how hard is it to remove the carb on an 07 wr250?

[Riderdown]

i'm thinking i need to clean the carb out and would like to know if there is a way to clean it while in the bike, or how hard is it to get it out? i know it's probably not possible, but if i spray carb cleaner in the slide area, will it just drain out through the needle opening and into the bowl? then i can remove all jets and clean them, is this possible?

[William1]

If the carb needs to be cleaned, then removal is the right thing to do. Carb cleaner sprayed in the throat just won't cut it.

[Charlie755]

William1 could you give him advice on how to remove the carb? I think that was his first question. I would assume its the same as a YZ250F but dont want to give him bad info if I'm wrong.

[Riderdown]

William1 could you give him advice on how to remove the carb? I think that was his first question. I would assume its the same as a YZ250F but dont want to give him bad info if I'm wrong.

your right charlie755, as i was posting i started to wonder if it could be done a different way, but my original intent was to find out if there are any "things to watch out for" or "don't do this or this will happen and your screwed". is there a way to leave the hot start and throttle cables connected and do this? how far do i have to go for this thing to be considered clean? my plan was to take it out and just clean the slide area, bowl and clean the jets, is there anything else that should be done?

[Charlie755]

The easiest way to clean the carb is to remove it from the bike. It is easier to remove the hotstart from the carb. this will also give you an oppertunity to clean the hotstart plunger and lube it. Removing the hotstart and the throttle cables are pretty easy to do. Do you have the oem manual for the bike? If so it has a very well detailed daigram of the carb. Dont quote me on this but it shouldnt take to much to remove the carb. Maybe a bit more than you might expect but once you do it several times its not so bad. First I remove the seat and gas tank. Then I remove the subframe by loosening the clamp that holds the air boot to the carb, loosen the clamp that holds the head pipe to the exhaust, then remove the 3 subframe bolts and pull the whole subframe assembly off as one piece. Note on your WR you may have some wiring for the rear light, battery, and some hoses for the overflow coolant reservior to disconnect. Not sure on those though. Remove the rear shock and then remove the head stays. (right below the tank) They are the aluminum pieces that mount the head to the frame and there are 2 upper outer (one on each side of the frame) 2 inside the frame one above the other, and the last one mounts to the frame and it is theonly one that is a 14 mil. The rest are 12 mil and all but one are located on the right side of the bike. Once all of that is removed you should be able to remove the hotstart, throttle cables and carb with nothing in the way. I know it sounds like a lot of work but I can normally have all of this stuff off along with the carb in about 15 minutes. I hope this helps.

[William1]

First, it is so much less frustrating to bite the bullet and remove the carb. Place a clean towel on your work bech, and take it apart. Small marts will not roll off to a engine recess, never to be seen again. Even though a complete removal seems like more work, it is not.

To remove the carb

1) pull the seat and shrouds, remove the fuel tank

2) Remove the muffler, gently and carefully

3) Remove the throttle cables and hot stat cable

4) Remove the three subframe bolts

5) Remove the clamping band at the airboot to the carb

6) Loosen the band from the manifold to the carb

7) Remove the carb and service it (in some cases, removing the shock is needed, but not on all bikes).

Re-install is the reverse, mostly. Once the carb is back on the manifold, you want to work the airboot completely back on the carb (check all around it to ensure it is fully on and not folded) and clamp it, then re-attach the subframe. Recheck the airbot, perhaps, loosen the band and give the airboot an additional shove on to make sure it is fully seated.

Takes me about 10 minuted to pull the carb, maybe 15 to re-install it.

[beezer]

I wouldn't take the carb out. Taking the carb off an aluminum WR is alot of work. You can get to everything with the carb still on the bike. If you think you have crud in your float bowl just remove the drain plug and turn the gas on for a second or 3.

[clrwatrtom]

Go with William's advice. every time it tried to service my carb on the bike, i dropped something and it took me more time to find it than it would have to remove the carb. Sorry Beezer, but i think ou gave him bad advice

Good Luck!

tom

[beezer]

I guess it all depends on who is doing the wrenching.

There are all kinds of cables, hoses, wires that have to be dealt with if you pull the carb.

If someone has big fat fingers or is clumsy you can't do it my way.

I'd rather be riding or drinking very cheap beer than messing with a dirty carb anyway.

[Riderdown]

I wouldn't take the carb out. Taking the carb off an aluminum WR is alot of work. You can get to everything with the carb still on the bike. If you think you have crud in your float bowl just remove the drain plug and turn the gas on for a second or 3.

the dirt is mainly in the slide area.

[Charlie755]

the dirt is mainly in the slide area.

Look at it closely. There is a coating on the slide itself. I would still recommend removing the carb from the bike. I am pretty anal about bike maintenance and if you remove it you can go through the entire carb and be sure that all is well. Just my opinion.

[William1]

If the slide is dirty and you feel compelled to clean it, you can easily remove the slide through the top of the carb.

