All: I am rebuilding a Q Jet for the first time and need to soak the major components to remove the gunge. What product works best? Kerosine, laquer thinner, etc? I need something I can pick up at the local hardware store or home center. Thanks :TU:
You can buy the small pails of carb cleaner for about $15 at some parts stores that have the little dipper tray in them so you don't have to put your hands in it to retrieve parts. Laquer thinner is not recommended, and kerosene will not bring back the bright look to the carb that it had originally. Mike
I see Thanks Mike. That sounds exactly what I am looking for. However, I bet I have trouble finding it in my area. Trak folded up, leaving only Pepboys. Pepboys seems to be more interested in pushing Yosemitee Sam mudflaps and window tint rather than useful DIY products. Maybe NAPA has it. Thanks again
Carb Cleaner Dave, The local Pepboys around here carry it,[long island].Why don't you check it out?It's made by GUNK and called carberator and parts cleaner comes in a 1 gallon can,with the basket.Good Stuff!:TU:
Usually found on the lowest shelf, Gunk and ChemTool make spray cans and gallon cans of the stuff. Napa can get you 5gal buckets as well. Expect to pay around $20 or so for the gallon cans, couple bucks for spray cans and around $100 for the 5gal buckets. I would suggest a 5gal bucket of the stuff as it has many uses, plus the main parts of a Q-Jet won't fit inside the gallon can. If buying the 5gal bucket, make sure it comes with a parts basket.
Yeah the gallon of gunk crap is good...smells awful...but what carb cleaner doesnt? Also, B12 Chemtool aeresol(sp?) spray works wonders.
Dave - I would stick with the carb cleaner too! I usually pick up 2 large cans when I rebuild a carb. I also make sure I have access to compressed air and some strands of wire - to make sure all the passageways are totally clean!! Don't forget the goggles - that stuff has a bad habit of going where you don't want it!:Brow:
I would recommend the Gunk Carb and Parts Cleaner gallon size. The last can that I bought I've rebuilt 6 carbs with. Its black and dirty but still cleans well. I recently bought a new can of Berryman's Chem-dip to try something different. The stuff smells twice as bad as the Gunk. You're also supposed to rinse the parts with water making the stink even worse. This stuff will leave residue all over. Its a white-gray color. It also doesn't break up the heavy crud as well. I'll never buy this stuff again. When you go about rebuilding a carb, its a good idea to have a metal pan or something to put carb cleaner in. You can then submerge the main body, air horn and throttle body (all separate of course). These parts will not fit inside the provided can (unless its the 5gal variety as mentioned above). I use an old cooking pot (I've also cut the bottom of an empty 5 gal metal bucket and used it). I suggest you do this outside with some sort of lid over it.
Is this stuff flammable? I thought I would put it in a metal pail with foil over it and sit it in the garage.
flammable ? my guess is that it is highly flammable, & toxic to man and beast . get a metal gas can and store it in that, & away from children.
Flamable, Combustable & Toxic... Hows that for a warning label... :shock: Store it in the can with the lid on and keep it off cement flooring.. I too will never buy Berrymans ChemTool gallon jugs. Stinks wayy to much and even looks like a toxic waste site.. :eek2: Still tho, grabbing a 5gal bucket is easiest choice. Napa sells everything.
That must be some high quality carb cleaner. It must have gold flakes in it. I've never paid more than $15 for a gallon. I think the Gunk was $13 and that Berryman crap was $15. Not sure if the Gunk is flammable. I don't smoke, so I haven't got a chance to find out. Sure seems like it, though. I know its toxic. Dries your skin out, too (don't wear latex gloves). If I were you, I'd keep this stuff outside. If you put it in your garage the whole place will smell like it. I'm sure you're not supposed to be breathing it in. It doesn't make you loopy like laquer thinner, but I'm sure your liver will get a good work out. Might also get you pretty sick, depending on how tolerant your body is (if my mom gets one whiff of kerosene she gets quite ill). The Berryman is yellow in color with orange speckels (sp) floating around and if you stir it green swirls show up, or at least mine does. They put an extra plastic seal around the top to keep it from evaporating, or something like that. Seems it is just toxic waste in a can. I wonder if its flammable? I'll have to look at the can. If it is, I'll use it and a flare to lite my giant pile of brush. I'll keep the little basket, though.
The berryman crap IS toxic waste. I made the mistake of opening it in my basement and it stunk the house up for 5 days. The second I pulled the plastic ring off that thing, I smelled it. It doesn't work that well either. I do like the Berryman SPray stuff though.
Here's a good question... How does one dispose of the stuff? Compost pile burnin is illegal here, tho quite a good idea.. :grin:
Seal the can and throw it in the trash beast, I suppose. I still have mine sitting outside in the back...where no one smells it eating the can away.
Well......... I am ashamed to say I bought the NAPA stuff. My brain was saying "hell no" where as my mouth said "Uh OK". Anywho, this stuff does NOT appear to be flammable. It is, however, very caustic / toxic. (surprise). Very little odor to my amasement. The parts basket is really nice quality. The can has a rubber gasket so it can be resealed. A quick dip of the air horn and it really made a big difference. I left the various linkages in overnight just for laughs. The label leads me to believe parts other than carbs can be cleaned using this stuff. Depending on how long this stuff lasts, it may turn out to be a reasonable investment. I used it in the basement and have no problem. I suppose I am paying for that convenience to some degree. Thought you would like to know.
I would assume you bought the 5 gallon bucket...since you were able to dip your air horun in it...that's the $50 stuff, right?
It was the 1 Gallon variety. The bucket reminds me of the small drywall compound containers. Short and squatty with a lift off top. The pail is NOT filled to the top. You have to leave room for the displacment of your basket O' parts. And yes, it was nearly 50 chops.
The can that the Gunk comes in looks like a paint can. And no big parts fit in it. I assume the NAPA pail is made of metal. If it is, once you've spent the Napa carb cleaner (probably 10 carbs later), I guess you can reuse the bucket it came in (I probably would). Dump the old stuff in an old container and send it away with your waste oil at AutoZone or wherever. The dumb kid behind the counter won't know the difference. Besides the stuff is mostly oil anyway. I use my carb cleaner for almost everything. I put bolts from my engines, springs, pushrods and whatever else in it. Works really well. Good luck!!
