Do you guys agree?

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intergalactica

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I just read this on a website that rebuilds carburetors:

“Warning: Never spray carburetor cleaner, starting fluid, diesel starting fluid or propane into any carburetor to prime it or check for vacuum leaks . It is harmful to an engine and will remove any protective coating on any carburetor surface. Use the same gasoline you put in the tank of the vehicle or boat. Use an old fashioned oil can.”

On occasion, when one of my old cars sits for months, I use a little starting fluid. Am I, inadvertently, harming my engines?
 
I never use that stuff! Not sure about harms but never had a need to use it!
 
If starting fuel didnt exist, Half of the northern economy would be in the tank.
 
I just read this on a website that rebuilds carburetors:

“Warning: Never spray carburetor cleaner, starting fluid, diesel starting fluid or propane into any carburetor to prime it or check for vacuum leaks . It is harmful to an engine and will remove any protective coating on any carburetor surface. Use the same gasoline you put in the tank of the vehicle or boat. Use an old fashioned oil can.”

On occasion, when one of my old cars sits for months, I use a little starting fluid. Am I, inadvertently, harming my engines?


Starting fluid can break rings. Easily. Either use a squirt bottle to squirt some fuel into the carb or better yet, use the squirt bottle to put fuel in the vents of the carb to get some fuel in the bowls before you crack it off.
 
Starting fluid can break rings. Easily. Either use a squirt bottle to squirt some fuel into the carb or better yet, use the squirt bottle to put fuel in the vents of the carb to get some fuel in the bowls before you crack it off.
Too much could break rings causing hydraulic compression. There is a knack to it.
 
No I disagree 100%. I've said this SO many times before. I cannot believe a company that builds carburetors is stupid enough to suggest using anything such as gasoline to check for vacuum leaks. That's literally pouring gas on a fire. Use a manual spray bottle full of water. NO chance for a flash fire that might destroy your entire car and possibly hurt or kill even you. Ridiculous advice. if ever there was.
 
Never never, never spray gasoline! never.
I have many times used propane; but to tell the truth the results are hard to believe. With the fan blowing your propane around you have no control of exactly where it's going.
I won't use ether, also called starting fluid etc; because it quickly washes the oil off the cylinder walls and the compression goes away. Or, by the time you get the ether out, your engine is usually so flooded, that there is little to no oil on the cylinders and same deal; no oil = no pressure.
I don't use carb cleaner, but it's odd that the article would talk about it removing the protective coating,. yet we use it to clean the carb, even soaking it overnight; very odd. I suspect it was written by a tree-hugger.

On occasion, when one of my old cars sits for months, I use a little starting fluid. Am I, inadvertently, harming my engines?

Maybe yes, maybe no.
But there is a better way.
Mix up some premium grade gas,in a 500ml see-thru pop-bottle with 5 to 8% 2-cycle oil, and top it with a dollop of stabilizer.
When you go to start your car, with the battery fully charged, just splash a tablespoon down the primaries, Jump into the car, slam the pedal down about 20/30%, hold it there, and twist the key. Keep the key in crank until the engine is actually running on it it's own; you cannot hurt the starter,it has an over-running clutch on it that can easily handle this. The engine may hit and miss, start popping and finally, as the float bowls fill up, sputter to life.Keep the gas pedal fixed until is hits on all 8 cylinders and starts to rev up uncomfortably, like IDK say 2500 or so. (I do this to make sure all the liquid fuel in the intake gets thru, so that the engine won't flood when I lift). Then ease the throttle back. On my slanty, the fuel pump is a lil weak, and first start in spring, I might have to repeat the fuel splash deal.
To make this go better on my hotrod, I have a tiny funnel that just fits into the Holley's bowl vents. I slosh about 30/40ccs into the front bowl, and another 30/40 in the back. A lil slosh down the primaries, and BadaBoom!, Huston we have lift-off.
That pop-bottle now goes into storage for next time. (I have a place under the hood of my slanty-car for it). The oil in it, replaces that which drained off over time, and whatever got washed off in the first few seconds of cranking. The stabilizer keeps it fresh. My pop-bottle is about IDK 4 years old? maybe older.....
It may sound complicated but this only requires one guy, is not time sensitive, and the results are excellent. And is waaaay easier than using ether. Click, Vroom Vroom.
 
But I like the way Ether smells..........
And it is supposed to have an upper cylinder lubricant in it already.
My dad used to buy it by the case and used it on his diesel truck engines in big dump trucks to start them up.
I used to use it to start my old lawn mower that was just about dead and had almost no compression.
It worked great, and when It started running, it would smoke and keep away the mosquitoes as I mowed the lawn as well.
A win win situation for me.

On a more serious note, post #4 nailed it.
 
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