaner with the cleaner of choice.

 

Use the wifes crock pot and some Dawn, Simple Green, Purple Power etc.
Some of those are not as good for die cast or aluminum.
So check that as well.

 

Simple Green will destroy aluminum. Dont know bout PP

 

Guess i got lucky and got the good one.

 

First, check the carb application number on the float bowl to ensure it's correct for the engine.
As for cleaning, an Ultrasonic bath or soaking in the 5-gallon pail of carb soak (cleaner), or both, followed by compressed air.
Blow passages out with lower-pressure compressed air. ~40-60ish PSI.

When I was a kid, all I used was carb spray and brushes—never had a problem.

After cleaning, meticulous rereassembly is critical to success.
Check and correct for warp. Stake (gently) the check *****, check the bowl for leaks, ensure the brass tubes are pressed in tight et al....
Study all of the float and linkage settings. Take some pictures before disassembly.

Never over-torque the carburetor fasteners, the carburetor-to-intake bolts, or the air cleaner wing nut. The wing nut will pull up on the center of the throttle body, causing warp.
Tighten just enough to engage the air horn to air cleaner base gasket and prevent the housing from walking around.

Just cleaning and slapping a kit into any carb will not extract top performance. Get a vacuum/fuel pressure gauge.
Purchase the correct kit by the carb application number. Autosone or ORilleys most likely won't have the right kit or the right quality (read offshore dumpster fill).

The following manuals will show & tell you everything you need to know about rebuilding and proper tuning techniques.
3 essential QJet bibles to read and digest:
-Cliff Ruggles, How to rebuild a Quadrajet book. Cliff sells the high-quality rebuild kits and other parts.
-Doug Roe, Carb rebuild book
-Rebuild Your Quadrajet Step By Step: With Everyday Performance LLC

Other parts vendors:
https://quadrajetparts.com/
https://quadrajetpower.com/
https://www.carburetor-parts.com/quadrajet-parts