A kid in the neighborhood came by to tell me he had to buy a new ($75!!) carb for his recently purchased TaoTao 49cc scooter after the float started sticking. When I asked why he didn't just pull the bowl and clean the needle valve he said the bowl couldn't be removed. Balderdash, I sez and damned if when he produced the old CVK carb I was shocked to see the factory had installed the type of screws that the head breaks off once they're to torque. I had to chuck the critter in my little milling machine to mill the tits flat where the screws broke off and then drill out the remaining heads to get the bowl off. Besides the fact that the boy could've gotten a new one off of eBay for around $30 delivered what really irritates the piss out of me is that they're now selling scooters with sealed carbs, either for anti-tampering purposes or to sell new ones (I suspect to keep us from richening them up). Once I got the bowl off I was pleasantly surprised to find that the pilot jet could be removed unlike a lot of the small bike carbs nowadays that are a fixed part of the unit. Overall the quality of the carb favorably compared to Japanese carburetors. It was bad enough when they started sealing off the mixture screws and eliminated adjustable needles--but to seal off the float bowl, a part of the carb that requires frequent service to adjust the float or clean out the crud is just plain stupid. Anyway anyone else seen sealed carbs like this on any other unit?
Thats ridecouls! It is not uncommon on a little bike to have a clogged jet or debris in the float. I am sure they thought they could make some extra money by doing that. Sure, some things could be ok to make un tamperable, but not the float bowl:huh!
It's an EPA issue. They don't want you to be able to change the jetting. Looks are deceiving. The carburetors on cheap Chinese mopeds do not even come close to comparing favorably to the Japanese brands. Cheap mopeds go through a lot of carbs, not only because they are very low quality, but because there are a lot of people out there who replace the bad carb with another bad one they bought on the internet for $30. Once you try cleaning a few, you will see why most of them get replaced. I figured out a long time ago that instead of wasting your time trying to clean a cheap chinese carb, or replacing it with the cheapest carb you can find on the internet, the most cost effective thing to do is to replace it with a Keihin or Walbro.
Restriction related thread . . 14mm carb (throttle bore inside diameter) as compared to the typical 139QMB 18mm carb.
I put mine in a vice and used a metal blade on a recip saw and cut a line though the bowl and screw enough to get a flat head in. Once the groove was there, no issue unscrewing them and no real damage done, just a couple of grooves in the float bowl as well.
Ran in the anti tamper screws holding the float bowl on my Z50 125 cc Chinese clone. New one on me. It wouldn't idle so I figured it would it be easy to pull the card and clean the slow speed jet. NOT. First I thought was a metric torx head as none of my existing torx heads would fit. Wrong so I looked online and found that someone suggested to use needle nose vice grips to remove the screws which worked for me. Once I got the screws I found they looked like this. Went to the hardware store and bought some stainless bolts with Allen heads to replace the anti tamper SOBs. Cleaned the jets and she runs like a champ.
Yes, this is crazy, and it will only get worse. The EPA, which I firmly believe should be eliminated, is slowly making it impossible (or at least very difficult) to work on motor vehicles. So far for every thing the EPA has done, someone has found a way around it. Even EFI can be retuned if you are willing to pay $500 for a Power Commander. And catalytic exhausts can be replaced with real exhausts. I applaud anyone who finds a way to defeat the EPA's tyranny.
The screw shown in #11 is just an anti tamper Torx and very common nowadays. Not just on Oriental bikes,but throughout all forms of industry. Suitable sets of keys and loose bit drivers are readily available from motor factors,hardware stores and tool shops.
Recently bought a Taotao 250cc quad with a sealed carb, PZ27 copy of a Keihin. A couple minutes with a Dremil tool and cut off wheel to put slots in the float bowl screw heads was all that was required to open it. A small hole and a dental pick popped the brass plug from the pilot screw. Good carbs BTW. Sealing them is required by the EPA.
You ever notice that they use those anti-tamper screws on the stalls in public bathrooms? Like someone is going to sit there and take the stall apart, but they're thwarted by the clever use of the screws.
Torx and Allen screws are American designs. Yes they were copied or sold to other countries, but they came from the U.S. I have run into a lot of "break off" screws, where part of the head breaks off when tightened beyond a certain point. The look just like conventional screws. Once the head break off, they can still be removed, it's just a bit more work. These break off screws and plugs have been around a long time. I remember the carburetor for my 1970 Dodge had plugged pilot screws, way back in 1975. The screw in the picture is a Tamper Torx. You have to have a special torx bit with a hole in the end to remove them without destroying them. Those large head "security' screws, like security doors and bars on windows are usually installed with are "one way" screws. They can be tightened with a regular screwdriver but require a special tool to remove. Most of those are big enough to be grabbed with a pair of visegrips.
Jerry, with out emission controls on vehicles for the last 40-50 years, you would have a lot worse health problems that what you have now. Remember the smog clouds over major cities?
