Anybody have any carb advice for a honda cb350f

[dbelaga]

Im trying to get the carbs apart on a 1973 honda cb350f. I have a manual I got off the internet but Im really struggling. I need help figuring out how to get the carbs separated/ off the tree that connects them all. Can anybody help me out with that? Thanks

[markk53]

There is no real reason to do so if all you are doing is cleaning the carbs. All that need be done is to have the slides, floatbowl/floats, and all jets and screws removed so the cleaning solution can get through them.

The only time the carb assembly need be taken apart is if there is some other dire problem with the set up and that would be like a worn out set of butterfly rod guides in the carbs, which would make them junk anyway.

If you have to tear them completely down, odds are they are junk and you may as well get another set, or better yet, a set of Mikuni VM carburetors of the proper size. That is a common racing conversion because the Mikuni VMs have been around so much the jets, needles, needle jets, slides, and pilot jets are easy to get.

Hope that helps a bit. Having worked in a shop I can tell you the carb body assemblies were virtually never torn down when cleaned, only the jets and other bits were taken off.

[dbelaga]

THanks Mark,

Thats a load off my mind. The guy who sold it to me told me I needed to get everything apart. My next problem if you care to advise is the main jet. I cant get it out of the aluminum tower it sits in. It has no slot for a screwdriver and im scared ill damage it with pliers if I try any harder to pry it out. Do you have any idea how to remove that piece? Thanks again.

[slumlord]

Originally Posted by dbelaga

THanks Mark,

Thats a load off my mind. The guy who sold it to me told me I needed to get everything apart. My next problem if you care to advise is the main jet. I cant get it out of the aluminum tower it sits in. It has no slot for a screwdriver and im scared ill damage it with pliers if I try any harder to pry it out. Do you have any idea how to remove that piece? Thanks again.

I think what usually happens to the main jets is that they are originally are held in with O-Rings as the seal to hold them in. The metal that is not in the seal area gradually collects dirt,and when the bike sits,the white corrosion starts and gradually welds the main jet to the tower[metal-to -metal]
CRC makes a product called Freeze-Off which really seems to penetrate almost anything. I usually use Kroil as a penetrant with excellent results,but this stuff worked a little better in some situations like aluminum welding itself together.. The way you use it is to apply it a few times and let it work,then the Freeze-off instructions tell you to spray it for 15-30 seconds and it will cool the parts and thermal shock will do the rest. It is scary to wrench the jet out and wonder how close you are to breaking the tower...
I am thinking you could use a large size soldering iron to apply heat to the tower and then freeze the jet with an ice cube or even dry ice.
There is a forum that deals with SOHC Honda bikes and there are experts there who know more than I. Almost guarantee that someone there has had the same problem as you and found a way out.
While we are on the subject of these carbs,there are some[unobtainable from Honda] felt air seals that are particularly vulnerable to dunking the carb in cleaner. Cleaning the passages is much less of a risk and can have better overall results