Remove the cap, then the needle. Carefully remove the svrew that attaches the slide to the 'fingers'. Rotate the throttle to get the fingers to clear the slide, gently remove it. Be careful you do not loose a wheel (only one is fixed). Pay close attantion to the position of the vacuum release plate and seal. Do not use any lube on any of the parts other than fuel. Install is the reverse. Once installed, ensure the slide goes fully up and does not jam and that in the down position, it can go further down by lowering the idle via the knob.

[Charlie755]

If the slide is dirty and you feel compelled to clean it, you can easily remove the slide through the top of the carb.

Remove the cap, then the needle. Carefully remove the svrew that attaches the slide to the 'fingers'. Rotate the throttle to get the fingers to clear the slide, gently remove it. Be careful you do not loose a wheel (only one is fixed). Pay close attantion to the position of the vacuum release plate and seal. Do not use any lube on any of the parts other than fuel. Install is the reverse. Once installed, ensure the slide goes fully up and does not jam and that in the down position, it can go further down by lowering the idle via the knob.

Hey William1 dont you think it would be a good idea for him to completly remove the carb to do this? I am thinking if there is dirt in the slide area he may flush some of that dirt into other area's of the carb not as easily accessed without just completly tearing the carb all the way apart. Also if removing the slide be careful when removing the screw that holds the slide to the shaft that you dont strip the head out. It is loc tited in.

[William1]

Well, if it were me, yup, I pull the carb and give it a good cleaning, I'd also pull the airboot off and clean it.

Keep in mind, if there really is dirt (vs darkened hydrocarbons) on the slide, you may have been passing dust. Dust will kill your valves so a valve clearance check is also called for.

BTW, just call me Will

[Riderdown]

Well, if it were me, yup, I pull the carb and give it a good cleaning, I'd also pull the airboot off and clean it.

Keep in mind, if there really is dirt (vs darkened hydrocarbons) on the slide, you may have been passing dust. Dust will kill your valves so a valve clearance check is also called for.

BTW, just call me Will

i intend to pull the carb. what led to me checking the carb was a valve check. i have an 08 and 07 wr 250's, the 07 has 109 hours the 08 has 38 hours. i check the valves on both every 20 hours. me and my son did a race that was unbelievably dusty, the oil from these bikes was a grayish brown. i found both bikes to need the middle intake shimmed, which is real odd with one having 109 and the other only 38 hours. i also found it odd that both, when taking the top cap off that shows the needle, were eqauly dirty. i want to start doing all my own work on these bikes to save money and always know what shape they are in. so how far do i need to go in tearing the carb apart? i was going to take it out, remove and clean the main, pilot, and leak jets, then spray out the bowl and top and bottom of the carb with carb cleaner. is that sufficient or do i need to do more?

[William1]

No, that is all you need to do. Do not use any carb cleaner on the body of the carb, use contact cleaner instead. It will to 'attack' the internal, non-user serviceable seals. So, of course, DO NOT remove the torx screws (often have a dab of yellow paint on them) that seperates the lower portion of the carb. Be sure to gently remove the AP cover and get any grit from it. Be gentle with the AP check valve (do not take it apart) in the bottom of the bowl.

Do not poke anything through the brass jets. You can soak these in a strong slovent.

A bike with even ten hours on it will look dirty on the slide and in the top of the carb. The heat of the engine 'cooks' fuel fumes somewhat, turning the resulting condensate a bit black. I usually just wipe off what I can easily get to when doing needle tweaks.

[Riderdown]

No, that is all you need to do. Do not use any carb cleaner on the body of the carb, use contact cleaner instead. It will to 'attack' the internal, non-user serviceable seals. So, of course, DO NOT remove the torx screws (often have a dab of yellow paint on them) that seperates the lower portion of the carb. Be sure to gently remove the AP cover and get any grit from it. Be gentle with the AP check valve (do not take it apart) in the bottom of the bowl.

Do not poke anything through the brass jets. You can soak these in a strong slovent.

A bike with even ten hours on it will look dirty on the slide and in the top of the carb. The heat of the engine 'cooks' fuel fumes somewhat, turning the resulting condensate a bit black. I usually just wipe off what I can easily get to when doing needle tweaks.

define "contact cleaner", i bought carb cleaner thinking that would do it. do bike shops sell contact cleaner? or is this a home depot thing?

[William1]

Contact Cleaner is used for cleaning electrical parts. CRC makes it, often on the shelf right next to Brake Parts Cleaner and Carb Cleaner. I usually get it at WalMart.

[Riderdown]

Contact Cleaner is used for cleaning electrical parts. CRC makes it, often on the shelf right next to Brake Parts Cleaner and Carb Cleaner. I usually get it at WalMart.

cool, thanks man gas to you. hey, have any idea what would make the 08 use more gas than the 07? i shut the gas off on both bikes, started them and let them run empty and the 07 lasted 15 min longer than the 08. when we did the idaho city race he ran out of gas and i still had 1/4 tank left and he was following me. both bikes bought at the same dealer but i'm not sure if they are jetted the same, though i would think they would be jetted for our area. any thoughts? and again, thanks

[Riderdown]

for the heck of it i just went out and put my finger in both tail pipes thinking if the 08 is burning exsessive gas it would have lots of black stuff in the tail pipe and it came out totally clean, the 07 had a little black stuff.