Autolite 1100 out of the ultrasonic cleaner. Now I know why

Jul 7

Autolite 1100 out of the ultrasonic cleaner.
Now I know why the '65 Comet runs badly. Whoever was in here last lost the pump discharge check ball and weight!
I've got a new ball for it but I'm going to have to make a new weight.
Most of my paying customer work seems to be undoing what the last shop did.

#65comet #sgmechanicalservice #carburetor #ifixstuffyoucant

Jul 7, 2026

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Replies (9)

· Jul 7

Somebody in a previous topic (me perhaps?) mentioned the tractor mechanic problem. In fairness to the great farmers out there maybe we need a new pejorative for mechanics that screw stuff up.

Not to be a dummy, but what is an ultrasonic cleaner?

· Jul 7

The generic "Bubba" seems to be a popular substitute. Ultrasonic cleans with ultra high frequency sound waves.

· Jul 7

I think the proper term is: "My buddy can do it cheaper."
Bubba works.
Ultrasonic cleaners use high frequency sound waves in a cleaning solution to blast any little particles loose. I just bought a new, 5 gallon unit this spring and I think it's been running almost every day.
I don't waste time cleaning and scrubbing anymore. I just knock the worst of the gunk off with a brush, toss the parts in a bucket of solvent and place it in the cleaner and it runs while I'm doing other stuff.
I call mine "the apprentice"

· Jul 7

That is cool. Still has the solvent? What does something like that go for?

· Jul 7

I fill the tub on the machine with tap water. Then I use a bucket of solvent, sitting in the water to put the parts in.
This keeps the machine from being damaged by the cleaning solvent and makes it easy to get parts out and keep the solvent clean.
I use gasoline in sealed jars for small parts and bigger stuff uses a mix of degreaser and water in an open tub.
I think I paid about $500 for mine on Amazon.

· Jul 14

Replaced the missing check ball and machined a new weight to specs I managed to find online (how did we do this before the internet?)

Carburetor is back on the car and it runs great.

Now that it stays running long enough for me to get my head under the hood, I can see the fuel pump leaking. New pump is on order.

Fun with old cars....

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· Jul 14

Before the internet you made a lot of phone calls. That meant you needed the phone numbers. I was explaining the notion of a phone book to a 30 year old. He was amazed. Phone book would not help in this case but hopefully you had club members to call.

· Jul 14

I had this conversation with my son in law. How old do you need to be to know what a phone book was? Yellow pages mystified him.

With technical questions like what Shawn was talking about, you needed to know who in the club to call, and that person might give you two other phone numbers and it could go on for a while. And you would need to call at night after dinner. And many people would not pick up a phone if you called while they were having supper. So you needed to hit just the right window after supper and before it was too late.

· Jul 15

I got lucky and found a Ford service manual that someone had posted online and in it were the specs for the carburetor.