SuzukiSavage.com - Carbuetor cleaning after sitting

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Carbuetor cleaning after sitting
09/12/13 at 15:58:35

Hello......I just joined the forum and I'm going to check out an '07 S40 on Saturday. It sat(unregistered ) for a couple of years so I'll haul it home rather than risk it failing on the freeway. Should I run some chemical through the tank before taking the carburetor apart to clean it? It might be fine , I just thought I should do the easy stuff first Thanks Frank

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bobert_FSO

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Re: Carbuetor cleaning after sitting
Reply #1 - 09/12/13 at 19:43:07

Does it run now? I wouldn't tear into the carb until I attempted starting it and it either won't start or runs poorly. Of course, I'm a lazy guy that believes if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Before attempting to start, I would drain the tank and start with new gas. Also, put the petcock on prime, then unscrew the plug at the bottom of the float bowl. Let fuel drain through until the new gas is flowing out of it.

A little Seafoam in the gas tank wouldn't hurt and might help.

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Charon

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Re: Carbuetor cleaning after sitting
Reply #2 - 09/12/13 at 19:56:36

I second draining the tank and refilling with fresh fuel, then draining the carburetor float bowl with the petcock in PRIme. I personally doubt the usefulness of additives such as Seafoam, Marvel Mystery Oil, and so on. I find it difficult to believe they have solvents any more effective than gasoline or the almost ubiquitous gasoline with 10% ethanol. Once you have fresh gas in the carburetor, see if it will start. Then ride it locally for the first tank, and if it keeps going you are probably good to go.

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thelowfreq YaBB Newbies Offline SuzukiSavage.com Rocks! Posts: 13	Re: Carbuetor cleaning after sitting Reply #3 - 09/12/13 at 22:47:10 Thanks for the advice,I'll empty the tank and put fresh gas in. Maybe I'll put the old gas in my car and fill the tank
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DavidOfMA Senior Member Offline Getting back in gear after a long time away Posts: 336 Beverly, MA Gender:	Re: Carbuetor cleaning after sitting Reply #4 - 09/13/13 at 04:58:34 Although others on this forum have had different results, I haven't personally found Seafoam to do any good when I've put it in my bike to try to reduce backfiring. On the other hand, Techron really does seem to help the bike run better after it's been sitting for a few weeks and has done no detectable harm. YMMV.
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Gyrobob

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Re: Carbuetor cleaning after sitting
Reply #5 - 09/13/13 at 05:16:06

Charon wrote on 09/12/13 at 19:56:36:

I second draining the tank and refilling with fresh fuel, then draining the carburetor float bowl with the petcock in PRIme. I personally doubt the usefulness of additives such as Seafoam, Marvel Mystery Oil, and so on. I find it difficult to believe they have solvents any more effective than gasoline or the almost ubiquitous gasoline with 10% ethanol. Once you have fresh gas in the carburetor, see if it will start. Then ride it locally for the first tank, and if it keeps going you are probably good to go.

Yes, drain the tank. Do that more to make sure there is no water or other crud in there.
-- Put some fresh gas in the tank.
-- Take the fuel line off the carb and aim it at a bucket.
-- Move the petcock to PRIME and drain out all the gas. (move it to RES for a Raptor petcock)
-- Drain the gas out of the float bowl, take it off, clean it, and reinstall.

Put a paper-element fuel filter into the fuel line before you put up the fuel line back on the carb. Here is one way to do it: http://suzukisavage.com/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1304722902/285 (see reply 294) With a tank of old gas that has been sitting for very long, you'd better make sure you have this filter.

I agree about the seafoam. seafoam schmeefoam. It is nothing more than a solvent. If you are worried about dried-gas-coatings in the carb, then have a look at the threads on disassembling the carb, cleaning it, and reinstalling. The tech section has some very good info on this. It is not hard at all, and will only take an hour or so. Here's what we did in the Double RYCA build: http://suzukisavage.com/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1304722902/60 see reply 62

The purpose of all this is to make sure the carb operates like it is supposed to. If you get any muck in it at all, it makes a big difference on this motor. It is real finicky about things like jets, spacers, transient enrichment valve, etc. The carb needs to be clean clean clean inside.

