Pilot screw jammed in!

[ChrisB]

Hi everyone.
Here's a good one. Trying to sort the rough patch just off idle. Pulled the carbs off to clean out the jets etc. Spotted the ends of two of the pilot screws sticking out into the carb throat. Looks like they've been screwed in so tight, they've sheared off the tips and jammed in the air hole.
I've had a tentative prod to try to push them out without luck. No idea how long they may have been like this as bike is a project. Oddly, she idles quite nicely?
1. How to knock them out without bending them and making the job impossible.
2. Are replacements available?

Thanks guys.

[zed1015]

I presume you are talking about the fuel mixture screws that sit under the carbs and that the screws have unscrewed and just left the tips in the holes ?
The broken tip is usually so small there's no chance of bending it and they just pop out with a sharp tap.
Might be worth soaking them with WD etc if they are corroded in.
New screws should be available individually from ALLENS or Kawasaki (and Suzuki) and they are also included in the NRP Keyster carb rebuild kits.

[scott]

Chris I had a similar issue on my z1000a2, when I had removed the offending broken tip I noticed that the hole had widened slightly. When fitting the new screw it was found to be correct at half a turn out and not the service manual stated 1.5 turns out. I guess the broken tip had widened the hole quite a bit, not surprising if one material is brass and the other is shite alloy casting. Just for your information if you can't get it to idle smoothly.

[ChrisB]

So, after failing with the 'sharp tap' technique, Allens have them!
They usually block up all the holes and fill them with light oil to 'hydraulic' them out. Trouble is i think i have bent them so I have to wait and see what Allens can do. They did have a beautiful set of CR's in their display case but at a salty £700 i've got my fingers crossed that they can remove the tips.

[scott]

Chris, my blockage was with z1000a2 carbs which have the screw underneath. I managed to push the broken tip out from the other side with a drill bit which was in a pillar drill....just used the arm of the pillar as a point to push out the tip, the drill wasn't spinning.