Honda atc 185s carb jets

[dustrunner]

Do both carb jet have holes in them the long wY ? I got a tip cleaner stuck in what im thinking is a hole but cant get it thru ?L

[El Camexican]

Yes, that jet should have a hole passing straight through it as well as across it. Don’t force your way in there! Fill a thimble, or something else really small with carburetor cleaner and let it soak overnight, and then gently using the smallest pin or needle you can find tried to break up whatever is blocking it. A sonic cleaner would even be better if you have access to one.

[dustrunner]

i soaked it last nite but will do it again tonight. i cant imagine whats blocking it.

[TRIPOD guy]

Try using a single wire from a wire brush its small and stiff enough to poke through the pilot jet. I have to do same thing once a year on my 83 atc185s.

[Footy]

Try using a single wire from a wire brush its small and stiff enough to poke through the pilot jet. I have to do same thing once a year on my 83 atc185s.

And if you don't have that old guitar string works too.

[ATC King]

The pilot jet on those has a tiny hole. You'd be lucky to find anything laying around that'll fit through even a clean one. Maybe a wire from a brush, but I doubt most tip cleaner sets have anything small enough.

Besides, tips cleaners are steel with rough edges. The jet is brass. There's a very high chance if one did fit, the jet wouldn't be the same size anymore after running it through a couple times. That and it's not just about the diameter of the hole but also the shape going into it. That's why twist drill bits aren't the best for resizing jets and jet reamers are available ($$$). I drill jets when tuning, on machines that I don't already have a jet assortment for, but after I get it close I install a new one of that size. Consequently, I have to keep my used jets separate from the new ones because I loose track of what size the old ones actually are. I can say with some certainly any ATC pilot jets I have are stock, because I don't have any bits that small and if I did, they'd still be in a pilot after they broke off. A sneeze or fart would be enough to break one. That's some jewelers/watchmaker sized bit stuff right there.



The good thing is a slight pilot size change can be detected by resetting the idle mixture screw. If it takes fewer turns out than a stock pilot requires, it's larger than stock and is going to affect the rest of the carb tuning. If the engine won't stall or idle very poorly with the screw all the way in, the pilot is too large (or idle is too high).

A seriously plugged pilot jet is very likely in need of replacement. I've seen some smaller jets that seemed like concrete was in them. Brass corrodes too and if that's what's in it, the jet is compromised anyway.

If none of that is news to you, then it's meant for rando readers. I've fought enough trying to save questionable carb parts and more or less now know when to cut my losses. At least on these machines the bowl can be removed without removing the carb. No big deal other than a little wasted time when things don't work. On something with multiple and difficult to access carbs, having to go in several times due to using questionable parts, it becomes a big deal real quick.