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I just found a possible way to soften old carb boots

4K views 10 replies 7 participants last post by  mg4201 
#1 ·
I just read of a way to make old carb boots soft again. It uses a 3-1 mixture of rubbing alcohol and oil of wintergreen. I am going to do this tonight and i will let you know monday if it worked.
 
#5 ·
I agree with Andrew - they just need a bit of heat. I simply give them a lube where they go through the airbox and over the carbs - then warm them up gently with the wife's hairdryer.

Personally, I wouldn't soak them in chemicals for 24hrs. Heat them up and pop them on.
 
#10 ·
I got wintergreen oil from the Walmart pharmacy. Yes it does work, but it swells them quite a bit, you have to wait a few days and they will go back to normal. Your bike will also smell like chewing gum for a long while. I used a mixture of xylene and wintergreen, people said it was the xylene that made them soft but I tried xylene on it's own and no go.

I hear that boiling water and winter green works as well, would be better, no harsh chemicals. They hardened back up after about 6 months.
 
#11 ·
i went ahead and did this using a 3-1 mixture of rubbing alcohol and oil of wintergreen. They are much softer and they did grow by about 20%. They soaked in the mixture for about 48 hours. I will put them back on the bike soon. I used wintergreen from my local wallymart and cheapo water bottles from the dollar store. Do you guys want pictures of the boots as they are now? I don't have any "before" pictures.
 
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