Fitting Airbox

[toppleoff]

In the process of discovering everything on my bike is knackered !
Whilst slowly dismantling it as i find further problems i discovered the airbox-carb rubbers are solid. I have been advised to soak these in antifreeze overnight to soften them up a bit.
Before i removed it i noticed the airbox does not sit down on the rubbers enough to engage properly with them and i could not get it to sit down enough despite removing the fixing bolt and a decent amount of force.
Any tips before i start putting it all back together again ?

[teejayexc]

Try squirting silicon spray* in 'em before refitting.

*Pledge polish works too

[amorti]

Get 50ml of wintergreen oil from eBay, dilute it in a big pot, and simmer for an hour. This has worked wonders for me. Don't let the rubbers sit on the bottom of the pan (hence the string).

Antifreeze? never heard of that.

TJ, silicon spray will only help if the rubber are able to go over the carbs at all. On mine and probably the OP's, the rubber are shrunk and hard like wood.

[spireite]

It's a nightmare getting them back on. You screw one down and find another not seated properly on the other side and this can go on for ages until you're extremely peed off.Try seating and tightening the rubbers up before screwing down the airbox.Imho I would avoid touching them in future if possible they are a bugger to get back on.