Carb Rebuild Kit?

[Patmac6075]

So the good news is, I've begun putting Humpty Dumpty back together again and it fired right up! That's the first time I've heard this bike run since I brought it home....what a great feeling! Plus, it purrs like a kitten!

Bad news....it's pissing fuel all over the place. Seems like most of the problems are with #3 carb....stuck float sends gas out near the driveshaft AND there seems to be a leak at the carb itself and it's washing fuel all over the rear exhaust manifold.

Over the winter I drained all the old gas and refilled with fresh, mixed in a half can of Seafoam Trans Fix (same thing as regular Seafoam, except at about 4X the concentration, has more detergents, and has a red dye) in hopes of unsticking that float and dissolving some of the varnish....No dice! Also tried rapping on the carb bodies till my neighbors thought I would break into a drum solo.

So, looks like I'm in for a carb rebuild...As I understand it, there are no "kits" available....Is this correct? I'm guessing I'll need new float valves and seats, plus gaskets...what else? O-rings? Anybody know what size? Is EBay the best source (lowest cost)? Are factory Yamaha parts a better choice? Finally, I do not yet know the condition of the diaphragms, but I'm hopeful that because it was running so smoothly that they'll be salvageable.

Any help is appreciated.

Pat

[flyday58]

I prefer Yamaha parts when I can get them. Gaskets are all available individually through your parts house of choice on-line. I haven't replaced my needle seats and o-rings, but some have, someone will chime in on that. Float is not available, diaphragms are, but most of us get the diaphragms from a couple other sources. I got mine from Sirius Consolidated/ SCI.

 

My carbs were varnished enough and goobered up to where they had to come apart and get a good soaking in parts cleaner. Plus it took 3 times before I foynd every tiny orifice and cleaned them out with something like this.

Really, it took THREE times before I found every hole to unplug.

Some folks have issues with idle air screws that won't adjust or come out due to rounded off heads. They are under the outboard caps in the hole at 6 o'clock.

[Patmac6075]

Well, Ok, now I'm starting to think "what did I get into"?! I pulled the carbs and broke off the plastic nipple attaching the bowl chamber drain to the hose....somebody please tell me those are replaceable? The second thing is, how the H.-E.-double hockey sticks do I get those accelerator cables back on? Man, those things were tough coming off! Third, do I need to break the rack in order to clean the carbs?

Like I said, I have the carbs out....now I'm going to spray down the outside with some carb-spray and get to taking thing apart.

Thanks again for any insight you may have.

[Prairiehammer]

Bad news....it's pissing fuel all over the place. Seems like most of the problems are with #3 carb....stuck float sends gas out near the driveshaft AND there seems to be a leak at the carb itself and it's washing fuel all over the rear exhaust manifold.

Over the winter I drained all the old gas and refilled with fresh, mixed in a half can of Seafoam Trans Fix (same thing as regular Seafoam, except at about 4X the concentration, has more detergents...)

So, looks like I'm in for a carb rebuild...As I understand it, there are no "kits" available....Is this correct? I'm guessing I'll need new float valves and seats, plus gaskets...what else? O-rings? Anybody know what size? Is EBay the best source (lowest cost)? Are factory Yamaha parts a better choice?

Pat

 

Pat, I am not familiar with Sea Foam Trans Tune, but the '4X concentration, has more detergents...' is worrisome. The components of the fuel system and the components of an automatic transmission may be dissimilar enough that the increased cleaning power of the Trans Tune may have ruined some components of the Venture fuel system. But I don't know that for fact, just speculating.

 

There are four reasons that the Venture carbs will overflow:

1. Stuck float or stuck open float valve

2. Bad float valve needle or bad float valve seat

3. Bad O-ring on the float valve seat

4. Saturated (too heavy to float) float

 

Any of the above will result in the carb bowl overfilling with the resulting fuel running out the bowl vent line to emerge in front of the rear tire as you describe.

