How to clean a Predator 212 Carburetor
If you have left your Predator 212 filled with fuel for a long time without operation, it is very likely that you’ll find that the engine is not starting, and even if it is starting it’s causing other issues.
The reason for these issues is usually clogged-up carburetor jets and the solution is to clean the carburetor. The process of cleaning the carburetor is shown below, this process is applicable for Predator 212, Honda GX motors, and all its clones.
Step-by-Step process of Cleaning a Predator 212 Carburetor:
- Remove the Air-Filter Box
- Take out the Carburetor
- Disassemble the Carburetor
- Clean all the holes of the Carburetor
- Reassemble
1. Remove the Air Filter
- Take a 10 mm socket and unbolt the 2 bolts shown in the image.
- The Air filter box is connected with 2 hose lines, one with the fuel tank and other with the valve cover
- Once the bolts are out, disconnect the air filter box from the hose from gas tank with a pliar. Then just pull the Box out (the hose from valve head will come off when you pull).
2. Remove the Carburetor from the Engine
Once you take off the airbox, you’ll be able to see a gasket and the carburetor.
- Remove the gasket and keep it somwhere safe (you should not lose this!)
- Use a pliar to free up the fuel line clamp.
- Disconnect the fuel line and block the hose with either a pliar or a bolt to prevent fuel to come out.
- Move the carburetor slightly forward to slightly loosen the spring and rod tension.
- Unhook the spring and the rod.
3. Disassembling the carburetor
- Unbolt the main bolt, this will result in the bowl coming free. Note: Fuel will leak out once you unbolt.
2. Once you’ve taken off the bolt, you’ll be able to see the float and the needle that is holding the float in place. It isn’t necessary to remove the float.
But if you do, make sure to keep all the parts safe and not to deform the float, this can make your carb useless.
3. When you look through the main hole, you’ll be able to see the main jet. Take a flat head screwdriver to take it out.
Underneath the main jet, there is an emulsion tube that will come out if you shake up the carburetor or give it a few gentle taps.
4. Now unscrew the idle screw (refer back to the first image) all the way out. Just underneath the idle screw, you’ll find a black plastic thing, which is a pilot jet.
Take a flat head screwdriver and pop the pilot jet out.
Make sure that you don’t lose any of the gaskets that come out during the process.
4. Cleaning the Carburetor
Now to the most important part, cleaning the carburetor! The most important parts to clean are the Pilot jet and the main jet. Almost every carburetor problem is due to one of the 2 holes getting gummed up.
For this process, you’ll need a carburetor cleaner or a very thin wire that can go through the holes. Having a Carb cleaner will make the process easier.
- Take the carburetor cleaner and blow it’s liquid through the holes of the pilot jet, main jet and the emulsion tube.
Alternatively, you can also run a thin wire through the holes so that all the debris is removed by it. - The carburetor has a lots of inlet and outlet ports (as shown in the image) apart from the main hole in the middle. You need to make sure that the liquid from the carb cleaner is coming out from the outlet ports when you blow it through the inlets.
Cleaning the Float and Needle Jet:
You only need to do this if the fuel is unable to reach the bowl, which usually causes the engine to shut off after a few minutes of usage but when you try to start the engine after a few minutes it starts easily.
This issue can be caused by the needle jet getting stuck in the seat due to the seat or the needle being dirty. In such cases, you need to take the float out of the carburetor and clean both the needle and the seat with a carb cleaner.
This issue can also be caused by the needle being deformed in such cases you can get a new needle, however, I suggest replacing the carb entirely.
5. Reassemble
Once all is cleaned, your final step is to reassemble the parts. You can simply reverse the disassembly process.
- Put back the emulsion tube and the main jet down the main hole.
- Bolt the Bowl.
- Put the pilot jet in place and then screw in the idle screw (make sure to adjust the idle screw properly otherwise the engine will idle too fast or too slow)
- Put the carb and gasket back in the engine
- Reconnect the spring and rod
- Roconnect the fuel line to the carburetor
- Put back the Air filter box