In August of 2024, ThumperLife did a post asking for help with his carburetor.  The carb was super-rich, and he was out of ideas.  I offered to go through the carb and determine what was wrong with it.

This link provides background information.

https://suzukisavage.com/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1723039919/21#21

There is lots of surface corrosion and the usual array of rounded out pan head screws.  The throttle plate screws are concerning, but best left undisturbed.  Too risky to tamper with.

It didn’t take long to figure out that this carburetor was the victim of a cheap, aftermarket overhaul kit. Puleeeeeze, stay away from these aftermarket overhaul kits.  They screw up every circuit in the carb; idle, transition, mid-range, & WOT.  It makes diagnostics almost impossible because you are chasing four or five problems all at once.   Use genuine Suzuki parts (i.e. OEM).

This old post gives the straight skinny on aftermarket carb kits.  They are, for the most part, JUNK.  Tabooo, Stay Away.  Metallic carb parts rarely wear out.  Just clean them.  Don’t resort to one of these kits.  If you must use an aftermarket kit, use the info contained in my old post to evaluate the suitability of the components.

http://suzukisavage.com/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1641171298

Of more concern, the carb body had been damaged by an unskilled attempt to drill out the original mixture screw.  Almost all the internal threads have been destroyed, and the seating surface for the o-ring is chewed up.  Hopefully, the critical seat for the mixture screw taper is not damaged.

A quick check with a pin gage shows that pilot hole for the mixture screw is the correct size, but it’s hard to ascertain if the actual seat, which is much smaller, is OK.

Looking at the slide from the outlet side of the carb, it looks worn.

As suspected, the slide needle was bogus.  It’s brass in lieu of anodized aluminum, and the basic diameter is too small (.1170 vs 1185” stock).  That’s only .0015”, but these needles generally come in .0003” increments, so a change of ,0015” is about 5 increments.  Since the taper starts at the basic diameter, 5 increments smaller is a lot richer.

To make matters worse, the needle clip was in the bottom groove (richest setting), but it can be moved to a higher groove.  Also, the washer between the spring and the e-clip is missing.

Dead giveaway.  Doesn’t take a keen eye to see this.