Modern Buddy

I am having issues with my Stella not starting
I'm pretty sure it is because I need my carburetor cleaned out
I went and got a bottle of the spray to do the job and when I opened it all up I could not determine where my filter and carb is at - it Isabella automatic so the placement is a little different

Can anyone direct me to the carburetor and some tips on how to get this done?

I love my Stella but the little hiccups with repairs and such is getting annoying when I only have 250 miles on it

Welcome to the forum.

I recently just rebuilt my carb on a 2012 4T.

First off...do you have any mechanical skill or know how?

Even so it's a fairly easy process.

I would start off by searching in Google for the manual. That's where I found mine and downloaded it. It does give you some instructions on how to dissemble the carb from engine. As for rebuild I don't think it's very clear but plenty of videos on youtube and the such.

I have rebuilt plenty of carbs in the past so I didn't really need the manual at all. Definitely take pictures of each step you take before removal of any bolt or nut or part. It helps in aiding when reassembling. These carbs don't have many parts so it's makes it the easier of any of the carbs I've ever dealt with. Just treat it like legos.

with that all said here are some general instructions:

1. remove engine side cover
2. Shut fuel off. turn petcock to off.
3. I started with loosening the intake hose. there is one small band clamp tightened with a Phillips head screw. this is a flexible rubber hose
4. remove choke/enricher cable. held on by a clamp mounted to carb with a Phillips screw. once that is loose then rotate the end where the ferrule is at and slide out the cable from the holder.
5. loosen and remove the fuel line. have some napkins handy since it will dribble a little fuel out
6. loosen the allen screws that hold the carb to the intake manifold and remove that hard plastic spacer between the manifold intake and carb. This will let you wiggle the carb back from the intake boot. It should then just slide right on up.

matap wrote:Welcome to the forum.

I recently just rebuilt my carb on a 2012 4T.

First off...do you have any mechanical skill or know how?

Even so it's a fairly easy process.

I would start off by searching in Google for the manual. That's where I found mine and downloaded it. It does give you some instructions on how to dissemble the carb from engine. As for rebuild I don't think it's very clear but plenty of videos on youtube and the such.

I have rebuilt plenty of carbs in the past so I didn't really need the manual at all. Definitely take pictures of each step you take before removal of any bolt or nut or part. It helps in aiding when reassembling. These carbs don't have many parts so it's makes it the easier of any of the carbs I've ever dealt with. Just treat it like legos.

with that all said here are some general instructions:

1. remove engine side cover
2. Shut fuel off. turn petcock to off.
3. I started with loosening the intake hose. there is one small band clamp tightened with a Phillips head screw. this is a flexible rubber hose
4. remove choke/enricher cable. held on by a clamp mounted to carb with a Phillips screw. once that is loose then rotate the end where the ferrule is at and slide out the cable from the holder.
5. loosen and remove the fuel line. have some napkins handy since it will dribble a little fuel out
6. loosen the allen screws that hold the carb to the intake manifold and remove that hard plastic spacer between the manifold intake and carb. This will let you wiggle the carb back from the intake boot. It should then just slide right on up.

They have an Auto, you have to drop the engine out to get to the carb, it's inside the body.

Oh right! totally didn't see that. Ignore my prior post.

You can JUST barely remove the carb with the rear body in place, but it's a pain in the ass. Next time, I'll remove the rear shell and everything will be right there. Always run a fuel system cleaner/stabilizer with scoots that don't get ridden a couple of times a week. A little late for you now, but a word to the wise. I use Sea Foam.
There is a thread here or on modern Vespa that has a few steps to clean the carb though the top and side. It's removing the seat, the cover below it and the plastic engine cover then removing as many connections as you can from the top. Open up the left side and remove the airbag and the rest of the hoses and throttle cable (documenting what they are and where they attach), and then get at the carb bolts and free it up. Carefully lift and rotate the carb to get it free of the body, and be careful as the residual fuel will be running out. Once out, remove the bowl and carefully remove and clean the jets. Do it three times and/or leave them sitting in a can of carb cleaner. Clean them one more time (I use thin wire) and them blow them out with compressed air. Clean it one more time and carefully assemble and reverse the steps. Easy as pie, especially if you are double jointed and have unusually small hands!