Having Trouble Removing Carburetor from Kawasaki FS651V on Bil Jax/Haulotte 45XA.

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Oct 9, 2018
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21
Location
Southside Virginia
Hey guys. I have a Bil Jax/Haulotte 45XA hydraulic lift with a 22hp FS651V as a generator, and the engine won't start. It's a hybrid system, and I've just been plugging it to recharge the batteries, but it would be nice to be able to use the generator too. I've had it for about 2 years now, and it still has the same tank of gas that it came with from the previous owner. I have no idea if the gas even has stabilizer in it. I really should have drained the tank a while back, but I just never got around to it. The generator worked fine when I first got it, but several months ago I tried to start it and it wouldn't turn over.

Someone suggested to me that the carburetor was probably gunked up, so I figured I would give it a clean. I've never cleaned a carburetor before, but I watched several Youtube videos of people removing and cleaning carburetors on Kawasaki engines, and felt confident enough to give it a shot. The problem is that the hydraulic motor is blocking the removal of the carb. There are also hydraulic lines blocking the cup on the bottom of the carb. I thought I might be able to remove the hydro motor, and then unscrew the cup before sliding the carb off. Underneath the mounting surface the gas engine, hydro motor and electric generator are all connected via belts. How hard would this be to disassemble? Are there special tools for removing and re-tensioning the belts? I'm worried about getting to the point where I can't put back together what I've taken apart.

I'm attaching several pics of what I'm talking about. If anyone has any ideas or suggestions, that would be great. Maybe the carb isn't even the problem? Thanks guys, I appreciate any help, advice or comic relief.

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That carb should be two separate pieces. Might be able to separate them and remove them individually. You will probably need a gasket kit at the least, or just go the easy route and get a new carburetor from amazon but make sure it includes the gaskets.

If they're really stuck together you can work a putty knife or something similar inbetween.

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Ok, yeah, I see the seam between the two pieces of the carb. I think I would still have to remove this hydraulic hose to get the blue outlined piece off.

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And then the cup catches on a bunch of hydraulic and electric lines. Can I remove the cup from the bottom before sliding the housing off the rails? It looks like there is a nut between the cup and solenoid. Would unscrewing that nut allow me to drop the cup first? My wrenches aren't thin enough to fit in there, so I would need to get some flat wrenches. Might be able to find a rebuild kit with one included.

Also, If I remove that one hose outlined in red, I'm going to lose some fluid and let some air in. Are these hydraulic systems typically good about self-purging air? Thanks for your help!
 
If you don't have enough room once you get the first piece off you could try to double nut those threaded studs and see if they'll just come on out. That's what I would try first. Like this video shows (different carb/engine but same concept):

 
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Oh, that's pretty neat. I just started to put everything back together. I have a contractor coming around tomorrow to work on my house and he needs to use the lift. But I'm going reverse course and try backing out the studs with the double nuts and see if it works. If it does, I'll order the gaskets. Thanks again!
 
You sir, are a gentleman and a scholar. The shanks were indeed threaded in, and I was able to back them out. The first one came out easily. The second one required squirting a bunch of PB Blaster in there and tapping on the shank for a while with the edge of a trowel.

I didn't have a flat washer that fit the solenoid and cup nut, but I had a cheap one that came with furniture or something that was almost wide enough, so I widened it with a grinder. Now I have everything apart.
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I guess the next thing to do is soak everything in carb cleaner? I'm guessing I should remove the plastic float before I do that. The float looks to be held on by a pin. Do I just tap that out with a tiny hammer?

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One of the valves appears to be brass and the other, I can't tell what the material is. Ceramic maybe? Should that come off before soaking too?

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Should I soak the solenoid too? Should the solenoid just be replaced? Do they last indefinitely? Are there any other plastic parts that I need to dig out before soaking, so they don't get ruined?

And then I guess I order the gaskets, new spark plugs, fuel filter, air filter and.... Are there any other wear parts that ought to be replaced while I'm at it?

Thank you so much for the advice! It really is appreciated. I never would have thought to back those shanks out. And sorry for the million questions.
 
Pull the pin and remove the plastic float and the metal needle. Set those aside don't use cleaner on them (the needle may have a rubber tip).

You don't have to soak the whole thing, the critical part is the main jet in the center hole which can usually be unscrewed with a flat screwdriver.

On the machine, remove any residual from the gas tank and put in some fresh gas. Direct the fuel hose disconnected from the carburetor into a container and crank the engine confirm that fuel comes through.
 
To add to what @mk378 said:

Make sure the fuel shutoff solenoid (that small electrical piece in the bottom of the float bowl) moves freely. Spray it with carb cleaner and push the little plunger down gently and you should be able to free it up.

Don't take the brass throttle plate off - that's the part with the two philips screws holding it on. Nothing to really clean behind it.

Once you get the float out, inspect the "needle" - the small rubber-tipped valve and make sure the rubber tip is intact. If has cracks or pieces missing you'll need to replace it.

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The main jet is inside of there. You can usually use a straight screwdriver to get it out, but be careful to not strip it or damage the orifice.

As far as cleaning the orifice in the jet, I've always just used either a very fine piece of copper wire or pulled a single bristle out of a wire brush and poked it through. Just spraying the jet with carb cleaner alone rarely gets the crud out of it.
 
Ok. The carburetor is all cleaned up. I got the jet out and the float off. The needle looks to be in good shape. I went out last night and got a can of B12 ChemTool Carb Cleaner, a new air filter, NGK spark plugs and a small wire brush set. I ordered a gasket set off ebay and a pack of in-line fuel filters.

I scrubbed everything down, inside and out. The jets are clear. Solenoid valve is moving freely, a surprising amount of gunk came out of it. Those gaskets are a pain to get off. It took a lot of cleaner and alternating between the wire brush and a putty knife. I was surprised how fibrous the material was. I expected them to just be flat rubber pieces but in was almost like a synthetic fabric material. And the little fibers all ended up inside of the carb as I scrubbed them off. Any tips for getting the gasket material off the engine body without it getting in there? Stuff a plastic bag or two in there maybe?

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It's just paper. Any little bits will pass through the engine without causing damage.
 
I just stuff a shop rag or paper towel in the manifold and use a razor blade or utility knife blade to scrape the old gasket off while being careful to not gouge into the aluminum.

Should the solenoid just be replaced? Do they last indefinitely?
I've never had one go bad, but I've had a bunch of them get stuck from sitting in old fuel. You can test the solenoid by plugging it back in to the connector on the engine and turning the key to run or on as though you're about to start it but don't bump the starter by accident if you have rags/towels/bags stuffed in the intake manifold. Might need to ground the solenoid to something metal on the engine/frame if it's a one-wire type but that looks like a two-wire.

Can also test them with a 9v battery if you have one laying around.
 
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