Jump to content
IGNORED

My carburetor story


BlueSky

Recommended Posts

85 Kawasaki ZN700 Keihin carbs

When the battery died, I let it sit for about a year and like a big dummy I didn't drain the carbs. Finally installed a new battery. I had a leaky fuel valve so I removed the gas tank, dumped it and washed the rust particles out with gasoline and rebuilt the fuel valve. The screen was good and I made sure my fuel filter was clear. I had to use starter fluid to get it started. It ran really ragged on two cylinders. So, I poured a half bottle of Gumout for high mileage engines into about a gallon of gas and I have been starting it and running it or a few minutes and letting it sit for several weeks. Today is the first day it fired on all four cylinders. It runs good at idle but still is not quite right. It doesn't accelerate well so I'm hoping the cleaner didn't destroy the diaphragms in the carbs. Anyhow, I'll keep you updated so you can decide if you'd like to try Gumout (with PEA) in your gas to clean up carbs.

 

By the way, I bought an infrared thermometer from Autozone and I love it! I used it to check the exhaust pipes temperatures and could tell which cylinders were firing and how well they were firing compared to the hottest temp! I highly recommend this tool!

Edited by BlueSky
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'll keep you updated so you can decide if you'd like to try Gumout (with PEA) in your gas to clean up carbs.

 

I would prefer to Keep Pea out of my gas tanks and carbs.... just my personal preference, Made me crack up because of the Bafoom taking the vala victorian out to the movies and says I would like to Pee in that guys gas tank!!:Avatars_Gee_George:

 

Just in case before you start thinking WTH It was from one of Adam Sandlers Comedy tapes that I heard back in High school...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

PEA, polyetheramine, is supposed to be the best fuel injection cleaner. Chevron Techron was the first to use PEA and is the only FI cleaner that Ford recommends. Now many brands of FI cleaner are using it. I buy Gumout for high mileage engines that supposedly has a higher dose of PEA. It has worked very well for me.

 

My 150hp Yamaha FI two stroke outboard developed a miss and started giving an overheat alarm on one side. I put two bottles of it in the gas tank and the miss and alarm cleared up quickly. (I'm so glad that the outboard has FI!) I usually put a bottle of it in the gas tank of all my autos every 6 to 12 months and I feel the difference in the throttle response.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

Well the final saga of this story is that the bike got to where it was running great at idle firing on all 4 cylinders but would bog when accelerating. It appeared to be slowly clearing up. Then, the idle jets clogged up on two cylinders? WTF? So, I finally knuckled under and removed the carbs, removed all of the jets, sprayed a little carb cleaner in the passages and reassembled it. I also used my weld tip cleaning kit to make sure the small passages were clear. You can buy the little weld tip cleaning kit for about $5 I think. It has a bunch of small wires in it. Now it runs super. It feels like all 74 hp are back! For a 525 lb curb weight bike that means it hauls butt!!!

 

The reason I didn't pull the carbs much earlier was that I wanted to see if the Gumout would do the entire job. Not this time!

 

There are plastic plugs that are used to plug the bottom holes for one of the jets that uses o-rings to hold them in. I bought new o-rings from ACE hardware but they were too fat and I couldn't push the plugs back in place. Sooooo, I ordered the proper o-rings from partzilla to the tune of $8.40 each! But, they worked. The plugs popped right back in. Like cake!

 

Now, that Venture needs some work!

Edited by BlueSky
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yesterday I rode the ZN700 about 75 miles to a retiree luncheon and today I rode it about 130 miles to and from Skid's N. Myrtle Beach M&E. It was great to see Jeff and Joe by the way. The bike ran perfect getting 50 mpg. When I got back home I checked the exhaust temps with my infrared thermometer and all four were about 260 degrees measuring approximately 6" from the head. So, that would indicate all four cylinders are doing the same amount of work. I eyeballed the carb sync when the carbs were off and did not sync them with the engine running. With all four exhaust temps measuring the same, I'm assuming the carbs are properly synced.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You may want to check them within a few minutes of starting a cold engine. After the engine reaches operating temperature the heat produced will spread and equalize across the complete engine.

 

No, not at all. I have been playing with this bike for a couple of months to see if the Gumout would do a complete job of cleaning the carbs. During that time I measured the exhaust temps dozens of times while the engine was warming up and after it was up to operating temperature and there usually were drastic differences in the temps measured about 6" from the head.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...