82 stock V45- cleaning and rebuild

[akpete]

Alright- here's my foray into the depths of a V4.  Well, my initial thoughts of Seafoam fixing my problems were a bit premature.  I have been experiencing sporadic bouts of loss of power and backfiring after 200+ miles of test rides.  Ran clean out of gas today with 90 miles on the trip odometer- does that seem low MPGs?

Also, not sure how much of my problems may be related to the previous owner hot wiring a fuel pump with toggle shut off.  

Anyway, due to the wonders of Youtube- I have pulled the carbs....

I started poking around- pulled the #1 carb needle valve assembly out and noticed some corrosion on the end of the needle.  Eyes to brain- Well, that doesn't look good.
Brain to fingers- Scrape off that crap.
Eyes to brain- Hey, the fingernails just scraped off half of the end of the needle valve.
Brain to self- What did I get myself into.

So, the rest of the needle valves looked fine.  I haven't screwed anything else up yet (the carbs in the garage and I'm 75 feet away in the house).

With all the performance stuff on the forums about rejetting/shims etc- what size are stock needle valves?  I tried going to the Dave Dodge website for more info, to no avail.  I will call Monday, but was looking for some input.

I am probably going to continue to breakdown the carbs for cleaning (once my courage returns).  The business of drilling the housing to get at the pilot screw scares me.  I will look into the floats and pull the the main and slow jets (I am really hoping they are clogged to justify the whole process).

Thanks in advance for your help!

[hootmon]

I started poking around- pulled the #1 carb needle valve assembly out and noticed some corrosion on the end of the needle.  Eyes to brain- Well, that doesn't look good.
Brain to fingers- Scrape off that crap.
Eyes to brain- Hey, the fingernails just scraped off half of the end of the needle valve.
Brain to self- What did I get myself into.

I am probably going to continue to breakdown the carbs for cleaning (once my courage returns).  The business of drilling the housing to get at the pilot screw scares me.  I will look into the floats and pull the the main and slow jets (I am really hoping they are clogged to justify the whole process).

Thanks in advance for your help!

Sorry for your issues man.. Sounds like something ate away at your needles, they should NOT come apart like that. It's actually better you found out this way than particles flaking off and getting sucked into the system..

Note that I am a GEN 3 guy, so don't know the specifics of your carbs..

I'd inspect the carbs really closely though.. IF something ate the needles that bad, there may be other parts that are compromised.. You will have to decide the best course of action after the inspection.

A couple ways you could go...
It looks like the Dyna Jet kit comes with needles, so for $100 you can get all 4 needles and some jets as well.. (I'll let others chime in on whether going with a Dyna Jet kit is a good idea or not)

You could always buy some used carbs, but then you may be buying problem parts.. (MAY)

IF there are other problem parts, then you may need to buy carb rebuild kits, and their about $25 per carb..

SO, IF you can get GOOD used carbs for a reasonable price it might be worth it for the parts you need or to swap out the whole unit...

The pilot screw thing does sound bad, but on Honda's it usually just a cap covering a hole and you are just pulling the cap.. You can buy little replacement caps (different style) at Home Depot..  See attachment

[Jerry G Turner]

That's what they are little caps like that you can drill a small hole a start a screw in it and then pull them out it's real easy.

[akpete]

Thanks Hoot and Jerry!  Still need to drill out the pilot screw plug, I am going to try today.

I pulled the #1 float bowl and found a decent amount good ol' fashion rust in the bottom.  There were little bits of the rust scattered about inside as well.  The floats and float valve looked nice and clean.  The main and slow jets also looked clean.  I couldn't figure out how to remove the start jet though, there's no spot for a screwdriver....

I reviewed the Dynojet kit link from Hoot.  I am curious if the kit includes replacements for all the jets- main, slow and start???  Does anyone have a preference between Dyno and Dave Dodge kits?  Also found another brand 6Sigma- never had heard of them on the forums...  I am just looking for a stock replacement, since this is my first carb rebuild- I'll be happy if- 1. get the whole deal back together and 2. the bike runs smoother than before.

I am going to order the rebuild kit from Billy C to replace all the gaskets and hardware.  Thanks again for your assistance!!

[akpete]

I have the #1 carb completely disassembled, the shop manual refers to removing the starter jet (among the others- main and slow came out easy).  I pulled this picture of this cleaning FAQ (http://users.rcn.com/kochc/moto/carb/carb.html) and drew a line to the specific jet (please see attachment).

I wish I had studied this picture better- because it shows it still in place and I fear the worse.  Being the knucklehead that I am, I got a bit overzealous with some pliers and have buggered this end up pretty bad- so much, in fact the small plug end (jet?) might not stay in.

Does anyone know how this jet comes out or is it pressed in place....  If pressed in place- is there any remedy to my destruction???

[dgc67]

I reviewed the Dynojet kit link from Hoot.  I am curious if the kit includes replacements for all the jets- main, slow and start???  

It only includes mains.  From your description of the "needle valve" I am thinking maybe you meant the float valves?  The dynojet comes with new needles, but NOT new float valves.  There is a guy, Billy C. who sells them though and I have bought some and some pilot jets from him, but like 2 years ago.  He is a regular on the v4 forum.

Pretty sure those are pressed in.  I sure did not try to remove them.  You might be best off getting you a new set of carbs off ebay.  I can bet Billy C. will have your answer.  He sells stuff on ebay, namely rebuild kits.  Look on there for his stuff.  he is a real nice guy and will answer questions on these particular carbs probably better than anyone on this forum.

[akpete]

Thanks DG!  I have been in contact with Billy C- appears (as you correctly mentioned) it might be pressed in.  He said I might be able to repair my handiwork, but recommended replacing the whole carb body.  The needle valve I was referring to was on the vacuum slides??? (apologies my carburetorology vocab is in its infancy).

Getting ready to order carb body, rebuild kit and re-jetting kit.  Reassembly of the rack should be lots of fun- since springs came flying off during the breakdown (I think I found them all).

[dgc67]

he needle valve I was referring to was on the vacuum slides??? (apologies my carburetorology vocab is in its infancy).

No, totally my misunderstanding.  You stated it correctly, I just could not imagine those having that kind of deterioration and figured you must have meant the float valves as they have a little rubber tip.

Hope you get it worked out.