Itinerant Air-Cooled

Just for kicks, I wobbled my Solex Brazil 30/31 PICT carb throttle shaft. Well, wouldn't you know it, that sucker has significant wobble.
The carb is about 10+ years old, was rebuilt a couple of years ago, and seems to run well. There is the tell-tale smudge of grime around the throttle shaft exits.
So, tell me, is it time to replace? Am I ruining my engine? And, why the hell is it still running well?
Thank you. I do have a nice Bookwus reubilt German carb, maybe it's time to finally install it.

I was surprised to find these guys, good prices on rebuilt carbs. Maybe a better option than Brazil or China...
http://volkzbitz.com/Prices.php

Sweet. Are the in Vancouver?


neal

Dunno, Washington somewhere. Their website doesn't tell, strangely enough. Lots of good Samba reviews however. Consistency is what we crave in this day and age.
BUT whattabout throtttttle shaft wiggle?

Hi Bob.
There is very little between the 2 carbs performance wise. The H30 is just a little larger. The German carbs were built to a very high standard, and the quality of the materials used is superior.
Im about 25 miles inland from Olympia Washington. I send my carbs worldwide, so you are on my doorstep.

Regards
Tim
VolkzBitz.com

I wouldn't worry until you start seeing gas dripping . you can always get it rebushed

I could be wrong but I thought the typical issue was the leakage caused the engine to run lean (extra air coming in). If it gets too bad you aren't able to compensate enough by tuning richer w/the adjustments. Seems like if you can tune it to run without lean symptoms you have enough adjustment left to overcome any extra air leaking in?

sped372 wrote:I could be wrong but I thought the typical issue was the leakage caused the engine to run lean (extra air coming in). If it gets too bad you aren't able to compensate enough by tuning richer w/the adjustments. Seems like if you can tune it to run without lean symptoms you have enough adjustment left to overcome any extra air leaking in?

You can easily compensate for idle air leakage with the throttle bypass (big brass screw) carbs. The other symptom that sometimes does, and sometimes does not, rear its head, is lousy transition to main circuit if the throttle plate starts to move up and down instead of arc smoothly past the transition ports.

If it runs well, you must take that into account as you calculate the benefits of repairing it. Air leak at the throttle bushings in a dusty environment is bad for the piston rings/oil hygiene, in Type 1 engines without oil filters, especially.
Colin

Thank you guys, good stuff to chew on.
You're right, I probably have already compensated with carb adjustments, which is why it runs well.
The dust, I would have never considered that. This engine is often dusty, especially in the summertime.
So I probably won't see a dramatic increase in power/acceleration with a German carb, but it will most likely last longer and run right.