'75 pilot jet removal issue

willis

xsive compulsive disorder
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Last week i decided to polish up my carbs a little, so I figured i'd grab the spare carb tops and float bowls from the stache and clean them up so I could just swap them out on the carbies to save some time when I actually pull them to clean. Well the pilot jets were a little buggered up and I could not get them to budge with a screwdriver. I tried soaking in carb cleaner, followed by soaking in penetrating oil, and I even tried hitting them with the heat gun. Still nothing, and at this point the heads were good and boogered. Today I stopped and looked for a left hand drill bit but Rural King didn't have any, so i opted for a couple of easy outs. Long story short, I now have 2 bowls with snapped off easy outs in the pilots. Am I screwed here now? Anyone got a last ditch effort shot at removing these. I'm just glad this is the extra set from the parts stache and not the only ones i have.
 
Wow! That’s brutal. That’s gonna be a tough repair.
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Yeah prolly beyond economic repair. Won't catch me using an easyout in brass (again). :doh:. Actually I'm pretty much cured of easybreaks anywhere. My goto on stuck brass is to brace the carb, float bowl etc. very well. I set a screwdriver that's a really good fit in the slot and give the end a rap with a hammer. Don't need to twist. Heat gun doesn't hurt either. Then alternate loosen tighten til you hear that magic crick, when the threads unsieze. Any increase in twist needed while unthreading, stop! add rust buster, tighten, start over, repeat til it's out.
I won't use an impact wrench on brass. Not enough "feel".
 
Yes, unfortunately it may be too late for those bowls, lol. In the future, you might try what I use - custom ground 1/4" screwdriver bits that fit the jet head screwdriver slots perfectly, and a T handle holder for them .....

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The bit on the left hasn't been ground yet and as you can see, it's a loose, sloppy fit. You don't want that .....

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The T handle allows more than enough torque to be applied, enough to strip the screw slot if you're not careful. If I feel it "giving" a little but the jet's not turning, I let off, go back to adding more penetrating oil and heat.

I routinely replace any jets that the heads are getting buggered on, before I can't get them out, lol. I also don't make my jets super tight, just tight enough. It's a "feel" thing you learn - tighten then loosen to see how difficult it is, tighten again to somewhere in the "tight but not too tight" range. Also, I only use a stubby screwdriver for jet install. This doesn't allow you to make the jets super, super tight. Install them with a big old regular sized screwdriver and you might inadvertently make them too tight. It also seems that jets seem to tighten up more on their own once they've been in there a while, don't know why.

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If you aren't into grinding custom screwdrivers, trickier than it seems. Stihl carb adjusting screwdrivers available at most places that sell chainsaws are an excellent fit for many of our carb jets. Getting above the screwdriver and using leverage to keep firm downwards pressure on the screw to prevent camout is very important. A Tee handle like 5t's is excellent for that.
 
Are you up for the challenge? Doesn’t look good to me.
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The "Easy-outs" used, were they of the left hand thread, tapered type? If so, they are not very good at all. RIDGID screw extractors are my favourite. Cylindrical, with 6 thin ribs, hammered in after drilling with the supplied bit, and turned using a hex coupler and a spanner.
 
The "Easy-outs" used, were they of the left hand thread, tapered type? If so, they are not very good at all. RIDGID screw extractors are my favourite. Cylindrical, with 6 thin ribs, hammered in after drilling with the supplied bit, and turned using a hex coupler and a spanner.
You convinced me! I got a rigid set and used them on a severely rusted, broke off, bolt in an iron casting on on the farmall, worked great, I'm a believer.

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I picked these up at rural king. They were left hand tapered thread extractors made by Irwin. I was shocked at how quick they snapped off. Lesson Learned !
Gary, i'll see about getting them in the wind later today. Thanks Buddy, and good luck!
 
You know anybody with an EDM machine. That will take care of the easy out. Then you can concentrate on the brass.
 
Last week i decided to polish up my carbs a little, so I figured i'd grab the spare carb tops and float bowls from the stache and clean them up so I could just swap them out on the carbies to save some time when I actually pull them to clean. Well the pilot jets were a little buggered up and I could not get them to budge with a screwdriver. I tried soaking in carb cleaner, followed by soaking in penetrating oil, and I even tried hitting them with the heat gun. Still nothing, and at this point the heads were good and boogered. Today I stopped and looked for a left hand drill bit but Rural King didn't have any, so i opted for a couple of easy outs. Long story short, I now have 2 bowls with snapped off easy outs in the pilots. Am I screwed here now? Anyone got a last ditch effort shot at removing these. I'm just glad this is the extra set from the parts stache and not the only ones i have.

Hi willis,
short of having access to an electric discharge machine your carb bowls are FUBAR.
Note that the term "Easyout" is a black lie. The term "Snapoff" is a better fit.
What I've done to remove cammed out carb jets is chuck the driver bitt in a drill press and reef down the feed arm while backing the jet out by hand.
 
As daunting as it looks, there may be a way. If anyone is going to find it Gary will try his best. Following and learning.
Hi Rasputin,
An electric discharge machine (EDM, Sparkatron) will erode a square or hexagonal hole right through the jet, snapped off Easyout end and all, so it can be threaded out with a Robertson screwdriver or an Allen key.
 
Not having access to something as fancy as an EDM machine, I would try building up a bit of weld on the "easy out". Just a spot, let it cool, remove the slag, then another spot, until I could tack on a small nut. Then let it cool completely, and try getting the "easy out" free. Then drilling out the brass and hopefully saving the thread.
 
Back to the original issue....
I've had great success using left hand drill bits on buggered up and stuck jets. I used the largest bit that I felt comfortable using in the casting (I did not want to bugger up the casting too much since I had to use a hand drill). Once I touched the pilot with the spinning bit it backed right out on its own.
BTW, I hate E-Z outs, too.
 
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