Removing stripped idle jet

[tombrcc]

After getting some water in my gas a while back, my idle jet got clogged with some gunk so I removed the carburetor for a quick cleaning. Disassembly was easy but it looks like previous owner stripped the idle jet. I soaked the entire assembly in carb cleaner then ran a bit of fishing line through the jet to push out any gunk. Put everything back together and the engine is running great. But....

I don't like the idea of having the damaged jet in there and plan to rebuild the carb when I expect to have some down time, any advice on how to extract the idle jet so I can install a new one?

[tenders]

I had the same problem, except the carb wasn’t working correctly, and ended up replacing the carb to avoid the possibility of an imperfect fix and more downtime in season. Years later I decided to give the old carb a look again and positively mangled the idle jet trying to get it out.

If your jet is intact and operational, I wouldn’t worry about it until you need to worry about it - which could be decades, if you keep your filters clean and use stabilized fuel.

[Wisakedjack]

I have the same issue with my idle jet. The slot is damaged and I can't get it out. I've been cleaning it in place. But now I am really curious whether there is a way to get it out. Aside from taking the carb to a machine shop that is...

[tenders]

The jet is soft brass and will easily drill out starting with small bits. That’s the good news.

However, the bad news is that the surrounding metal is soft aluminum, also easily drilled.

I found cruddy white corrosion in the threads of mine and had no confidence that I could separate the brass from the aluminum and the corrosion precisely enough that a replacement jet would thread in reliably. It was not a simple EZ-Out situation, a state that I in fact have never experienced. Maybe a machinist could work some magic but it didn’t seem worth the investment. And then, for me there was the risk that something else in the carb was what had been out of tolerance in the first place and would require further, perhaps infinite, fiddling.

It just seemed as though a series of things would have to go pretty right for the carb to work properly again. So I abandoned ship.

Yes, it annoys me that there is a carb in a box in my basement that is 99% wonderful, but that last 1% is not worth pursuing.

[ndutton]

Replacement time

There comes a time when it has served its useful life

[Wisakedjack]

May be its just me, but it kinda bugs me that whole carburetor has to be replaced just because one tiny jet can not be extracted

[Dave Neptune]

Jet removal?

Guys, remember the jet is the smallest orifice in the fuel stream so with a good air gun the jets passages can be blown free of gunk and debris in the passages by blowing through the jet in both directions. Unless the carb is really really bad from gunk removal of the jets may be not necessary. Once the jets have been sprayed with carb cleaner and poked with soft wire the debris should just blow out the passage one way or another.
I feel that there is entirely to much "carb rebuilding" on this site and not near enough "fuel supply maintenance". The most important thing with these carbs is sealing the emulsion well and setting of the float. The rest of the carb is simple and easy to "blow" out!

There is really not much need to remove the jets anyway and if one is stuck and the carb is OK just leave it and use the poke and blow. Don't forget that the thread integrity of the jet and housing form a seal to make any fuel going into a passage has all "come through" the jet!

Dave Neptune

[capnward]

I have never used an EZ out on something that small, but I think it would work with the right size tool, lubrication, and good technique. Damaging the aluminum threads around the idle jet is to be avoided. Good to have a spare carb at 99% that can be made to 100%. I didn't have an air gun, so removed the jet, saw the crud that carb cleaner couldn't remove, and dislodged it with a thin wire. I couldn't see the partial obstruction until I removed the jet and looked through it against daylight. The crud was barely visible in the jet, but was keeping the engine from idling. Probably crud can be removed with a wire with the jet in place, but you won't see if crud is there or not. You won't know if you fixed it until you reassemble everything. I liked to see the crud in the jet, then to see it gone. Filing down a screwdriver to fit the jet perfectly should help keep you from mangling it. Leave it in place unless there is an idling problem, which may be caused by something else. Dave is right about fuel supply maintenance being the basic problem. It would be nice to be able to purchase a new idle jet separately.

[AndyK]

Stripped idle jet comments

This is my first time ever commenting on any forum. I found you all when checking, like Alex, what to do with a stripped idle jet. I set out to rebuild a 1978 A4 carburetor. As it is I ground a special screwdriver and still messed up the idle jet. Like Alex I was bothered and didn’t get this far to leave it. So I’m reporting that I started with 1/16 bit and went up by 64ths to 3/32 and managed to extract it with an EZ. Out ( A cheap Harbor Freight EZ out to boot). I confess , have a fair amount of experience extracting broken bolts. The jet actually helps you with the hole down the center to stay centered which is better that just trying to center a hole in a small broken bolt. Before I started I counseled myself with these observations. 1.) I could always buy a new carb even if I didn’t want too. 2.) The threads on the jet measured a standard 8/32. Therefore if it wouldn't come out I could drill out to a #29 and retap to remove the remaining brass. ( Though It may be necessary to reshape the end of a standard tap to do this)
That’s my experience confirming some of the suggestions above. Perhaps I just got lucky…I’ll admit I wasn’t expecting such good results.
Cheers and thanks for your input via the forum