carb removal tricks.

streetfighter st

streetfighter st

Joined
Jan 31, 2022
Messages
24
Age
73
Location
AJ AZ
So I got the old girl running after my battery fiasco and I have a miss. #1 carb isn't getting fuel. I know this because I can spray starting fluid down the carb and the engine immediately smooth's out. Got good spark. Any ideas??? Is there an "easy " way to pull the carbs? Any ideas about cleaning the carb without pulling it all apart?? Tried revving it up and putting my hand over the carb . No luck.. Thanks...
 
streetfighter st said:
So I got the old girl running after my battery fiasco and I have a miss. #1 carb isn't getting fuel. I know this because I can spray starting fluid down the carb and the engine immediately smooth's out. Got good spark. Any ideas??? Is there an "easy " way to pull the carbs? Any ideas about cleaning the carb without pulling it all apart?? Tried revving it up and putting my hand over the carb . No luck.. Thanks...
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I've never even seen the carbs on an 1100, but I would bet the 'easy way' is to do it by the book. Honda did a great job of hiding the components of these bikes that have problems. IIRC, there is a highly regarded carb rebuilder in Texas(?) Should you decide to have someone else do a thorough job, you can probably find his name in other threads or someone will chime in.
 
streetfighter st said:
So I got the old girl running after my battery fiasco and I have a miss. #1 carb isn't getting fuel. I know this because I can spray starting fluid down the carb and the engine immediately smooth's out. Got good spark. Any ideas??? Is there an "easy " way to pull the carbs? Any ideas about cleaning the carb without pulling it all apart?? Tried revving it up and putting my hand over the carb . No luck.. Thanks...
Click to expand...
if your inclined and it sounds like you are there is a great post about rebuilding your carbs and a few other trickshttp://www.st-riders.net/index.php?topic=10249.0
 
Try tapping (hit it) the #1 carb to dislodge the needle from the seat. Thats what it sounds like to me. There is also a drain on the bottom of the carb you can open to see if there is fuel in it.
 
Taking a lead from the Dan, Maybe using something that vibrates (Palm sander?) and applying it to that carb to loosen the needle from the seat or maybe dislodge particles. This is a stretch at best and probably won't work but, what the heck it's worth a try.

Barring that working it will usually be a plugged idle jet or plugged idle needle circuit which require removal and cleaning.
If one is clogged the rest might need some cleaning anyway.
Carb removal is only hard the first time because you aren't familiar with it. Get the new carb boots on order now.

Make sure you have cleaned out the rest of the fuel system (Tank, Fuel filter) before installing the newly cleaned carbs.
 
if none of the other suggestions work to clear up your issue with the carbs attached, pulling them is pretty easy, its putting them back on that's a bit of a challenge.

As previously mentioned, order the carb boots in advance, you'll want new ones before re-installation. To pull the carbs remove the fuel tank from the frame, and then use a wooden lever like a broom handle to pry them upward out of the boots using the frame cross-member for leverage. This assumes you've loosened all the clamps on the boots first, which is straightforward, and disconnected the choke cable. When I did it, I left the throttle cables attached, but that's because I didn't need to remove them, only swing them out of the way to get to the coolant hoses below.

re-installation is a bit of a crapshoot, I think I had a similar experience as others in that I repeatedly applied pressure with no luck and then for no apparent reason they finally popped back in. It helps to lubricate the boots with a silicone lubricant, which doesn't harm the rubber.
 
SMSW said:
I've never even seen the carbs on an 1100, but I would bet the 'easy way' is to do it by the book. Honda did a great job of hiding the components of these bikes that have problems. IIRC, there is a highly regarded carb rebuilder in Texas(?) Should you decide to have someone else do a thorough job, you can probably find his name in other threads or someone will chime in.
Click to expand...
Mine needed cleaning since the PO had let the bike sit significantly. I don't have time to tackle this right now and sent mine out . Mine just came back from Billy's Outback in TX. Won't be firing the bike up for awhile being Feb in Wisconsin and all, so i can't comment on the final product yet. They did a great job of keeping me informed on progress throughout. ST isn't listed, but they do rebuilds on them. http://billysoutback.com/
 
The Dan said:
Try tapping (hit it) the #1 carb to dislodge the needle from the seat. Thats what it sounds like to me. There is also a drain on the bottom of the carb you can open to see if there is fuel in it.
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The main jet needle is free. I can watch it float with the application of throttle. However Reading all this leads me to believe my float needle is stuck. I'll give the carb a couple good whacks and dump some Sea Foam in before I proceed with the carb removal. Because my isolators are likely original and hard as a rock!!!! Maybe I'll get lucky. ;)
 
I haven't had an ST1100 for years, and I never needed to touch the carburetors when I did, so I don't know how easy it is to access the idle mixture screw with the carburetors installed. If it can be removed in-situ remove it and, using a reasonable amount of pressure, blow a couple of shots of compressed air in through the orifice. You may get lucky.

This was a common trick that was often used on cars years ago when they had carburetors and had fuel problems, especially a rough idle. Sometimes you get lucky and the air blast dislodges whatever was causing an obstruction in the circuit, or, depending on the design, can sometimes unseat a stuck needle valve. Definitely no guarantees, but if the screw is accessible, its costs nothing to try, and therefore there isn't much to loose.
 
Andrew Shadow said:
I haven't had an ST1100 for years, and I never needed to touch the carburetors when I did, so I don't know how easy it is to access the idle mixture screw with the carburetors installed. If it can be removed in-situ remove it and, using a reasonable amount of pressure, blow a couple of shots of compressed air in through the orifice. You may get lucky.

This was a common trick that was often used on cars years ago when they had carburetors and had fuel problems, especially a rough idle. Sometimes you get lucky and the air blast dislodges whatever was causing an obstruction in the circuit, or, depending on the design, can sometimes unseat a stuck needle valve. Definitely no guarantees, but if the screw is accessible, its costs nothing to try, and therefore there isn't much to loose.
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Be really careful doing this. It is east to collapse or rupture a float using compressed air.
 
Get yourself a very long JIS screwdriver. You will need it to loosen the lower carb boot clamps to allow for carb removal.
 
streetfighter st said:
The main jet needle is free. I can watch it float with the application of throttle. However Reading all this leads me to believe my float needle is stuck. I'll give the carb a couple good whacks and dump some Sea Foam in before I proceed with the carb removal. Because my isolators are likely original and hard as a rock!!!! Maybe I'll get lucky. ;)
Click to expand...
The Seafoam won't make it into the carb if the fuel doesn't flow through it. You will need to open the float bowl drain to move some out and then in.
 
streetfighter st said:
Is there an "easy " way to pull the carbs
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It is easier to pop the carbs off when the rubber intakes are warm, so run the engine for a few minutes prior to removal. I use a Hockey stick to gently pry off the carbs, others use a broom handle.
As mentioned new carb boots will make the installation task easier. Warm them up with a hairdryer prior to instalation.
 
I've always loosened both the upper and lower clamps on each boot to allow whichever part of the boot can break free first. The carbs are tough to get loose if they've been on there for many years.
 
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