Can I grease the rubber carb couplers?

So i've got an 81 yamaha 550 seca that i'm doing the carbs on for the first time. The rubber couplers were a big pain in the ass to remove. Any reason I can't put a little grease around the inside of them so the slip off easier in the future?

 

Any lube will work. I use silicone spray on mine when installing carbs.

 

silicone grease is recommended as it doesn't degrade the rubber- also used on rubber brake parts. Plumbers use it on waste fittings.

 

What they said

 

Hairdryer. Warm the boots up and they are easy to get on and off.

 

KY jelly?

 

That would take care of both the lubrication and the warming. I think we have a winner. He should probably make sure those rubbers aren't too old and cracked though.

 

I use a hot air gun, and a light smear of motor oil. They pop right in.

Dave

 

KY Jelly hahaha

Thanks for the info guys. Hairdryer and motor oil it is.

 

So uh, i've been working on the carbs and the float valve assembly is stuck. Manual shows it being removed with just some needle nose pliers but mine sure as shit ain't coming out. Any tips on getting it out?

 

Bacon grease <---

 

Yellow.... There's an o-ring down in there that is all gummed and stuck. Some carefully applied heat from a very small torch will warm it enough to temporarily soften/loosen it.

 

nevermind.

 

Will do, thanks hog!

 

Let me know if you need help

 

Tried a little heat, still stuck pretty good. Plus I sure messed up the outside of it. Think It might be slightly ovaled now too. Or I could just be seeing things. Either way I ordered a replacement but still have to get this one out.
What about cutting a slot across it with my dremel and then using a screw driver to twist it around and break it free?

 

You need to get the rubber to soften up,and the dried/gummed gas to soften, too

 

Best smelling bike ever...

 

Took convincing with some vice grips but finally got the little buggers out. Holy crap i'm glad i'm changing them. The amount of gunk built up behind them is unreal.

http://i.imgur.com/7r8ZTlL.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/shZcAwj.jpg

 

That^^^ is why you want an inline fuel filter. Those screens don't catch everything.

 

Yes I will definitely be investing in one.
Also there is a bunch of crap in the bottom of my tank, what's the best way to clean it out? Just pull the petcock and flush with fresh gas?

 

if you have that much crap on the screen side of the oring your carbs are full of sludge
you need to break down the rack and flush the shit out of the fuel rail passage, the ends of the fuel connectors where they fit into the carbs could be pluged

 

use kerosene or diesel fuel less flamable I use BB's to loosen the crud and rust with diesel seal and shake and shake , have my friends shake it drain and do it again
bb's are copper coated steel and you will have to remove them with a magnet
i use an expantion plug in the gas filler hole grease it it is a tight fit

 

I already soaked them overnight and cleared out all the passages with compressed air. I'm confident the fuel inlet passages are clean and clear. I plugged the inlet and made sure I could get flow from 1 to 4 no problem. Everything seems pretty damn clean to me. Just have to finish re-assembling everything. Should I use a little silicone grease when installing bowl gaskets?

Thanks for the tip on the BB's!

 

gasket sealer on bowl side and oil on the carb side, sil grease should be ok on the carb side too.

 

Great thanks!
And what's the consensus of swapping hardware to stainless socket caps? Good idea bad idea? I wasn't crazy about everything being phillips head.

 

SS will bind to aluminium if left untouched to long make sure you use antisieze paste or blue loctite on all of them. I have started buying allen socket hardware from Homedepot on line
nice selection and a better quality and price then my local hardware stores. you can pick it up or they will ship to your house.

I got some nice button head cap screws for the bowls not stainless but made for outdoor use with the claim not to rust