Inliners International Forums General Discussion Engines Soldering the Rochester Float

Hi

The float in my old rochester (for a 216 Chevy)is full of petrol. I need to get it out since I can not get hold of a new one. The float is made of the halves an upper and an lower. These two halves are soldered together. My plan is:
1. Gently us a electronics soldering iron to get a small hole.
2. Pour out the petrol.
3. Remove all old tin. (Separate the float in halves)
4. Solder the two halfs together again using electronics tin.

Is a elextronics soldering iron enough or do I need a gas tourch?
Is there a special tin for this kind of stuff?
Is is stupid to drill a small hole first to get out the petrol?

Thanks in advance
/Jonas

not quite sure how they rebuild em...but i'm pretty sure they drill a hole and solder it back up when done...a good strong solder would be plumbers solder...its god more lead in it...but regular electronic solder might hold up fine...fir using plumbers solder i think u can only use a torch...not sure since i havent tried using a soldering gun with it. but i think the float may be to thin to take a torch to.

Jonas,You should be able to solder the float using and electric soldering iron and 50/50(tin/lead) solder wire. I once repaired a small split in a radiator this way and it still holds against the
water pressure.Make sure the float is air dried
before applying any kind of heat.You certainly don't want any fumes to ignite.

You might try giving Dan's Classic Auto in Portland, OR (phone: (503) 234-6674) a call and see if they can ship you a new one. I got a new one from them a couple of months ago. It was about $14.

I've soldiered floats before using typical electrial soldier and an electric iron.Yup, drill a small hole to get rid of the fuel inside.To check for leaks simply push down the float in hot water. The air inside expands, any leaks will show bubbles.Usually there are several small cracks to repair.

I have soldered several floats over the years as a emergenecy repair BUT, it is almost Impossible to get the weight right and they never seem to work correctly. Jonas send me your address via e-mail and I will send you a good used one. Paul-paulweldit@hotmail.com

Everobody, thank you so much. This forum is the best with fast responses. I repaired the float by doing.
1. Created 2 holes on opposite sides of each other on the float using a small sewing needle.
2. This way I could blow out the fule inside and I then took water in my mouth to wash the remaining fuel out several times.
3. Let it dry for a while.
4. I found 4 smal 1/4" long cracks on the float which I used water sandpaper on to clean the surface.
5. I then used electronics soldering station together with plumbers tinn with 3% silver and soldering pasta too cover the small cracks and the two holes.
It seems to work. At least it took me to the
power hot rod reunion here in Sweden yesterday.

/Jonas

Jonas,Glad everything worked out ok. If you can post them, we'd enjoy seeing pics of the hot reunion, especially inlines!

Just a word on soldering in general. Plumbing solder flux or paste as it is sometimes called is acid based. Electronic / electrical solder usually has a rosin flux core that acts as the cleaning agent for the bond and it is non corrosive. If you have to use any plumbing flux always be sure to clean the part well in the area of the solder repair to remove all traces of the acid flux. If you don't the acid will slowly attack the surface over a period of time. This is particularly unwanted in your cars electrical system.

Ever look at household copper water pipe connections and wonder what the green corrosion is caused from at elbows, etc? The joint wasn't washed off with a wet rag after it cooled and the flux is still working.

I have some pictures from the Reunion. What is the best way of posting them here? Do I have to put them on my own web page account and link to them here in the forum?
Unfortunatily I do _not_ have any picture of the one methanol inline GMC 6 slingshot dragster that was there :-(

/Jonas

Jonas,

You can put them on your own page and link them using the "image" button which shows up when you post a new topic, or you can E-mail the pictures to me and I will get them posted.

Jack
safesix@eartlink.net