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Carburetor Cleaning?
Posted: Mon Aug 22, 2011 3:53 am
by berryjames74
Hey all......anyone know of a step by step instructional on how to clean the carb on a buddy 150? I am a novice with mechanics and I believe that my carb is plugged after sitting for the winter/summer....Thanks!
Posted: Mon Aug 22, 2011 5:14 am
by bigbropgo
I am posting this without really looking around here for myself. But YouTube has a couple that might help. Even if its a different scoot, the motors are close enough to work.
Posted: Mon Aug 22, 2011 5:19 am
by bigbropgo
On second look, its the first post in the technical library.

Posted: Mon Aug 22, 2011 9:44 pm
by ericalm
Here's the link:
topic17556.html
Be careful with the 4 Philips screws on the bottom of the carb (float bowl screws), they're a bit soft and I managed to strip one of mine when doing this! My dealer says the Buddy toolkit screwdriver is actually a good size for these.
Posted: Tue Aug 23, 2011 3:33 am
by ScooterTrash
ericalm wrote:Here's the link:
topic17556.html
Be careful with the 4 Philips screws on the bottom of the carb (float bowl screws), they're a bit soft and I managed to strip one of mine when doing this! My dealer says the Buddy toolkit screwdriver is actually a good size for these.

beat me to it
Posted: Tue Aug 23, 2011 5:30 pm
by djelliott
ericalm wrote:Here's the link:
topic17556.html
Be careful with the 4 Philips screws on the bottom of the carb (float bowl screws), they're a bit soft and I managed to strip one of mine when doing this! My dealer says the Buddy toolkit screwdriver is actually a good size for these.
It's a good idea to replace them with some good quality hex bolts. It'll make it a lot easier next time you have to open it.
Thanks!
Posted: Tue Aug 23, 2011 10:50 pm
by berryjames74
Thanks......I guess I didn't look hard enough. Should be a good weekend project!
Posted: Wed Aug 24, 2011 12:35 am
by viney266
ericalm wrote:Here's the link:
topic17556.html
Be careful with the 4 Philips screws on the bottom of the carb (float bowl screws), they're a bit soft and I managed to strip one of mine when doing this! My dealer says the Buddy toolkit screwdriver is actually a good size for these.
^^^You need a hammer type impact driver with phillips bit. Works wonders.
And, for OP..Make SURE you have the pilot clean...check it again!
Posted: Mon Jun 18, 2012 8:04 pm
by LPcreation
Sorry to bump such an old thread but I'll be doing this for the 1st time.
Can I get a rough idea of long this should take? I know we all work at different speeds, but am I correct I can probably do this job in a few hours?
Thanks in advance!!
Posted: Tue Jun 19, 2012 12:11 am
by Beamster
Before going to all that trouble, try replacing the gas with new treated with a dose of Seafoam treatment, run it a bit if possible but atleast get it to flow into the carb and let it sit overnight.
That has done the trick for us three years in a row.
After that, always add Seafoam in all the gas.
Posted: Tue Jun 19, 2012 1:37 pm
by mhardgrove
This is going to sound strange, but trust me, if you need to clean the jets boil them in lemon or lime juice from one of those squeeze containers. Where the jets are brass they wont react with the acid in the juice, and any crap in them will come right out. I boiled mine for 3-5 minutes and they came out as clean as can be! Let them cool, then rinse with water, let em dry and you are good to go.
Also, where you are working with gas BE SAFE!!! Do this in a place that has lots of ventilation, use common sense, blah blah blah!!!
Good Luck!!!
Posted: Tue Jun 19, 2012 1:44 pm
by ericalm
Probably in a few hours. I would thinkā¦
Posted: Tue Jun 19, 2012 3:04 pm
by BuddyRaton
mhardgrove wrote:This is going to sound strange, but trust me, if you need to clean the jets boil them in lemon or lime juice from one of those squeeze containers. Where the jets are brass they wont react with the acid in the juice, and any crap in them will come right out. I boiled mine for 3-5 minutes and they came out as clean as can be! Let them cool, then rinse with water, let em dry and you are good to go.
Also, where you are working with gas BE SAFE!!! Do this in a place that has lots of ventilation, use common sense, blah blah blah!!!
Good Luck!!!
I do a lot of work with brass (restoring antique clocks). Shiny doesn't necessarily mean clean.
Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2012 8:33 pm
by LPcreation
Thanks for the responses guys! I'll try the seafoam trick 1st and then pull the carbs if need be. Thanks again!
Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2012 10:42 pm
by 50CC Cape Cod
I have 2 scoots that sat in hibernation a few years. The Seafoam worked
great on one and did well on the second but had a partial clog in the pilot jet so had to clean that one out by hand. Overall it works great.
Posted: Thu Jun 21, 2012 12:23 am
by mhardgrove
it doesn't actually make the brass shiny, but it sure does clean them out if you don't like using harsh chemicals. I don't like using chemical dips if I can keep from it, and the lime/lemon juice trick is something my grandfather taught me. It doesn't hurt the jets, so thats what I do

to each their own.
Posted: Mon Aug 03, 2015 10:22 pm
by bluto
Thanks to all who posted tips on this thread and others. My GF's 125 would not idle and I suspected the pilot jet was plugged and that was the case. A few things I learned fixing it...
I did not have to remove the carb completely, getting it loose from the boots enabled me to turn it over and remove the bowl. The bowl screws are probably JIS, NOT phillips and that might be why many have stripped them...this had been causing amateur MC mechanics grief for many years as the difference is not obvious, was not aware myself until recently. The toolkit screwdriver did work as suggested and fit well.
I only removed the pilot jet, figured the main jet was OK and some Seafoam would take care of any deposits, and the less I did the less the odds of screwing the carb up in the process;-) The pilot jet was completely plugged and the orifice is TINY and hard to clean so I tried heat from a torch and that did the trick and boiled the varnish out, followed that up with Seafoam spray and compressed air.
Anyway put it all back together and the scooter now runs great and idles well...
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