Which Carburetor Cleaner?

You know how it is. You finally make an effort to get up bright and early to clean out your carburetor, only to find out later that you've run out of carburetor cleaner fluid. The good news is that vinegar does the job just as well as any other prepackaged carburetor cleaner. The bad news is that splashing vinegar on your dirty unit and hoping for the best isn't going to cut it. If you're still intent on getting your errand out of the way (either that, or if you're interested in seeing if using vinegar as a substitute is a more budget friendly solution), then be prepared to use plenty of elbow grease too. You should also probably look around in your garage and see if you can locate a pair of pliers, a screw driver, a standard wrench set and a bottle of cheap vinegar as your carburetor cleaner.

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Remove the Battery and Air Filter

To begin, detach the battery from its negative terminal and then remove the air filter of your carburetor. You should also remember to cover your battery's naked terminal as accidental contact could cause a fire or electrocution (or both).

In order to remove your air filter, you first need to look for a giant tin-like shape located at the top of your engine. This is known as the filter housing and should measure out to be approximately one and a half feet in width, although this specification is known to vary between vehicles. Unscrew the top of the filter housing and disconnect the entire housing from any connecting hoses. Next, gingerly lift the air filter housing away from the carburetor.

The generic carburetor looks like a tin block with plenty of holes punched through. Before you start unplugging the cables, wires and hoses, make sure you systematically label everything for future references. If you get annoyed with the bunch of wires and plugs, consider tidying the mess by tying up the stray cables and plugs with a piece of string.

Remove the Bracket and Rods

Take a look at your carburetor and decide if it has an alternating current kick-up solenoid. If it does, you will have to remove the bracket by unscrewing it out of place. Some carburetors also come with a locking ring which can be removed with pliers before your side the arm off the carburetor.

The next item you would like to remove is the rod that rotates an external plate. In order to remove this rod, either pull firmly or unscrew the connectors at the ends of the carburetor. Remember to dutifully mark the wiring configuration as well before you slide off the wires as well.

Remove the Carburetor

You can now finally remove the carburetor by disconnecting the four nuts that keep it fasted to the engine. In order to remove residual gasoline, turn your carburetor upside down over a container and wait till all liquid is dripped out of the container. When emptying the gasoline, you may want to wear goggles to protect your eyes as there is a high likelihood of the liquid being squirted into your face when you disconnect the fuel line. While you're waiting for that to occur, protect the area where your carburetor is positioned by covering the surface in order to keep it clean from debris.

liquid-free, it's time to take it apart. Since there are way too many parts in a carburetor to remember, our advise is that you purchase Chilton's manual in order to get an exploded view of where all the individual parts are supposed to go. Chances are, you're going to run into trouble trying to figure out how to reassemble your carburetor later on.

Cleaning Your Carburetor

Once you've taken out all the parts, place all the components in a five gallon frosting bucket. Next, fill the bucket with your carburetor cleaner (in this case, white vinegar is the carburetor cleaner) and leave it to soak for at least twenty four hours. Despite what anyone else will tell you, adding other chemicals to your carburetor cleaner is not going to help speed up the cleaning process. Instead, mixing other ingredients into your vinegar can actually create a toxic carburetor cleaner so the best thing you can do is to be patient and wait for the organic vinegar to work its magic.

After that, brush each and every component with a wire brush and carburetor cleaner in order to completely remove all residue.

Rinsing Your Carburetor

Once you're satisfied with the cleansed components, drain out the carburetor cleaner from the bucket and then rinse off the parts by dumping in a mixture of water and baking soda. Prepare yourself for a little bubbling phenomenon. Once the bubbling is over, proceed to rinse off the baking soda mixture with distiller water (which is easily available at your local grocery store). Once you're done rinsing, properly air-dry all the parts. You are now ready to reassemble your cleaned-up carburetor.

Too Much Work?

If all this seems like way too much work, you can also perform superficial cleaning with carburetor cleaner without actually having to take apart anything. Simply spray carburetor cleaner on to a lint free rag and clean out all intake outlets. Do make it a point to wait a few minutes for your entire carburetor cleaner to fully evaporate as some chemicals have been known to cause a fire the moment you start your engine