Carb cleaner

1941 - 1945, MB, GPW Technical questions and discussions, regarding anything related to the WWII jeep.
Mark Jesic
G-Brigadier General
G-Brigadier General
Posts: 2473
Joined: Sun Jun 12, 2016 4:56 am
Location: Birmingham, England

Re: Carb cleaner

Post by Mark Jesic » Thu Dec 07, 2017 12:43 am

:lol: :lol: :lol:


Wolfman
G-Lieutenant General
G-Lieutenant General
Posts: 6872
Joined: Sat Jan 12, 2008 5:25 am
Location: Tipton,In.

Re: Carb cleaner

Post by Wolfman » Thu Dec 07, 2017 6:04 am

Curious ??
What are you suppose to do with the carb. cleaner the guy at the show sold ??
Pour it in the gas tank ??
Spray it on the carb ??
or put parts in it and soak them ???
Does the stuff have a name ???
The old, good carb. cleaner is gone.
Used to buy a 5 gal. pail with a basket for about $50. Now it is $150.
The old stuff ( in the 5 gal. can ) was pretty volatile. Had to keep the lid on the can or it would evaporate away. A trick was put a little water in. It floated on top and sealed the good stuff underneath. Put water in the new stuff, you get what looks like spoiled buttermilk and $150 up in smoke !! I told the parts man, I bought the last can from, about the water trick. He said, You better put some in a can and try it first. I did, and am I glad I did !!
The old stuff worked. The new stuff, sort of, if you have enough patience. Days instead of hours. New stuff doesn't remove paint and varnish very well, but it sure shines brass parts. ( if you look hard enough, you can find something good about most anything. Sometimes. )
Gum Out spray was the best but the last I bought, seems it has gone the way of the rest. Lacquer Thinner in a spray can.
Of course you know, carburetors are obsolete ! Thought I would toss that in. :mrgreen:
Mike Wolford
CJ-2A
VEP GPW
Comm./Inst. SEL
AOPA ( 50 yrs)
EAA ( 49 yrs)
4th Inf. Div. - 5th Inf. Div. - 2nd Armor Div. - CIB

Mark 1
G-Staff Sergeant
G-Staff Sergeant
Posts: 62
Joined: Thu Jun 15, 2017 8:12 am
Location: Winchester UK
Contact:

Re: Carb cleaner

Post by Mark 1 » Thu Dec 07, 2017 7:36 am

I have always used Cellulose thinners, [ basic spray gun cleaner ] small paint brush and an air line on the few Carbs I have cleaned, seems to do the trick. I did have them all in bits though as I suspect the Thinners might damage gaskets etc.

Mark Jesic
G-Brigadier General
G-Brigadier General
Posts: 2473
Joined: Sun Jun 12, 2016 4:56 am
Location: Birmingham, England

Re: Carb cleaner

Post by Mark Jesic » Thu Dec 07, 2017 8:57 am

Mike, they said spray it on and in the carb, whilst the engine is running. I did not purchase till i found out more. On a secondary thought, fuels are a lot cleaner these days anyway. It was called MPM, I had never heard of it before though.

User avatar
Scoutpilot
G-Lieutenant General
G-Lieutenant General
Posts: 7329
Joined: Sun May 28, 2006 1:22 pm
Location: Asheboro, NC

Re: Carb cleaner

Post by Scoutpilot » Thu Dec 07, 2017 9:11 am

For most of our old WO’s, YF’s and YS’s it is less than sufficient to only spray the exposed surfaces unless outward appearance is all you are interested in. No matter what solvent or cleaner is used, the carb must be disassembled completely and cleaned throughly, inside and out. The internal vacuum and fuel passages need the cleaning the most. I’ve seen many pretty carburetors that didn’t run worth a flip and many more externally filthy ones that ran great.
'70-'71 'A' Batt., 377th FA, 101AB
(Slicks and LOH's)(Col's LOH Pilot)
'71-72 CHARLIE TROOP,
16TH AIR CAV, 1ST AVN BDE (AEROSCOUTS)
LOW LEVEL HELL.
'46 CJ2A
'47 CJ2A
'48 CJ2A
'48 B1PW126
'69 CJ5

Wolfman
G-Lieutenant General
G-Lieutenant General
Posts: 6872
Joined: Sat Jan 12, 2008 5:25 am
Location: Tipton,In.

