If you have the reproduction filters for BJ8s, you are probably aware of the
poor build quality of these units. Most glaring is the wavy mating surface
where the cleaner mounts on to the carb. Essentially, the are around the
threaded bungs protrude out from the mounting face of the cleaner, while the
rest of the mounting surface around the opening of the cleaner is deflected
inward toward the inside of the cleaner. When bolted on, there is as much as a
quarter of an inch gap between the face of the cleaner and the face of the
carb. Rocks, bugs, washers and sand can all fly right into the gap and into
the engine, unrestricted.
This may have been covered before, but with some work, you can at least massage
these cans well enough to use them. Here is what I did. First, I threaded
bolts about three turns into the threaded bungs of the cleaners. Then you need
to set the cleaner up in a vice. On one side of the vice you line up with the
bolt head with the vice jaw. Then on the other side of the vice you place two
wooden blocks between the vice jaw and the rolled edge of the cleaner . Do not
try to use the face of the intake side of the cleaner against the vice jaw.
The sheet metal is too thin. Now just turn the handle on your vice until the
bolt deflects the sheet metal of the cleaner inward. Do this to one bolt head
at a time as they can be hard to line up together and do not seem to protrude
equally.
This process cured about 75% of the misalignment. Then I used a pair of
channel locks to bend the edge of the sheet metal around the opening of the
cleaner out and away from the body of the cleaner. Once I bolted the cleaner
onto the carb, all the "deflections" in the metal were now working in my favor
and tightening the bolts pulled all surfaces together leaving no gaps.
Bill
Boston area
65 BJ8
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