 

The fuel that you observe 'washing fuel all over the rear exhaust manifold' could be because of a ruptured or disconnected bowl vent (overflow) line near the carbs. The described leak could also be from a leaking fuel supply line(s). I would remove the airbox and examine all the vent lines and fuel supply lines on the carbs while the engine is running.

 

Oh and don't be alarmed if your vent lines don't look like the ones in the picture. The pictured carbs are of my California intended Venture. The bowl vents are (were) all connected to a valve that would allow venting to a charcoal canister.

[mralex714]

So the good news is, I've begun putting Humpty Dumpty back together again and it fired right up! That's the first time I've heard this bike run since I brought it home....what a great feeling! Plus, it purrs like a kitten!

Bad news....it's pissing fuel all over the place. Seems like most of the problems are with #3 carb....stuck float sends gas out near the driveshaft AND there seems to be a leak at the carb itself and it's washing fuel all over the rear exhaust manifold.

Over the winter I drained all the old gas and refilled with fresh, mixed in a half can of Seafoam Trans Fix (same thing as regular Seafoam, except at about 4X the concentration, has more detergents, and has a red dye) in hopes of unsticking that float and dissolving some of the varnish....No dice! Also tried rapping on the carb bodies till my neighbors thought I would break into a drum solo.

So, looks like I'm in for a carb rebuild...As I understand it, there are no "kits" available....Is this correct? I'm guessing I'll need new float valves and seats, plus gaskets...what else? O-rings? Anybody know what size? Is EBay the best source (lowest cost)? Are factory Yamaha parts a better choice? Finally, I do not yet know the condition of the diaphragms, but I'm hopeful that because it was running so smoothly that they'll be salvageable.

Any help is appreciated.

Pat

 

I used these kits. Buying individual parts from Yamaha gets pretty expensive.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/4x-86-07-VMAX-CARB-KITS-VMX1200-V-MAX-83-93-XVZ13-VENTURE-VENTURE-ROYALE-/201340482970?hash=item2ee0d3f59a&vxp=mtr

[dna9656]

The same or similar kits are on E-bay for $30.00 to $40.00. This guy: http://www.ebay.com/itm/4x-86-07-VMA...d3f59a&vxp=mtr is asking $83.00 AND SHIPPING of $4.00? WOW.

I called this outfit: http://www.carbparts.com/mikuni.html. The MAN Jeff told me how I could check my pilot jets, I don't need any new gaskets, he also told me to check the BIG diaphragms (mine are ok) and said he'd fill any order I wanted to place but there was no sense in buying stuff I didn't need so he's NOT is a hurry to get your money; he wants to sell you what you NEED. Although he told me this morning if I wanted to send him my carbs they would trouble shoot them for me and tell me what's wrong. I can't begin to imagine what that would cost; I do not have pockets that are that deep but some folks do. So I am going to take the carbs off this weekend, I don't know if I can take the bowls off without separating the carbs out of the assembly but we'll see.

If you take your carb assembly apart you HAVE TO RE-ASSEMBLE them on a FLAT surface so the bottoms of the carbs are all in the same plane (Geometrically speaking) so they all are properly placed in space to connect to the manifolds and boots above and below. This bit of wisdom is from Peder here on the forum. He's a carbutreator guru. He sync'ed my carbs for me...very knowledgeable guy!

 

 

I used these kits. Buying individual parts from Yamaha gets pretty expensive.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/4x-86-07-VMAX-CARB-KITS-VMX1200-V-MAX-83-93-XVZ13-VENTURE-VENTURE-ROYALE-/201340482970?hash=item2ee0d3f59a&vxp=mtr

[dingy]

I used these kits. Buying individual parts from Yamaha gets pretty expensive.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/4x-86-07-VMAX-CARB-KITS-VMX1200-V-MAX-83-93-XVZ13-VENTURE-VENTURE-ROYALE-/201340482970?hash=item2ee0d3f59a&vxp=mtr

 

I have bought 2 sets from this seller, he has been good good both times.

