help me find the pilot adj screw in this pic plz

[suprajztwenty]

heres what im working with...it sat for a couple years before i bought it- so first i steamed out the tank and tore apart the carbs and replaced the filter. they had a lot of varnish and i actually had to clean them for the 3rd time now...rookie mistakes. (im a diesel tech and drive an integra...so carbs and bikes arent exactly my strong point, but i can work my around just about anything with some good advice)

what the bike is doing is its impossible to start without using either(c-mon start you bastard) once it starts it will only stay runnning at about 1800 and higher rpm(im guessing because i have no tach), ive tried adjusting the idle cable to its min and max and nothings changed, it wont stay running unless holding the grip. i was doubting the fuel pump was working properly so i bypassed it for now-but it didnt seem to make any difference.

now things i "think" i need to try-if you can tell me which to try first or which arent necessary. float adjustment-i dont have the tool to check fuel level in the bowl but its my first guess(i was very careful not to bend the tabs and the seat's seals are in good condition)

next i looked at the butterflys and they may have been synced wrong-but im not sure...if the previous owner had them adjusted wrong could this cause my problem?

next which is the easiest for me to try because i dont need any specialty tools-is the pilot screw adjustment or dirt in it- would this need to be removed to be cleaned or should i even bother messing with it?

when i was cleaning the carbs, i havnt actually soaked the entire carb in chem tool, only removable parts-i sprayed out the passages with the spray, is this good enough?

are any of these things even close or can you give me some suggestions for refreshing the carbs? much appreciated!

thanks in advance

[Waldo]

It is located on the bottom of the carb body between the bowl and the cylinder. Normally it is covered by a cap. The cap is crimped onto the carb body. Most times you have to dill a small hole in it and insert a screw. Then pull on the screw.

I could not see a picture.

[Mur386]

its directly under the jet holder you have in your hand, your nearly touching it

[suprajztwenty]

ok, so under the cap is an adjustment screw? is it possible to use vice grips and pull it out?

[Waldo]

What year and model bike are you working on?

Do you have a manual?

Have you checked the pressure coming out of the fuel pump (typically a bike will idle but stall/cough when the pump is not working)?

It still sounds like your idle circuit is not working correctly. Since it had all the varnish in it, I would go ahead and remove the carbs again (fourth time is a charm). Remove the Mixture screw covers (I have always drilled them and used a self tapping screw), then do a complete dip (with all jets, needles and mixture screw out). Once you have removed all the carb cleaner, use compressed air and blow all the passages out. Next check the float levels. I then would put it all back together (make sure all your hoses are not cracked and connected). See if you can get a sync and sync the carbs.

[suprajztwenty]

sorry i forgot the info...its a 97 p2

[Mur386]

to remove sealing cap, you must drill a hole in it, be very careful how far the drill goes in, you just want a hole through the cap, and do not want the drill bit actually hitting the idle adjustment screw. A 1/8 drill bit should work, but you need a good quality sheet metal screw to pull the cap out. I suggest finding the screws first and drill and practice drill in some thin metal to make sure you get a feel for threading the screw into the cap plug. I always ground off the sharp tip of the screw as well to make sure there is no contact between it and the idle jet. Only one full turn at the most should be required to give enough grip to pull the cap out with pliers grabbing the head of the screw. that will remove the cap. and then you can check how many turns it takes clockwise to seat the adjuster jet. My bike when first checked had screws from 1/2 turn to 2 full turns in before seating. Do not twist the screw after it stops, it will could damage the needle or the seat. After setting all screws at the same number of turns out, (using 2 turns on my bike) I used the Innovates LM1 and Lm3 to adjust, first setting carb sync and then idle needle and repeated several times. It took hours, start to finish. But after adjusting for afr and carb sync the bike sounds worlds different from before I started, it purrs, no erratic idle at all. And checking the exhaust pipes with thermo gun they were within 50 to 80 degrees of each other. All the idle screws are within a 1/4 turn of each other. Your bike may be different. You are tuning 4 one cylinder engines that are all tied together. The compression on all cylinders should be very close, valve clearences checked and adjusted if needed. Even 1/8 turn on the needle will affect afr and idle quality. And if you turn them out to much making the AFR to rich it may seem to idle ok, but you will foul plugs. It also cold starts much better. Without the tools to check carb sync and afr it would be very difficult to get it all adjusted correctly. I wish you the best in your efforts.
Bill
ps you dont need the special tool to set carb floats, a simple metal mm ruler will work, but you have to follow the book procedure, will try to explain, the float jets have a spring inside them, you just want to tilt the carbs till they just touch the float jet, then measure, and adjust if needed. measure from the bottom of the float to the carb body. pic if it works is http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/h...386/float1.jpg

[suprajztwenty]

man i was confused for a day or 2 but finally figured it out. the cap is aluminum i believe and is very easy to drill through, if you use a screw larger than the hole you drill, it will stop and make the cap turn (loosening the bonding agent) it makes it much easier to remove. under the cap it goes in order-needle, spring, washer then seal. i used a craftsman hookset, to get the seal loose and pulled out before i soaked the assemblies. as far as my idle problem- when i removed the needles under the caps there was a LOT of crud on the tips and im sure just as much in the seats. i soaked them in a parts wash for about an hr, blew out with air and reassembled. thanks for the tips(even though the service manual talk you through most of it, i still couldnt get them 100% without everyones help)

i visually synced the throttle valves and adjusted the idle jets to my books spec. i reinstalled the fuel pump and replaced a rotting fuel line, the bike took about 30 secs to fill the carbs and fired immediately after that, idles smooth, it actually purrs now. throttle response is exponentially better than it was!

so i took it out for a short ride after it was warmed up and im just amazed how fast this thing is. theres some older road where i live and is fairly easy to lose traction-1st gear, ya not much to brag...but to still get loose in 2nd is crazy for an 11yr old bike with only a carb cleaning.

anyways, just wanted to post the progress and say thanks for all the great advice-best 7r forum out there!

[Waldo]

Glad to hear it is back together and running great. Have fun and be SAFE