[indygreg]

I AM IN THE PROCESS OF CLEANING UP THE CARBS ON MY 96 ZRT 600, AND 2 OF THE THREE CHOKE PLUNGERS ARE FROZE UP SOLID. I HAVE HAD THEM SOAKING IN SEAFOAM AND HAVE BEEN SPRAYING CARB CLEANER FOR 2 DAYS AND THEY WON'T BUDGE. ANYBODY HAVE ANY THOUGHTS?

 

[BC_Dan]

Maybe try some compressed air on the fuel passage that goes to the bottom of the plunger? Watch your eyes...

 

[srut700rmk]

Can you open the 3 to one cable concecter piece. maybe the cable is stuck at a diffrent location.

 

[Ultra680]

Using WD40 or PB blaster usually works, but also had luck with really bad carbs setting up a gallon paint can with a quality carb cleaner and soaking the carbs for several days.

 

[indygreg]

Opening the 3-in-1 piece would be a moot point, since the event that brought on the cleaning was that when I bought the sled, the choke lever was broke off! I figured it would be no big deal to change it..... I should really know better than to know it's NEVER no big deal, eh?!?! Anyway, I cut the choke cables, since I am/was replacing it/them anyway. I have been pouring SeaFoam down into the top and spraying carb cleaner in through the port, but no luck. I will keep at it and see what happens, I have been assured by many people more experienced than I am that eventually it will come free (1 guy claims to have cleaned & rebuilt 1000's of carbs and never lost one due to a stuck plunger, so I have hope!) I do have a compresser so I can try shooting air in. How hard can I get away with tapping with a hammer? Maybe some gentle taps would break the plunger loose?
What is PB blaster? I have never heard of that one before....
Thanks!
Greg (strange that a guy named indygreg would have a ZiRT, eh?)

 

[arcticcatmatt]

So the threaded part came out ok I am assuming. Just the plunger is stuck.

I was going to say try heat, but you could explode yourself.

So, I will agree with the soaking part above.

 

[scubaguy5]

pb blaster works pretty good use needle nose plyers to pull the plunger up and out if it wont come let it soak for a day it will eventually come out don't use a hammer it will distort the housing and junk the carb

 

[indygreg]

BOUGHT SOME PB BLASTER LAST NIGHT AND SOAKED IT, AND THEY STILL WOULDN'T BUDGE THIS MORNING. I WILL KEEP AT IT AND SEE WHAT HAPPENS....
THANKS

 

[sportnut]

CRC battery cleaner. I used WD40 and PB blaster with good luck but then I had one that was really stuck nothing worked so I went to my local sledshop/marina and they recommended it and it worked great - soaked it over nite and it came out the next day!

 

[indygreg]

Hey sportnut, I am gonna give it a shot. The PB Blaster has been on for 24 hours and nothing yet. I will keep you posted, nad I sure appreciate all the help!
Thanks!

 

[Riley]

Greg the last time I worked on a sled that had the chokes froze like that I finally decided it was either going to come out or the cable was going to brake. Give it a good pull it will come those cables are pretty strong. Riley

 

[jhsledhed]

I have had the same problem and broke the cable right off of the plunger! I have had them come off after soaking and I have had them come off after i broke the cable and just worked with a pliers and busted them out! Good Luck. Man I don't miss carbs at all.[]

 

[arcticcatmatt]

Originally posted by indygreg
[br]Hey sportnut, I am gonna give it a shot. The PB Blaster has been on for 24 hours and nothing yet. I will keep you posted, nad I sure appreciate all the help!
Thanks!

well now its december 2nd.. whats the status of those bastids

 

[indygreg]

Tried battery cleaner and that did nothing. I was going to tear them apart today and get them soaking completely in a can full of carb cleaner, but got carried away hanging Christmas lights with my 4 year old. So they are still sitting in a box in the garage and I keep spraying PB Blaster at them and letting it puddle up on top and soak, and they are tilted in the box so that I can spray down the air intake port and soak that way. Tomorrow, when I get home from an auction where I will probably end up buying a 2-up for the wife and afore-mentioned 4-year-old, I am going with Riley's idea- they are either coming out or the cable will break (or the top of the plunger, I suppose). I also have a guy in Chicago who is mailing me a set for $35.00, if all else fails. The have been sitting in his garage and will need to be cleaned, but I should be able to get three good ones with 6 to pick from!!!!!
Thanks guys, I'll keep you posted.....
Greg

 

[arcticcatmatt]

^ You got it buddy.. yank.. if they break you can drill them out and then buy some new plungers maybe.. still cheaper then 35 bucks.

Also, if you heat the aluminum up.. they should come out.

heat the alum up so it expands, and yank on that cable. But you have to do it before the heat gets to them plungers fully. Know what I mean?

 

[indygreg]

Well, I yanked and yanked and had no luck.... That really sounds strange, eh? Anyway, I went out and bought a gallon of the soaking solution and have them in there soaking right now. It burned the [email protected] out of my hands, so hopefully it'll chew up the corrosion. I put the one that did come apart in there first for the recommended soak time of 20 minutes and the parts looked brand new when I pulled them out, so I'll check the other two out tomorrow after work, that'll be 24 hours in the bath- hopefully long enough. If that doesn't work, the torch is next. Since I have almost $50.00 into all these different cleaners, I am really starting to feel cheap about this deal- should I reuse the bowl gaskets? The needle & seat and everything else that would come in the rebuild kit looks fine, and reuseable, but I don't normally reuse gaskets. I hate to be cheap, but the gaskets seem fine also. Thoughts?

 

[TimR]

I just dealt with this same issue last night. My plungers were corroded in so badly I had to drill them out. You can carefully remove enough material with a drill that you can get a needle nose in there and pull the chunks out. Clean up the corrosion with a dremel and jewelers rouge. Solvents aren't going to cut through the corrosion.

Tim

 

[indygreg]

TimR, that is not good news! The carbs have been soaking inside the house where it's warm for 2 days now, I am going to give them one more shot before drilling. I pulled so hard on the cables the other night that they broke, so I don't have much hope left. Anyway, I should be getting the above-mentioned $35.00 set in the mail Thursday or Friday, so I'll have 6 to play with over the weekend. I would really like to get it running so I can "perfume" the garage! Thanks for all the input, I'll keep ya posted.....
Greg

 

[Luke]

I have an idea. Drill like an 3/16 or so hole down into the plungers to use an easy-out. Tap in the easy-out with a hammer, and while you try to twist out the plunger, tap on the plunger with a hammer. Maybe the combination of the twisting and impact forces combined will knock them loose.

Good luck

 

[indygreg]

Well, I have given up! I got a set of three carbs in the mail today from a dude around Chicago, took them home and cleaned them up, and they are getting the jets from the ones I took off and going into service. I will keep putzing with the stuck ones, trying the e-z out trick and if that doesn't work, I'll drill them and see if I can get them out. At least I'll have a running sled if we get any snow. Thanks to all for the input, I tried my best! As a sidenote, B-12 ChemDip by Berryman is a great product to use for soaking carbs- they came out looking brand new.