Needle Seat removal and replacement

I buggered a needle seat while taking it out of one of my WH carbs. Is there a trick to safely pull them and replace? I thought about tape on a large bladed screwdriver to fill the thickness gap.

Re: Needle Seat removal and replacement

Coloradolakeboy said:

I buggered a needle seat while taking it out of one of my WH carbs. Is there a trick to safely pull them and replace? I thought about tape on a large bladed screwdriver to fill the thickness gap.

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A screwdriver the right size in good shape should do just fine. You may have to break down and go buy a decent screwdriver.

Re: Needle Seat removal and replacement

I went to hardware store today with the needle seat. Getting the proper width is no problem. It's the thickness. The gap on the seat is at least 1/16" bigger. Maybe tape?

Re: Needle Seat removal and replacement

If you can't find the PROPER screwdriver, take the largest you can find and file/grind of the end until you get the required thickness to fit the slot (the blades are tapered, so as you shorten the blade, the thickness increases).

Re: Needle Seat removal and replacement

Just use a easyout and replace it with a new one...

Re: Needle Seat removal and replacement

Coloradolakeboy said:

I buggered a needle seat while taking it out of one of my WH carbs. Is there a trick to safely pull them and replace? I thought about tape on a large bladed screwdriver to fill the thickness gap.

Click to expand...

Might try a set of gunsmithing screw drivers. A good set comes with a wide assortment of different blade widths and thickness' and are hollow ground to fit the slots better. I bought a set years ago for my firearms and found they work great for a lot of applications.

Re: Needle Seat removal and replacement

Thanks for all your input guys. For the replacement of the new needle seats I modified a barely used Craftsman two fister slotted screwdriver that had the proper width of the needle seat. I used electrical tape until I achieved the desired thickness. I then eased the new needle seats into the carb.
The idea of grinding down a driver is indeed a great idea, but I am more McGyver like and not machine shop like. It worked for installing the new seats on carb #1. I'll let you know if it works on removing the old seats undamaged on carb #2 and #3. I will also post pics of the old and the new needle seats to see who can I.D. the old ones. I can tell you right now... it's tough unless the old ones have a broken spring!