Carb cleaning question

How in the world can I get this carb cleaned? This gray stuff in the
bowl is some sort of gasket maker or an attempt at making a gasket,
because there was no gasket or sign of gasket in there but there is
this goop all around the edges when I broke it loose, same stuff that’s
all through the carb. I left carb cleaner in it over two nights, and the
crap still isn’t softening up. Got a full kit on the bench, but no use
going through it if I can’t get it cleaned up. Bought this tractor
(Farmall C) as a non-runner, easy to see why. Gets good spark and
the compression checks good, so here we are.

Blast cabinet using glass beads media.

looks like corrosion to me.

I use an old crock pot filled with pinesol and cook it overnight.

looks like you just took it apart. need to soak it in gunk overnight. what kind of carb cleaner you talking about? plus the venture is still in it.

I’ll give the cockpot idea a shot, I have an old one in the shop I use to
preheat shaft bearings that I can try.

Just separated it, two days ago and soaked the bowl both nights. Haven’t started pulling the internals out yet.

Yepper, a little cabinet time is needed.

Looks more like it has sat with water in it.

Try some muriatic acid. Soak it for a short time, keep a watch on it, don't leave it. Keep pulling it out and rinsing it every few minutes.

How is the gas tank? Good chance it is a rusty mess.

Wire end brush with drill will make it shine in minutes. Brushes have a 1/4" shaft and come in sizes from 1/4" to 1 1/2" width.

Ultrasonic cleaner?

Soak it in acetone

(quoted from post at 22:06:07 10/01/20) How in the world can I get this carb cleaned? This gray stuff in the
bowl is some sort of gasket maker or an attempt at making a gasket,
because there was no gasket or sign of gasket in there but there is
this goop all around the edges when I broke it loose, same stuff that s
all through the carb. I left carb cleaner in it over two nights, and the
crap still isn t softening up. Got a full kit on the bench, but no use
going through it if I can t get it cleaned up. Bought this tractor
(Farmall C) as a non-runner, easy to see why. Gets good spark and the compression checks good, so here we are.

<img src="https://www.yesterdaystractors.com/cvphotos/cvphoto57970.jpg">

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Looks as though it sat with ethanol laced gas in it.

IM Hankey, what sort of test told you that it is gasket material? From here it looks like oxide from oxidation of the pot metal from standing water. As Steve noted the way to remove it is with acid. Solvents will do virtually nothing. As Steve said go at it in steps try ten minutes. If no change go to an hour, etc.

Good post ,please tell us how you are doing . I don’t know if any one ask how’s the entire fuel system ?
That white stuff come alcohol doesn’t it ? I seen it in small engine carburetors.
I have a C with that carburetor , make sure you ream out idle circuit bore with .04 diameter by hand , or it will not idle and the ports above the throttle valve must be open, test with air hose . That what I suggest, I like the carbs , I going as far as bush the throttle shaft to maximize performance, then vacuum gage to detection of problems and final tune.
I like the advice I get ,and parts from McDonald in Georgia,good luck . I’ll stop there good luck

No test, just noticed the same looking stuff around the seam before I opened it up, and it was stuck together fairly well, had to tap around it a little to break it loose, and there were zero signs of any
typical gasket in there. Said it hadn't been run in two years, one of the rears went flat and they let it sit. It held air long enough to winch up on the trailer without ruining the sidewall, so I brought it
home and fixed the tire, and went to troubleshooting the no start. Obviously, this carb has issues, even if that turns out to not be the only problem. Going to try some of these suggestions one at a time and
see if I can't bring it around.

Do you have a product down there called CLR? I think that might do the job on it but watch it carefully, don't drop it in and then leave on holidays for a week.
CLR ..... great stuff

Lots of good advise and methods given, the main thing you need to do is use a water base cleaner to soften/remove the oxidation.

Solvent does not work well on dirt, mud, oxidation, rust etc.

Water does not do much on grease, oil, tar etc.

But just like washing your hands, warm up the water add a little soap and it does wonders.

My method uses an old 3 gallon pot on a hotplate outside the shop.

A gallon or so of water is usually enough to cover everything, to this I would add some of the old school rad flush.

Problem is the rad flush they make now is not like the old stuff that I finally ran out of it so I looked into what the active ingredient was in it.

Oxalic acid was the secret ingredient so I searched for a product that contains it.

Barkeepers friend contains oxalic acid and is easy to find so to the gallon of water I dump in a half a can of the stuff.

Let it come to a boil then check it every half hour or so until it looks good.

I have never destroyed any steel, aluminum, pot metal or brass though if left long enough I suppose anything is possible.

Once it looks good I remove it and put it into a solution of water and baking soda to neutralize any remaining acid then finally flush with clean water.

I once tried to dismantle a nasty looking old Marvel Schebler that had sat outside for 30 plus years.
After snapping the heads off a few screws I decided to boil it out for a while.
The rest of the screws came right out and the broken off remains of the damaged screws I was able to unscrew with my fingers.

Well being old school carb rebuilder and do carbs for the local natives i still use old school stuff . I have some of the OLD EPA NOT FRIENDLY carb cleaner that will take off about 98% of anything that has come across my bench . And for the 2% that it will not touch then glass beads , Dremal and wire brushes .

oxalic acid is also called wood bleach. look for savogran wood bleach at ace hardware.

Blast it with baking soda.

(quoted from post at 08:28:55 10/02/20) Well being old school carb rebuilder and do carbs for the local natives i still use old school stuff . I have some of the OLD EPA NOT FRIENDLY carb cleaner that will take off about 98% of anything that has come across my bench . And for the 2% that it will not touch then glass beads , Dremal and wire brushes .

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Tractor vet, the use of acid, whether it is phosphoric, oxalic, lactic, or vinegar, to remove virtually any oxide predates carburetor cleaner by thousands of years. I think that makes it old school.