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« Last Edit: 09/13/13 at 07:40:32 by Gyrobob »

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Re: Carbuetor cleaning after sitting
Reply #6 - 09/13/13 at 05:50:37

I agree that draining the tank by removing the fuel line is the best way to go. There is no reason to drain all the fuel through the carb where it could leave crub behind.....better to bypass the carb by pulling the fuel line off before you switch the petcock to prime.

Hopefully the tank and carb are clean....and fresh fuel is all you need.

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Blinky-FSO

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Re: Carbuetor cleaning after sitting
Reply #7 - 09/13/13 at 06:16:36

+1 on fresh gas and draining the bowl. If I may, I might suggest you break open the air box and check for any little critters. I bought a bike this spring that had been sitting in a garage for a year or two and fortunately no mice had made a home in it but it had a healthy population of spiders and other insects in the intake and electrics.

keep us posted

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justin_o_guy2 Serious Thumper Offline What happened? Posts: 55279 East Texas, 1/2 dallas/la.	Re: Carbuetor cleaning after sitting Reply #8 - 09/13/13 at 10:55:29 Yep,, hit prime & fill the bowl, then put it in the ON position & drain the bowl,,then prime again, to fill before starting,
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Gyrobob Serious Thumper Offline Posers ain't motorcyclists Posts: 2571 Newnan, GA Gender:	Re: Carbuetor cleaning after sitting Reply #9 - 09/13/13 at 11:28:23 justin_o_guy2 wrote on 09/13/13 at 10:55:29: Yep,, hit prime & fill the bowl, then put it in the ON position & drain the bowl,,then prime again, to fill before starting, I'd take the bowl off and clean it, since the bike has been sitting so long. Shouldn't take more than 1/2 hr.
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justin_o_guy2 Serious Thumper Offline What happened? Posts: 55279 East Texas, 1/2 dallas/la.	Re: Carbuetor cleaning after sitting Reply #10 - 09/13/13 at 12:08:00 Depends on what bolts ithas in it, Stockers, never pulled? Gonna hafta pull thecarb. Id go Quick & dirty & hope,,
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Re: Carbuetor cleaning after sitting
Reply #11 - 09/13/13 at 18:36:45

DavidOfMA wrote on 09/13/13 at 04:58:34:

Although others on this forum have had different results, I haven't personally found Seafoam to do any good when I've put it in my bike to try to reduce backfiring. On the other hand, Techron really does seem to help the bike run better after it's been sitting for a few weeks and has done no detectable harm. YMMV.

SeaFoam is a solvent and does what it is advertised to do. Techron is excellent for ridding ethanol from a rough running engine. Both do a good job when used for what they were intended.

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justin_o_guy2 Serious Thumper Offline What happened? Posts: 55279 East Texas, 1/2 dallas/la.	Re: Carbuetor cleaning after sitting Reply #12 - 09/13/13 at 20:21:58 I used Seafoam in my backhoe. An injector was making a hard clacking sound. In 5 minutes,, it was much changed. Ive seen it make a difference in other engines, No other additive Ive used has worked.
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Re: Carbuetor cleaning after sitting
Reply #13 - 09/13/13 at 21:06:43

The only time I ever used seafoam, the main seal on the riding lawn mower started leaking, and the motor made more clicking/tapping noises. I put in MMO, and the leak got worse and turned red.

I changed the oil with Rotella and after a few hours of running time, the leak stopped, and the motor got quieter.

I would never ever put seafoam in any motor I cared about. It is just a solvent like Berryman's B-12, etc. If I ever did put any of those solvents in a crankcase, it would be in a hot motor for about 5 minutes, then it would be drained and replaced with Rotella.

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justin_o_guy2 Serious Thumper Offline What happened? Posts: 55279 East Texas, 1/2 dallas/la.	Re: Carbuetor cleaning after sitting Reply #14 - 09/13/13 at 21:15:39 I put it in the fuel, I thot that was obvious by the Injector comment, IDK why anyone would add something lighter than liter fluid to their oil.. Just dont seem smart to me,
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