How to soften carb boots?

[whiteman350x]

We hade a small engine fire on an 85 250es. Got it out without too much damage. The 2 airbox tubes didn't burn thru but the mouths of them shrunk and hardened. Anything I can do to soften them back up?

[Supraman0614]

I am currently restoring an 87 250sx and I have all of the rubber parts in a ziploc bag that I sprayed a bunch of silicone into. I have been re-spraying the parts periodically, and they have been in the bag for about 3 weeks. The boots have softened quite a bit. I'm not sure how well that would work if the rubber were flame hardened, though.

[newby200x]

There's an old thread claiming to boil these parts in a solution of water and Murphy's Oil Soap. I'm unsure of the results of this though.

http://www.3wheelerworld.com/showthr...ghlight=murphy

[barnett468]

You could also try soaking the shrunken ends in brake fluid for a day or so checking them periodically. This may take several days to have any affect on them if it is going to but it may also ruin them.

If they are more like plastic then rubber, you can also buy an expandable rubber plug from the auto parts store then expand it into the opening, then dip the end into boiling water for around 30 seconds, then remove it and hold the hose with a glove or towel while you expand the plug a little, then repeat the process. After it has expanded to the size you need, put the end back into the after for 30 seconds, then remove it and immediately run cold water from the faucet over it. This will prevent it from shrinking back up after you remove the plug.

You can also buy used boots on ebay.

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fro...0-680&_sacat=0


Here's what the plugs look like.

.....................

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[morgan]

I just usually boil mine in mildly soapy water and they work fine works great for bigger carbs and such.

[RubberSalt]

Dad softened the rubber window seals on his 52 plymouth. He coated everything in Joe's hand cleaner. Reapplied it ever few days with seal seals out of car. After a few weeks, stuff was super soft and flexible.

[Scootertrash]

The fact that they were heated and possibly burned in a fire pretty much eliminates the methods of softening "normally aged" boots. The heat from the fire very possibly made them far more brittle.

YMMV

[crazycooter]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eTF6tnYYdc

Or just soak your rubber parts in a 50/50 mix of pure wintergreen oil and isopropyl alcohol for 36 hours+ . LOL

[barnett468]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eTF6tnYYdc

Or just soak your rubber parts in a 50/50 mix of pure wintergreen oil and isopropyl alcohol for 36 hours+ . LOL

ummm...not quite, you forgot about the other process he used first and the other 5 items he added to the mix, and that he only soaked them for 24 hours, but whose counting.

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[Leevvii]

i just had this issue with my 2ooX carby boot. The wintergreen oil video got me researching the topic. The wintergreen oil is ridiculously expensive,, and its the methyl salicylate that is the ingredient that does the plasticizer reconditioning. Now heres what worked for me, i know this sounds like a joke, but it actually worked. I used dencorub/deep heat/metsal, which is an ointment for muscle soreness, of which methyl salicylate is the active ingredient. I rubbed it all over the carby boot [quite liberally], put it in a plastic ziplock bag, and out in the sunshine, i repeated this over 4 days, applying more of the ointment each day, and it actually worked. And it did not leave any sticky residue like brake fluid can do.

[barnett468]

i just had this issue with my 2ooX carby boot. The wintergreen oil video got me researching the topic. The wintergreen oil is ridiculously expensive,, and its the methyl salicylate that is the ingredient that does the plasticizer reconditioning. Now heres what worked for me, i know this sounds like a joke, but it actually worked. I used dencorub/deep heat/metsal, which is an ointment for muscle soreness, of which methyl salicylate is the active ingredient. I rubbed it all over the carby boot [quite liberally], put it in a plastic ziplock bag, and out in the sunshine, i repeated this over 4 days, applying more of the ointment each day, and it actually worked. And it did not leave any sticky residue like brake fluid can do.

Can you post a photo of exactly which one you used since Dencorub seems to make a few different types.

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[Leevvii]

Extra strength heat gel [tube], methyl salicylate 260mg/gm [26%] and menthol 70mg/gram [7%], it just what i had , most of these muscle balm preps use methyl salicylate in about the same %, i assume the US versions are the same as Aust, but check the product listing to be sure, I used it on the boot that links the airbox to the carby, not sure if it will work on the solid mounting rubbers that are in your pics you posted in the post above [rubber too thick???]

[Jd110]

This works good, not sure if it’s available anymore.

Says silicone, so there it is


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[Dirtcrasher]

At this poin

[Shep1970]

At this poin

Huh? Hey steve have you been smokin’ glamy’s herbs?

Shep