New member with issues

[Magnatic]

Hello all, I got tired of having only motorcycles that don't actually run, so I took my
tax return and recently bought a 96 Magna. It is cosmetically very nice with 117xx
miles on it, seems well cared for. I was surprised on the way home how fast it is, but
it did have the annoying low rpm surging that I've read about on forums. I ordered up
the Dave Dodge shim and jet kit and a set of Vance & Hines mufflers to make things
all better. Here is where my problem comes in. I installed the shims and jets, but one
of the carbs has an idle mixture screw that will not turn. I called Dave Dodge racing for
advice and tried pb blaster along with heat all to no avail. Has anyone used an easy-out
on this screw? Is there an easy-out small enough, and if so could you use the easy-out
to back out the screw the 1/4 turn and then leave it alone? Thanks for any help.

[John Luttrell]

  What I would do is drill it and use a very small ezout.  I would first remove an adjustment screw from another carb and measure how far you can safely drill into the screw with out damaging the carb.  Once measured, mark the drill bit so you can the limit of how far to drill into the screw; once drilled the ezout should get it.  Make sure you use the correct size drill bit and ezout, also unless you get real lucky, be prepared to replace the screw.

[TLRam1]

Welcome, where do you live?

[Magnatic]

I live about 60 miles northwest of St. Louis. I ordered a socket from Motion Pro that
I hope will fit better and will definitely be stronger than the tool included in the jet kit.
I'm guessing that will either loosen the screw or strip the head. The next step would
be an easy out and after that a carb from ebay I suppose. Wish me luck.

[Greg Cothern]

Once you get the D-bit turn it in a few turns spray some cleaner in to make sure there isnt anything in the threads then take it out. 
I would once you have the offending jet figured out, set them at 3 1/8 to 3 1/4 turns out from bottom with your setup.  Thats what I have found that works the best.

[Lurkin]

I had an idle screw that had to be Easy-out'd.  The cylinder that the screw sits in had been out-of-round'd somehow, and I took it to the local Honda Service dealer to see if they could get it out (since my Motion-Pro tool couldn't get ahold of it).  They couldn't, so he took an Easy-out to it, and out it came.  I did need to buy a new idle screw though, so you might go ahead and get one ordered.

Following this, I took my dremel and slotted the new idle screw head such that a standard screwdriver would work.

Rod.

[Magnatic]

Well, I got the motion-pro socket today and it looks to be a handy tool to have for
these carbs, but all I managed to do was round off the screw head. I borrowed a #1
easy-out from a mechanic at work today, but does anyone know the right size drill
bit to use with this? Hopefully tomorrow I will have better luck with this. Thanks.

[TLRam1]

Small enough so it will not mess up your carbs but large enough so the easy-out will go in.

Might practice on a piece of scrape metal, wood, etc. for the correct size hole.

[Magnatic]

A closer look at the easy-out and it had printed on it what drill size to use. Unfortunately I could not get it out, the brass screw is too soft for how stuck it is,
and the easy out ended up just tearing out shreds of the screw. At this point, I
think I will have to find another carb body. This sucks.

[Charles S Otwell]

Two questions, did you get the hole drilled dead center, and are you still shredding on just the brass screw? If you're still in just the brass screw and have the hole drilled center you can use a drill bit big enough to just barely take the brass out without getting into the actual threads and then clean the threads out with a bottom tap. Just make sure to use the right size drill bit and the correct tap. I'm assuming you already have the carbs apart?

[Magnatic]

After it was apparent that the easy-out wasn't going to work, I did try to drill out
just enough to get the brass gone and then try to clean up the threads, but I have
no tap and die sets, and I damaged the threads in one area too much to recover from I'm afraid anyhow. Thanks though.

[Magnatic]

Apparently I am not meant to ride this Spring. I got a used set of carbs, and as I was
swapping parts over to the replacement carb body, I noticed that the needle and seat
are a different, smaller size. Different years of the 3rd gen must have different carbs.
If the needle and seat are different, I suppose other internals are different too. Very depressing.

[roboto65]

They are all the same there is no difference between themyou may have gotten a set that has had jets and shims installed or most likely if they are smaller needles then you have the Cobra jet kit installed all your old jets and needles will slide right into your new old carbs and return it to stock or whatever you had before...

[Magnatic]

It is the float needle and seat that are smaller, and the seat is pressed into the carb body, I don't see any way you can change it, at least not with my tools.

[roboto65]

3rd Gen Magnas have replaceable seats and needles. Do you have a camera maybe take a pic or two and post. Itshould have a hex head on the seat part and just unscrews from the body !!!