 

This set will fit 1200 or 1300 1st gens & 1st gen VMax's.

 

Gary

[H2O]

Hi. Recently had to have my carbs rebuilt on my '88 XVZ. Had it done at a local shop and we ended up getting genuine Yamaha part kits, which are available. They were about twice the price but some of the aftermarket places were out of stock and I coughed up the money for the Yamaha kits because I couldn't stand being left at home while everyone else was going places.

 

Had a problem with the vacuum advance line spewing fuel out afterwards and fouling a plug.

Traced the problem to a stuck float bowl that took a couple of "whacks" to the carburetor to fix.

Apparently some debris had became dislodged in the fuel system during the process.

Now my XVZ1300 starts in about a millisecond and doesn't even need to be choked! My bike has 66K miles on it now and has never started and ran so well!

The local bike shop charged me $350 for the labor after I removed the fairing and electronics. Should've done it long ago.

By the way, it was Prariehammer and Cowpuc here at this site who diagnosed my stuck float and gave me the good advise for dealing with it.

Good luck!

[Vonwolf]

The needle valve seats are a bear to get out and I read on some of the VMax forums its best to just replace the needle valves. Not good news for me because they are just as hard to install, I would have gladly skipped that part had I knew. I'm not sure the advice from the VMax forms was correct and I did manage to get the job done with my limited experience in these carb's so it can be done, Hopefully one of the more knowledgeable members will chime in.

[Prairiehammer]

The same or similar kits are on E-bay for $30.00 to $40.00. This guy: http://www.ebay.com/itm/4x-86-07-VMA...d3f59a&vxp=mtr is asking $83.00 AND SHIPPING of $4.00? WOW.

 

That $83 gets you FOUR carb kits; only $20.75 each carb.

[Prairiehammer]

The needle valve seats are a bear to get out and I read on some of the VMax forums its best to just replace the needle valves. Not good news for me because they are just as hard to install, I would have gladly skipped that part had I knew. I'm not sure the advice from the VMax forms was correct and I did manage to get the job done with my limited experience in these carb's so it can be done, Hopefully one of the more knowledgeable members will chime in.

 

Pete, how did you get the float valve seats out?

The float valve seats have to be pressed out from the float chamber, pushing the staked plug out of the carb body as you press the seat out.

[dna9656]

Skydoc told me how to clean the carbs w/o diassembly. Get some aerosol carb clean; lots of it. WalMart has it for about$1.00. Drain the gas out using the bowel drains, there are drain valves near the drain hoses. Open the (now empty) bowel drains (you may want to wrap some tape around the straw so you get a seal) insert the red sprayer straw into the drain hose and squirt the cleaner in there untill it comes out of the drain hose. Let it sit. Come back later and drain. So it's just like shampoo, apply, wash, rinse and repeat, only this time you stop before you run out of shampoo! I did this 5 or 6 times per carb. The floats came unstuck and the carbs work we;; except for the plugged pilot valves. Those I'll to when I have the kits on hand. He has it all written out in the tips for1st gens I think....check it out; there are lots of good things in there you will benefit from.

[Vonwolf]

Pete, how did you get the float valve seats out?

The float valve seats have to be pressed out from the float chamber, pushing the staked plug out of the carb body as you press the seat out.

 

Kevin, like I said they were tough it's hard to get a straight shot at the valve seats. I used a long punch a little smaller than the seat diameter, clamped the carbs in a vice and use the punch to drive the seats out with a hammer. It's not a straight shot, there 's a bit of an angle, but it will drive them out without messing up the opening in the carb. It takes a great deal of conviction to hammer away on the carbs, but mine came out clean. It's quite a bit easier to install the new ones as long as you can get the screens off and back on without messing them up

[Prairiehammer]