Re: Carb cleaner

Post by Wolfman » Fri Dec 08, 2017 6:37 am

Got it. Sounds like another form of snake oil with a new name. ( personal opinion. )
Clean the outside so it looks beautiful ! Inside is what counts, but, looking beautiful is OK too.
I have seen carbs that looked so bad you think there is no way they could work, but performed perfectly.
On the other hand, just rebuilt a carb. on an old Briggs & Stratton cast iron single cyl. engine yesterday. On a Gravely rider. All cleaned up. Looked great. But the engine would not run. Main jet was plugged up.
Mike Wolford
CJ-2A
VEP GPW
Comm./Inst. SEL
AOPA ( 50 yrs)
EAA ( 49 yrs)
4th Inf. Div. - 5th Inf. Div. - 2nd Armor Div. - CIB

Mark Jesic
G-Brigadier General
G-Brigadier General
Posts: 2473
Joined: Sun Jun 12, 2016 4:56 am
Location: Birmingham, England

Re: Carb cleaner

Post by Mark Jesic » Fri Dec 08, 2017 12:01 pm

Mike , excuse my ignorance, but living in England i wouldnt know , what is SNAKE OIL ?

dinof
G-Major General
G-Major General
Posts: 2860
Joined: Fri Jan 08, 2010 4:32 pm
Location: Arcadia & Johannesburg Ca.

Re: Carb cleaner

Post by dinof » Fri Dec 08, 2017 2:01 pm

Mark,
"Snake oil" was an expression that was used to describe an unreliable or phony medical cure/doctor that promised they had the cure for whatever ails you. It now is used for all things like this, medical or non medical.
Dino Falabrino
On the "G" since 1998.
1943 GPW 102310 DOD 3-3-43
1928 Model A Roadster Pickup
1930 Model A Tudor
1968 Taco Minibike

Mark Jesic
G-Brigadier General
G-Brigadier General
Posts: 2473
Joined: Sun Jun 12, 2016 4:56 am
Location: Birmingham, England

Re: Carb cleaner

Post by Mark Jesic » Sat Dec 09, 2017 12:32 am

Thanks Dinof, after reading your reply, it seems we must have gallons of it in England. :lol:

Wolfman
G-Lieutenant General
G-Lieutenant General
Posts: 6872
Joined: Sat Jan 12, 2008 5:25 am
Location: Tipton,In.

Re: Carb cleaner

Post by Wolfman » Sat Dec 09, 2017 5:58 am

Right on, dinof.
I picked up the term watching old western TV shows as a kid. Been a while back.
The traveling medicine man showed up in town in his covered wagon with his magic "elixir".
Did everything from shine your boots to cure the common cold.
Me thinks after you drank some, you didn't care about the boots or the cold. My guess is it was about 99 Proof! :lol:
Mike Wolford
CJ-2A
VEP GPW
Comm./Inst. SEL
AOPA ( 50 yrs)
EAA ( 49 yrs)
4th Inf. Div. - 5th Inf. Div. - 2nd Armor Div. - CIB

dinof
G-Major General
G-Major General
Posts: 2860
Joined: Fri Jan 08, 2010 4:32 pm
Location: Arcadia & Johannesburg Ca.

Re: Carb cleaner

Post by dinof » Sat Dec 09, 2017 4:26 pm

Wolfman wrote:
Sat Dec 09, 2017 5:58 am
Right on, dinof.
I picked up the term watching old western TV shows as a kid. Been a while back.
The traveling medicine man showed up in town in his covered wagon with his magic "elixir".
Did everything from shine your boots to cure the common cold.
Me thinks after you drank some, you didn't care about the boots or the cold. My guess is it was about 99 Proof! :lol:
I'm thinking of the show "The Rifleman" had a few episodes of traveling medicine men, or if you want a reboot of this from the 1950's, "I love Lucy'" had some snake oil Lucy was peddling named "Vitameatavegiman" :D
Dino Falabrino
On the "G" since 1998.
1943 GPW 102310 DOD 3-3-43
1928 Model A Roadster Pickup
1930 Model A Tudor
1968 Taco Minibike

Wolfman
G-Lieutenant General
G-Lieutenant General
Posts: 6872
Joined: Sat Jan 12, 2008 5:25 am
Location: Tipton,In.

Re: Carb cleaner

Post by Wolfman » Sun Dec 10, 2017 5:14 am

I remember that Lucy episode.
By the end of the show, she couldn't even pronounce the name.
Matter of fact, she couldn't stand up either !! :lol:
Mike Wolford
CJ-2A
VEP GPW
Comm./Inst. SEL
AOPA ( 50 yrs)
EAA ( 49 yrs)
4th Inf. Div. - 5th Inf. Div. - 2nd Armor Div. - CIB


Post Reply

Return to “MB GPW Technical Knowledge Base”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Bing [Bot], floater, Google Adsense [Bot] and 66 guests