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HD8 Carbs Removal

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Oh man, I just started this same carb removal and ran into the same problem, thus consulted this forum. I too was hoping to read about the 'miracle cure'. I'll try your suggestions - shorter wrenches, grinding down the outer edges, bending the handle, etc. If the "OD" of the box end of a wrench is ground down, will that enable it to fit between the nut and the carb body? (Is that what bdcvg is suggesting?) And the 12 pt / jet / ARP nuts sound like the way to go for reassembly - looks like a special wrench is needed for those 12 pt nuts because they don't have flat faces - more like a star nut?
 
Wall-e said:
Oh man, I just started this same carb removal and ran into the same problem, thus consulted this forum. I too was hoping to read about the 'miracle cure'. I'll try your suggestions - shorter wrenches, grinding down the outer edges, bending the handle, etc. If the "OD" of the box end of a wrench is ground down, will that enable it to fit between the nut and the carb body? (Is that what bdcvg is suggesting?) And the 12 pt / jet / ARP nuts sound like the way to go for reassembly - looks like a special wrench is needed for those 12 pt nuts because they don't have flat faces - more like a star nut?
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Nothing special other than a 1/4” ratchet, elbow and the correct 12 pt socket size. I think I used a short 3” extension too.
 
Thanks. I was thinking that a socket and ratchet wouldn't fit in the space, but that will be great if it does.
 
I bought half moon wrenches and off-set wrenches to try and get a better angle. Neither worked. I had to use my thin 1/2 inch wrench that is about 4 inches long. It has a straight open end and a 90 degree open end. I managed to get the nut just to turn ever so slightly and then worked it a little turn at a time. It was slow and tedious and a royal pain. I don't think there is a magic bullet, just a bad design for maintenance. A little trouble putting them back on but not as difficult a taking the bottom inside nuts off. I probably dropped the washers and nuts several times before getting them on those studs. I had placed towels and paper towels under the carbs so I could find the parts when I dropped them. My magnet got a good workout as well. Good luck. It is aggravating.
 
Did you try the stubby wrench I suggested from Harbor Freight? Just the right size, and I tried a lot of wrenches.
I put a little dum dum between the washer and lock nut to keep them together for installation.
We all go through the misery of getting those two washers/lock washers/nuts off/on.
Congrats on your success.
 
Wall-e said:
Thanks. I was thinking that a socket and ratchet wouldn't fit in the space, but that will be great if it does.
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I use this setup for the bottom carb bolts on my BJ8 plus the appropriate size socket. The HANDEE CLAMP comes in real handy holding nuts in position too.
 

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Just got the carbs out. Not terribly bad, the un-modified stubby was all I needed. I must have skinny contortionist arms. Thanks all for your advice. I'm sure I'll be back with more questions as I start the carb rebuild process. In fact - 1st question - how do I assess whether I need the more expensive rebuild kit with the new throttle shafts? And/or oversize shaft (for which it looks like a $370 reamer is needed)?
 
If/when you get to that stage it might be worth finding a machine shop nearby who can ream simple things like that to size. Or send them out to a specialty shop if the price for reaming is right. Also, adjustable reamers aren't that expensive, they just take some time and trial and error testing to set them up. If you are careful you can get good results with them.
 
On HD8s the bushing at the end of the throttle shaft is a piece of teflon that is easily replacable. No need to ream anything or replace throttle shafts.
 
Goldie said:
Now struggling with getting the last 2 interior nuts on the carb to manifold bolts. I have finally learned after many, many years of dropping parts, bits, and tools into the frame, I now put a cloth towel and paper towels to block off the abyss that seems to exist in the engine bay. I am going to try to find those nuts on the internet.
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if and when i drop anything into the engine compartment of one of my sports cars that's smaller than, let's say, a sparkplug socket, i've got about a 50/50 chance of ever seeing it again. you'd think i'd have learned how to avoid that happening (see quote) by now.
 
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