Kevin, like I said they were tough it's hard to get a straight shot at the valve seats. I used a long punch a little smaller than the seat diameter, clamped the carbs in a vice and use the punch to drive the seats out with a hammer. It's not a straight shot, there 's a bit of an angle, but it will drive them out without messing up the opening in the carb. It takes a great deal of conviction to hammer away on the carbs, but mine came out clean. It's quite a bit easier to install the new ones as long as you can get the screens off and back on without messing them up

 

An alternative to beating the seats out with a punch and hammer, is to press each seat out with a vise and a strategically placed bolt and piece of pipe on the outside:

[Vonwolf]

An alternative to beating the seats out with a punch and hammer, is to press each seat out with a vise and a strategically placed bolt and piece of pipe on the outside:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]99289[/ATTACH]

 

Kevin, come to think of it I did calm down on the last 2 carbs and I used the vise to press them out and after taking the screens off I did use the vise to press them back in, but that was much more of a straight shot. I have to learn much of this on the fly as I was not real familiar with this type of carburetors, but after taking them apart a half dozen times I'm starting to slowly figure things out although I think the pilot screws might be their doom as 3 of them are locked tight

[Yamamike]

I have bought 2 sets from this seller, he has been good good both times.

 

This set will fit 1200 or 1300 1st gens & 1st gen VMax's.

 

Gary

 

I'm waiting on delivery of a set of these kits. Wondering what most use to soak the carbs in after dis-assembly for cleaning. Used to be able to buy stuff by the gallon...soak parts overnight and re-assemble next day.

Mike

[Prairiehammer]

I'm waiting on delivery of a set of these kits. Wondering what most use to soak the carbs in after dis-assembly for cleaning. Used to be able to buy stuff by the gallon...soak parts overnight and re-assemble next day.

Mike

 

Berryman Chem Dip (not to be confused with Berryman Chemtool) http://www.berrymanproducts.com/products/carb-and-parts-cleaner/berryman-chem-dip-professional-parts-cleaner/.

The Chem Dip is in a 3 quart can with parts basket and is safe for plastic and rubber parts.

http://www.amazon.com/Berryman-0996-Chem-Dip-Carburetor-Cleaner/dp/B00DSMEL2A

Chem Dip is also available in a five gallon pail, but I have not found it locally. Perhaps an automotive supply store that caters to auto shops and dealerships carries it?

Edited May 12, 2015 by Prairiehammer

[Yamamike]

Thanks for the info!!

[garyS-NJ]

does anyone know of a kit to rebuild an '84 XVZ12? ebay has older VMAX and XVZ13 carb kits (link shown above) and so I asked the seller if they would fit...

 

also/otherwiser, is there a tech note somewhere that tells all the rubber rings/gaskets by P/N that should be replaced to soak/spray/blow the carbs clean??? I'd rather get the parts before I disassemble and also like to avoid looking at the exploded view and writing all the P/N's.... yes, I'm lazy.

 

lastly, looks like my XVZ12 needle seat threads in and the needle is metal so I imagine I definitely need that little o-ring (and the seat will be fine with some polishing,,,.).

[garyS-NJ]

I thought the chem-dip would swell/kill rubber orings.

[Prairiehammer]

I thought the chem-dip would swell/kill rubber orings.

 

Berryman says their Chem Dip is safe for rubber and plastic. Their Chemtool may not be. Go to the link I posted for their site.

[dna9656]

There are Kits that come close but so far as I know this isn't a cigar your ever going to find. This guy (http://www.carbparts.com/mikuni.html) seems to be in one of many that may be able to help you with some parts but he says that Yamaha has propriety stuff in the carb Mikuni build to Yamaha specs. Mikuni doesn't make the parts for anyone but Mother Yamaha I'm sure it;s in their contract... As much (ridicules) money as Yamaha charges for carb parts you'd think they would have every part available....

[garyS-NJ]

Yea I just bought $5.00/ oring from stealer for my xj550 carbs.. after the same looking sae buna orings leaked. proprietary. Smh.