[memento]

I have a VW bug and the carb throttle is very hard to move. I know it's not the throttle cable because I disconnected that. I've loosened it up a bit, but it still doesn't move on it's own. Before I take the carb off I want to try and find the cause. If I need some sort of solvent, then I want to get it before I start working on it. Does "carb cleaner" do this sort of cleaning? Is it old gas that has gummed? The gas is very old and I'm going to drain the tank and put new gas in before starting it, but the carb worries me. Anyone have ideas? Thanks!!

[vmarks]

I have a Beetle.

You have a single barrel solex carb, unless someone has upgraded you to two single or dual barrels (kadrons, webers, dellortos, etc.)

In any case, the answer to you is to apply liberal amounts of gumout carb cleaner to the throttle shaft to loosen it up.

OR, if you're motivated, take it apart and boil the carb to break it loose.

[G4ME]

they sell tubs with cleaner that you can set the carb in and there's a pump that moves the cleaner around, it might be a little much for one job but handy if you are working on a lot of carbs

[finboy]

Soak it in gumout (spray it down good several times). It might be (you'll find) that the pinion points are worn out on the barrel itself, and that might need to be replaced. Gumout, and then grease it.

The carb cleaner that you put in the gas tank cleans all the other stuff. While it's running. But it won't clean the throttle butterfly pinion.

Also, you might try lubing the cable. That's a pretty common problem.

[vmarks]

The cable never sticks in the beetle, just the nature of the way it connects to the carb and pedal.

If you need to replace the carb, there are stock replacements available. If you can get a good german core at a swap meet, they're better than the mexican-made carbs. Otherwise just get one of the new ones, or for about 300 you can step up to dual single-barrel Kadrons.

Myself, I keep thinking about making my own intake manifold and switching over to fuel injection.

http://www.dune-buggy.com/turbo/intake.htm only routed to fit in the stock engine compartment..

[memento]

Thanks people. Yes, vmarks it's a single barrel solex. Almost everything on the car is stock replacement or original. No performance upgrades except the steering wheel, but I still have the original. I want to restore it to original condition. I've learned a lot about MX vs. DE vs. BR manufactured parts. I'll try to stick with DE as much as possible. If you don't know, VW sells original bug parts online. http://www.vw-classicparts.de/e_index.html

I thought of another problem - what can I do with the bad gas that I'll drain from the tank? It can't be more than a couple gallons. I plan to drain the tank from underneath into a 5 gallon gas can, but can I "dilute" it with fresh gas? (and THIS time I'll use stabilizer in it).

I found a fuel filter under the gas tank, too. yikes. That thing has to be at least 20 years old. My dad put one near the carb because he didn't even know there was another one. And that was like 20 years ago.