White scale buildup in fuel rail between carbs, HELP!

I pulled the TK carbs off my '83 KZ550-F1 last night and started disassembling them for a rebuild. As I was breaking them down I pulled off the fuel rails between each of the carbs and on the T-rail between the #2 and #3 carbs there was a ton of white scale on the down tube and the one running to carbs #3 and #4. I've never seen scale like this in a fuel line and it was just on that side, the #1 and #2 side was clear.

Has anyone seen scale like this in their carbs or fuel lines? Is there anything special I should do as part of the rebuild having found this?

The scale was so thick that the line was almost complete obstructed. It explains why I had problems running the bike at higher speeds. I originally thought it was an issue with the pilot jets or floats but starving two of the carbs might also have something to do with it!

Is there a question in this post?

coffeedragon wrote:

Has anyone seen scale like this in their carbs or fuel lines?

Yep, at various places all over my engine. Aluminum can corrode like a real SOB, that's why aircraft skins are treated with anti corrosion coatings. My 750 came with some kind of clear yellow coating on the front fork tubes to minimize this.

coffeedragon wrote:

Is there anything special I should do as part of the rebuild having found this?

I suppose you could bead blast it and then anodize (or alodine) it. That's what we always did to aluminum pieces that had to be protected.

wiredgeorge wrote:

Is there a question in this post?

Yea wiredgeorge, I'm just too wordy to make it obvious I guess.

I was wondering if I should be concerned about the scale buildup in the fuel rail and possibly in the bowl of the #3 and #4 carbs (won't know about the bowls until I break them open tomorrow)?

As a follow up question, is there an easy way to get rid of it other than scraping? It is inside the rail so I can't blast it out. Will a baking soda solution work like it does on battery terminals?

The best way to remove the aluminum oxide build up is to use a bore brush (go to Wally - in sporting goods section near the guns) on a drill. Spin the drill counter clockwise. If it was in the float bowls, I would bead blast and then clean the carburetors ultrasonically. I don't know about baking soda.