Tips on Rebuilding a ZS Carburetor
by various list members
Does anyone have any experience installing one of those carb rebuild kits for a stock Zenith Stromberg like they sell in Moss & the other catalogs?
Susan Hensley responded:
Rebuilding the carb IS a simple job -- you just have to follow the instructions carefully and take care to make sure you don't nick the new seals or diaphragm. I use a dental pick tool to fish the old o-rings and seals out of the hard-to-get-to places.
Two tips:
1) Be sure to fit the tab on the diaphragm into the slot on the top edge
of the bowl.
2) Be sure to replace the butterfly linkage o-ring(s) (where the linkage enters the carb body).
And be aware you will have extra parts -- the manufacturers enclose all seals and gaskets for variations of carbs so they don't have to specialize their kits and make life more difficult. You may have a gasket for a water choke and one for a manual choke, for example. Read the instructions carefully and compare the parts you remove to make sure the right one goes back on.
Craig Smith added:
Might want to plug that little by pass valve on the opposite side from the linkage while your there. It doesn't do anything but cause problems. Take a nice piece of the leftover gaskets and plug that puppy up.
Reid Simmons also wrote:
I recently did a rebuild on my ZS carb. I took mine completely apart and thoroughly cleaned every "nook and cranny" of every part (screws included!). It was really quite easy and it now looks like new. But be careful with the damper spring (don't stretch or compress it), and the bypass valve. If you do get a rebuild kit you'll find that there are far more gaskets included than are needed (the kit is for a variety of ZS carbs).
and Joe Curry responded:
I stay away from the ZS carbs myself, but try not to put them down. I do want to make this comment while you are looking for kits. Make sure you ask it the kit contains the metering needle. Many (on the SU kits at least) don't. I have found that the SU kits from TRF do have the needles, so try them.
Robert P also commented:
Easy to install, but may not fix your problem. If the needle seat is worn, tough luck. If the problem is anything else, the rebuild should fix it, and it's easy.
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