WCFB Rebuild - Gray Putty Residue

[Richard M.]

Re: WCFB Rebuild - Gray Putty Residue

Rich,
Like to say one more thing. I find the exact grey crap about 3/16" thick in the oil pans, stuck to the bottom. Not one but every one I have opened, they are aluminum and Magnisium. I can get a large soup can out of every one. The only engine I didn't find it in was one I rebuilt and used Valvoline racing oil in it. All the others had mineral ashless dispersant oil. The gray stuff also built up in a capped place in the crank which caused corrosion and required periodic checks.
I can't see anything similar to your situation other than the exact grey matter I find. Using Valvoline oil stopped it in my situation, but lessened my oil changes from 25 hrs to about 1/2 before the oil needed to be changed. The only suspicion I had was the lead in the fuel that seperated from the carbon that blew down the side of the pistons.
Could it be the protective coating in the new tank that makes it's way thru the stone filter?

Dom

Dom, Interesting. As he posted, Duke had similar gray stuff in the oil canister. I recall some gray goo in a oil canister or 2 in the past and never really took notice.

So the tank was the original tank just flushed out and dried out before reinstallation. I'm not sure what's inside the new tanks, but you bring up a good point...."What's inside new Tanks?" If it's Zinc, Hmmmm?

Rich
PS Still haven't opened up my 2 WCFB's from my '59 yet.

[Frank D.]

Re: WCFB Rebuild - Gray Putty Residue

I've rebuilt 20 or so single application carbs and prob 8-10 dual quad setups, never saw what Rich is seeing....no erosion of pot metal either...I have seen white rust on carbs that sat around for a year or more with those crappy tan air cleaner gaskets. (I only use black ones now). Something in them reacts with the carb's metal... The pics are of my original '63 carb when I took it out of storage. I found the same problem on a 'real deal' 270hp dual quad pair I brought out of storage....all with the tan gaskets... Seems this process stops once the gaskets are put to use and get impregnated with fuel mixture a bit.

Now, I do remember the early red foam dual quad filters, so I wonder if that can deteriorate and work its way into the carb, as to the gray stuff I don't have a clue -- never seen it before. Unless its some JB-Weld repair that deteriorated over the years. I know some insist on globbing that stuff on the small Welch plugs that seal passages sometimes... But I don't think it would be as much as you show there...

[Joe L.]

Re: WCFB Rebuild - Gray Putty Residue

Dom, Interesting. As he posted, Duke had similar gray stuff in the oil canister. I recall some gray goo in a oil canister or 2 in the past and never really took notice.

So the tank was the original tank just flushed out and dried out before reinstallation. I'm not sure what's inside the new tanks, but you bring up a good point...."What's inside new Tanks?" If it's Zinc, Hmmmm?

Rich
PS Still haven't opened up my 2 WCFB's from my '59 yet.

Rich-----


Fuel tanks are terne-coated steel. I believe that terne is a term for an alloy of tin.

[Duke W.]

Re: WCFB Rebuild - Gray Putty Residue

I'm beginning to wonder if somewhere along the line someone dipped that carb in a corrosive solution like muriatic acid. Once acidic corrosion starts, it's difficult to stop. Most of the strong organic "carburetor dips" are long outlawed, and I don't know what you would use today to clean all the deposits out of an old carb.

[Mark E.]

Re: WCFB Rebuild - Gray Putty Residue

Fascinating thread, and I wonder if a definitive root cause of the grey stuff will be determined.

An off topic comment: This thread reminded me of an article I read about the three most misspelled English words, "its", "it's" and "grey". And they're only three to four letters long.

"Grey" is a color; "gray" is a proper noun (e.g. someone's name). In the US, "grey" has been misspelled so frequently over the past decades, many American linguists now acknowledge "gray" as acceptable spelling. An example of deviance being normalized.

[Richard M.]

Re: WCFB Rebuild - Gray Putty Residue

Rich-----
Fuel tanks are terne-coated steel. I believe that terne is a term for an alloy of tin.

Thanks Joe, A buddy found this interesting info too.....

https://www.corrosionpedia.com/definition/1077/terne

I'm beginning to wonder if somewhere along the line someone dipped that carb in a corrosive solution like muriatic acid. Once acidic corrosion starts, it's difficult to stop. Most of the strong organic "carburetor dips" are long outlawed, and I don't know what you would use today to clean all the deposits out of an old carb.

Duke, Good question, and I have the answer.........

About 6 years ago I rebuilt this exact same carburetor. I have the pictorial of the rebuild here.....

http://s684.photobucket.com/user/richmz/library/Misc/WCFB%20Carburetor%20Rebuild

It came off of the '59 as part of a body off restoration. Previously, for over 35 years of ownership by my friend, the car had occasional use only and stored in a NON-humidity controlled environment. This is Florida. Humidity is oppressive in Summer.

Car is a driver so being the wrong WCFB configuration was a non issue. As you click through the photos, you'll see there was a Red powdery substance, but also in the add-on filter that was on the car. This red powdery substance was likely tank & line sediment.

I recall I used a "Solder Seal" product. A 5 gallon can and let the carb soak overnight. This product was not like the older very caustic acidic products used in the past. I even contacted the manufacturer as this newer recipe didn't seem to work very well. It was explained due to regulations, it was a much weaker blend. This is what is available on the market today.

After soaking, as in all of my similar carb work, it was thoroughly washed in a parts wash cabinet using a kerosene based solvent. Then dried using compressed air, then washed with warm/hot water, then air dried again. It was scrupulously clean when I put it back together.

I've used that older more caustic blend in the past on many WCFB's, and even on my own over many years.

Rich

PS I have the "grey" powder saved in a sealed bag if anyone would like it to be analyzed.

Fascinating thread, and I wonder if a definitive root cause of the grey stuff will be determined.

An off topic comment: This thread reminded me of an article I read about the three most misspelled English words, "its", "it's" and "grey". And they're only three to four letters long.

"Grey" is a color; "gray" is a proper noun (e.g. someone's name). In the US, "grey" has been misspelled so frequently over the past decades, many American linguists now acknowledge "gray" as acceptable spelling. An example of deviance being normalized.

Mark, Thanks for that information. I've always been confused by the color versus noun usage. My spell checker doesn't care so what you said about acceptance makes sense.

Grey stuff ....? It's going to be interesting if I ever get this figured out as it's been a real challenge due to its chemical complexity. (How're my "it's"'s in this one)

Rich

[Domenic T.]

Re: WCFB Rebuild - Gray Putty Residue

I wonder how long a RE-Plate would last on a old such carb? Hate to loose #s on original carbs.

Dom