Yikes! 184 Carb Rebuild Problems!

[Greg Armstrong]

Started rebuilding the carb on the 184 and can't get the needle seat out. It appears to have some black sealant around/under the rim which big first thought was just normal carb gunk... not so much. So far it's impervious to WD-40, carb cleaner, denatured alcohol soaking for hours, and heat. This thing won't budge! ...and now I really need it to because... well... brass is soft

Has anyone seen this before or have any helpful hints on how to get the needle seat removed? Much thanks in advance!!

[Bob McCarty]

Greg, I'm assuming it's a Zenith carb? Can you just clean it with carb cleaner and not remove the seat?

Bob

[Greg Armstrong]

Bob, it is a Zenith and at this point leaving the old one in may not be an option... I should've stopped trying to get it out way before now. It's looking pretty ugly. I kept thinking it was going break free... resorting to vise grips should have been my hint to stop and leave it.

Greg

[Greg Armstrong]

Success!

Put the body in a vise in our shop at work (something I need at home, maybe?) and used an extremely large flat head and steady pressure. The black gunk was actually the gasket - it's rock hard. Now I can finish cleaning everything up and get it running smooth this weekend!