Carburettor strip down and rebuild

Russell · Post by **Russell** » 19 Jan 2003, 11:20

I have a problem with tickover on my MK3. When ridden hard it takes 10 -15 seconds to settle down to normal tickover, I have spoken to Leisuretrial who tell me most likely cause is an airleak either problem with Carb or at worst new main bearing oil seals required.
I have ordered a carb overhaul kit from Leisuretrial and have removed carb from bike ready to take into work Monday to clean and rebuild.
I would appreciate any input on what to look for when doing the rebuild any problems or weaknesses that you might know of.
Thankyou for any help I get

Russell.

Post by **admin** » 19 Jan 2003, 12:29

Hi russell, with my MK2.2 i had no problems in stripping the carb and reasembly, chances are you wont see anything wrong but i sugest getting a bowl of coca cola and leaving the lot in it for about 6 hours, then blowing carb cleaner through all the passageways and airways to remove any crud that the coke has softened up. BEWARE after 12 hours you may have no carb left if you leave it too long in the coke.
If the crank seals have gone then a full rebuild may not be as bad as imagined in costwise and time, and you have the satisfaction of knowing the motors history.

Russell · Post by **Russell** » 20 Jan 2003, 09:26

Can anybody help me with regards to setting the float height. The manual says 16 m/m my concern is when I turn the carb upside down the floats rest on the carb body not in mid air, I am also not sure where to take the measurement.

Regards

Russell.

Bargos · Post by **Bargos** » 20 Jan 2003, 15:19

A few quick pointers for carb stripdown:

(1) Take your time.
(2) Try and lay parts out in some kind of order to you that makes sense so you can easily put it back together.
(3) Use spanners and screwdrivers that are a good, tight fit as brass is very soft and marks easily.

Post by **admin** » 20 Jan 2003, 16:52

very good point that about the screwdrivers, if a bit tight and starting to chew then stop and find a better fitting one. Impact drivers with little force often get carb screws off with no damage to the screw.
good luck

Bargos · Post by **Bargos** » 20 Jan 2003, 16:59

Admin,
I have learnt all of these little tips and tricks over the years. I wrecked my bikes and made mistakes so that no-one else has to!!!

Post by **admin** » 20 Jan 2003, 17:28

too true, and we all appreciate your wisdom, bet you have the skinned knucles to match ? saying that if you want skinned knuckles you gotta try changing the front plugs on a NC30 - absolute killer mate.
perhaps you should go freelance - if you enjoy doing the jobs that is.
just bought a RGV250 in need of a little TLC and i fear some skinned knuckles are on the cards for me with the build quality from suzuki

Bargos · Post by **Bargos** » 21 Jan 2003, 09:29

Admin,

Thanks for the compliments...Im afraid that im no professional spanner twirler but from what Ive seen I could do a far better job than *some* paid mechanics, although I guess its different when you work on your own bike. I must admit that these days I prefer to ride the damn things than to tinker around...

double_clutch · Post by **double_clutch** » 21 Jan 2003, 15:52

i do enjoy playing around with bikes and have donw for years, now i can totally strip down the engines and rebuild them again i feel that it does get boring after a while, usually when it is stripped down in 1000 bits, but evry time i do something like that it is a new experience and i learn more from that!

n e 1 else in here very clued up with mechanics?

Russell · Post by **Russell** » 21 Jan 2003, 18:20

Just field tested my MK3 after complete carb rebuild. Best it has ever run, it must have always had slight air leak in carb since I have owned it as it has never run this quick or pulled so well at low revs.
It seems the weakness is the joint between float bowl and carb body, this had evidence of instant gasket from an earlier strip down, if any one else has to strip down there carb I would strongly advise buying carb kit from Leisuretrial, well worth the money.
Can not wait for fields to dry out, so that I can give bike a longer faster test.

Russell.

SteveCRM · Post by **SteveCRM** » 21 Jan 2003, 18:57

Yes i have to agree with you russell,

Can not wait for fields to dry out

I cant wait to spend some time riding at the quarry once my knees are sorted, but it will probably be rainy season by then.

Bargos · Post by **Bargos** » 22 Jan 2003, 09:08

Russell,
Im pleased that you managed to sort your carb out. To be honest I would have been surprised if stripdown didnt sort your problem.

Russell · Post by **Russell** » 22 Jan 2003, 09:56

Not as pleased as I was, being as the alternative was main bearing oil seals, which would have been more hassle and money.
But also the bike runs much smoother and has a lot more torque in higher gears at low revs, an unexpected but welcome bonus.