How to Boil a Carburetor
by Cassandra Tribe
If your car has been sitting for a long time, you may want to consider cleaning the carburetor. Spray-on carburetor cleaners are good, but if your carburetor has mineral deposits on it, you need to learn how to boil a carburetor. There are two ways to boil a carburetor. Most mechanics immediately jump to the second technique described here, but some mineral deposits will come off using the first bath technique and there will be no need for you to use chemicals.
Step 1
Heat the distilled water until it is boiling.
Step 2
Put on the rubber gloves and lower your carburetor into the boiling water. Let sit for ½ hour, maintaining a constant boiling temperature. Remove the carburetor.
Step 3
Blow the carburetor dry with compressed air, make sure all bolt holes and tube connections are dry. Examine the carburetor, if you see any mineral deposits left, go on to the next step. If the mineral deposits are gone, re-install your carburetor.
Step 4
Fill a plastic bottle with 1 gallon of carburetor cleaner of other type of heavy duty chemical tool cleaner. Wearing plastic gloves, submerge the carburetor completely in the cleaner. Wait 20 minutes and remove the carburetor.
Step 5
Wipe the carburetor dry with a clean rag, when you have dried it as much as possible with a rag, use compressed air to complete the drying. Look to see if the mineral deposits are gone, if they are not, repeat the chemical bath.
Tips
- Disassemble the carburetor completely as if preparing for a rebuild and boil the parts separately; this way you can get the carburetor as clean as possible.
Things You'll Need
- Large metal pot
- 5 quarts distilled water
- Industrial rubber gloves
- Compressed air
- Large plastic bucket (if necessary)
- 1 gallon carburetor cleaner
- Cloth rags
Warnings
- Do not leave a carburetor in either bath for longer than the times stated or you run the risk of removing the top finish off the metal body, allowing for corrosion.
Writer Bio
Cassandra Tribe has worked in the construction field for over 17 years and has experience in a variety of mechanical, scientific, automotive and mathematical forms. She has been writing and editing for over 10 years. Her areas of interest include culture and society, automotive, computers, business, the Internet, science and structural engineering and implementation.
