Tore down my R8831A to soak in Berrymen overnight and all day today.

Check ball did not fall out during disassembly. I figured it would turn up in the solvent can or come loose when I take it out of soak.

No luck.

Figured it was lost until i tried to blow carb cleaner down the hole.

It was still in there.

Put old pump cup on a pin punch, filled pump cylinder with carb spray and tried to 'pump' it out. No good.

I slid an old fuel line over a blow gun, wrapped a big ball of teflon tape around it to make a seal, shoved it in the pump bore and pulled the trigger.

No good.

I poured a little acetone in the ball hole and the cylinder and let soak a few minutes (I'm sure it was eating the finish off the fuel bowl). I'll try blow gun tomorrow night after the residual acetone has evaporated. I don't hold out much hope.

I entertained heating with a propane torch. Not sure how stupid that is.

Also, what is 'staking?' Locktite? Red Head? Something else?

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Does it need to come out?

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Yeah....Im the one who destroyed this rare, vintage automobile.....

yes. (it is the root of the problem that precipitated the tear down: no pump shot.)

staking is when you use a pin punch to mess up a good fit so the ball wont move.

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Yeah....Im the one who destroyed this rare, vintage automobile.....

to clarify: I didn't touch the punch to metal. I stuck the tip of the punch in the hole of the cup, and used as a piston to compress carb cleaner into the passage with the ball in order to dislodge it.

I read on the Mike's Carburetor blog that reasonable heating is ok.

I flipped over fuel bowl and heated approximate location of ball with propane torch from inside the carb throat while tapping with a screwdriver handle.

It fell right out.