gjmjoe017

My Feedback: (1)

I have a OS .46 AX that has not been used in awhile and the carb is frozen stuck.I can see the glow fuel around the edges where it opens and closes.What would be good to put in there to free it up and dissolve the old glow fuel.The cylinder is fine and she flips over ok,just the carb.

carrellh

You could probably soak it in a small jar of fuel for a little while to free it up.

Clint H

My Feedback: (1)

Edit: Carrell, you beat me to it!

Take the carb off, and soak it in some fresh fuel for 5-10 minutes. Most likely what is gumming it up is the old castor oil. The fresh fuel should dissolve it. Also, if you haven't removed a carb before, be careful not to tighten the bolt for the carb down too tightly when you reinstall it or you could crack the throat.

If it is rusted closed, and the new fuel doesn't seem to have an effect, try removing the barrel from the carb. I believe on this engine it only involves removing the idle stop screw and pulling the barrel out.

-Clint

Rodney

It might be a simple as adding a little heat. If you have a heat gun, heat up the throttle barrell area and then gently work the arm back and fourth. I think you will soon find it will break free. If it doesn't, try the soaking in alcohol or fuel for a bit then try the heat again. The heat will soften the castor oil film and let it move.

carrellh

I usually type so slowly that two or three people get their answer in before I'm done.

gjmjoe017

My Feedback: (1)

Thanks for all the great suggestions.I will try all of them!!!!!

gjmjoe017

My Feedback: (1)

Well,it wasn't gummed up too bad,shot some fuel in the carb and let it sit for a 15 min.and she's working like new.Thanks guys.

piper_chuck

My Feedback: (12)

I'd remove the needles, turn them in first so you can count how many turns you need to get them back to the original setting, and clean them. Also run some fuel or alcohol through the spray bar to clean it out.

Clint H

My Feedback: (1)

Glad to hear it!
It would be a good idea to check the needles as Piper Chuck recommended. The last thing you want is a deadstick right after take-off because a 1 mm piece of dried castor blocked the fuel from the carb (I know what you're thinking, and no, this has never happened to me!)

-Clint

Capt. Bill

If I haven't run my engines in a while I always let the engine run for a few minutes on the ground before taking off.

ron ward

Piper chuck's advice is right on. most times if the carb is stiff as you claim, the needles/metering slots and air bleed holes will usually be clogged. those areas are so small (especially the idle metering needle and hole, that normal soaking doesn't always clear them out. take the needles out of the carb to let the soaking fuel get in where it really needs to get.

Capt. Bill

Which is preferable for soaking? Fuel or isopropyl alcohol?

scale only 4 me

My Feedback: (158)

I always try fuel first,, it's always worked

Alcohol typically is cut with water,,, water bad for bearings

ron ward

I don't think the alcohol in fuel is isopropyl,....it's methanol.......wood alcohol. the stuff alcohol burning dragsters and race cars use. my son and I used to race karts that burned it in modified briggs motors. we added some castor or synthetic lube to that also to help lube the top end because alky washes everything down. water does methanol no good at all.

Stick 40

after getting it running and it may not run very well, try some Star Tron in you fuel mix. its good with plastic, alum. 2 cyl, 4 cycle.

I am using it in my small engines , lawn mower, etc. it seemed to so well I tried in my glow fuel. my engines ( 4cyl. as well ) are running better than ever. I think it helps clean out the varnish we get from our glow fuel.

you can get it in several mix's, I get the one that does 48 gal. and use about 5 ml. in a gal. of fuel.

good luck with the engine.

sticks

Capt. Bill

Racing fuel is either methanol or ethanol. While not as good as a fuel as gasoline, alcohol is not volatile as gasoline and therefore safer if there is a crash.

jaka

Hi!
A much faster way is to heat it up with a warm air gun and then use some oil (any oil).

Gray Beard

My Feedback: (-1)

Just as Jaka says, heat it with your covering gun, work it loose then splash it with some Marvel Mystery oil. Once you fire the engine it gets hotter and melts the nasty old castor oil. It's the nitro in the fuel that breaks down the castor so it can take forever to get the carb loosened up.

ron ward

that's interesting,...I never thought of using heat to soften the bean oil. Marvel makes a good after run lube for alky engines. when we were racing karts, we mixed a bit with gas in a small bottle and used it is our after run lube flusher for the alky kart engines. obviously the alky engines ran terrible on gas, but it flushed the carb of alky so it didn't accumulate the jet plugging residue that evaporating alcohol makes.

ron ward

never heard of alcohol racing fuel being ethanol. ethanol is added to gas for pollution purposes, but it produces allot of water when burned,..... that's not quite the same as the methanol race cars use. methanol actually needs to be metered at 3 to 1 compared to gas to produce the same power as gas, but burns dryer and needs to have some lubricant added to it to lube the valves and guides. castor was very commonly used, just the same as our fuels for the airplanes. it cools the upper engine as it is used and that produces a more dense mix, producing more power. on a hot day, the carbs on these karts would actually be coated with frost after a 6 lap heat or practice laps and despite head temps being in the 450 degree range, the carbs would be cool to the touch.

Capt. Bill

In 2005, the IRL used 100 percent methanol in their tanks. The fuel worked well and was more efficient than straight gasoline, but IRL officials believed there was room for improvement. In 2006, they moved to a 10 percent blend of ethanol and methanol, which was then changed to 100 percent ethanol for the 2007 season.

The desire to use only ethanol aside, 100 percent ethanol is nearly impossible to obtain, and is illegal to keep without paying hefty taxes that date back to prohibition. The actual fuel used by the IRL is a blend of about 98 percent ethanol and 2 percent denaturant. The exact composition includes a small amount of high-octane racing fuel. The fuel for today's Indy cars has an octane rating of 113, compared with methanol's 107. This means a significant reduction in pre-ignition, or knocking and pinging.

ron ward

and an increase in ignition intensity requirements. I would think at 113 octane, it takes quite bit if a jolt to light it, compared to methanol or any typical gasoline. the real reason they went to ethanol, is because they were able to make ignition systems that would light it up reliably and the ethanol responded better to typical pressures and volumetric densities found in a turbo-charged engine. It also doesn't ignite as easily as other fuels when not compressed, so it safer in a crash that compromises the fuel cell. i'm not sure, but i'll bet that about the only place you'll see ethanol as racing fuel, is in the IRL. most every other form of racing that uses "alcohol", uses methanol.