Double Surgery

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SEAL
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Double Surgery

Post by SEAL » Tue May 24, 2011 3:06 pm

Alright, so my Max-D 2000 and Arctic Blast haven't been functioning well lately, so yesterday, I decided to take them down to the workshop and fix them up. As of now, I've only opened the 2000, but I will try to work on the AB today.

So here's the deal so far, my MD 2000 has been having trigger issues since last summer. The problem is, the valve sometimes doesn't open, or when it does open, it doesn't close all the way, resulting in water leaking out of the nozzle whenever I pump. So I opened it up, and found that the valve mechanism was worn out and not moving very smoothly (I have pictures, but you'll have to wait a little while to see them.). So I lubricated it with vaseline, and it helped a little bit, but it still doesn't fire very well, so I'm thinking of replacing the entire mechanism with something more reliable. Any suggestions?
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Re: Double Surgery

Post by C-A_99 » Tue May 24, 2011 7:35 pm

I wouldn't use vaseline. Silicone grease or spray should do a much better job.

I've encountered a MD5k with a bad valve. It moves smoothly but it leaks badly and I don't have a clue how to fix it short of sawing it off and replacing it. Worst I've encountered on the MD2k was one with a ruptured reservoir which I conjecture that it probably happened from abuse/accident.

For the 2k, I'd try out as many different solutions as possible. If you can get the valve to operate smoothly, it should be fine unless it's broken like the MD5k I had to deal with. For the AB, the issue is almost certainly lubrication unless there's a snapped spring or something. In any case, go with something silicone based; they usually do a far better job.

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Re: Double Surgery

Post by SEAL » Tue May 24, 2011 8:04 pm

I'll try, but I have a feeling it won't work. The mechanism is so worn out that the plastic parts are sagging, and rubbing on the bottom of the casing. Funny, since I only brought it 3 years ago, and I didn't abuse it much.

My AB has broke before; first the little peg that held the spring on one side snapped, I fixed that, but it didn't last long, because I re-mounted the spring, and where I re-mounted it, made it so the spring would get caught on another part of the mechanism, so I opened it again, and lubed it, but it didn't help much. It still works, but I have to push the trigger forward to close the valve after I fire.

For your 5000, can you find where it's leaking from? Because if you can, you can plug it up with epoxy or something.
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Re: Double Surgery

Post by C-A_99 » Tue May 24, 2011 9:10 pm

The valve leaks; the leak isn't anywhere along the pipe but in the valve itself, and a nozzle plugged with epoxy won't do much good, haha.

Plastic parts breaking off of Max-D mechs are the worst. See if you can drill a hole and put a screw through it in place of a peg or something. Or de-Max-D the valve which you'll have to get creative with to do. The FF's main trigger can easily be de-Max-D'd but you have to set the rubber bands in a certain way.

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Re: Double Surgery

Post by SEAL » Tue May 24, 2011 9:36 pm

Oh I see. It looks like you'd have to replace it then.

Anyway, I have some pictures of the MD2000's internals.

Here's a picture of the whole thing.
Image

And here's a close-up of the trigger mechanism. That dark grey lever attached directly to the valve is supposed to go right to left, but right now, it won't go all the way back.
Image

I think that the spring or something in the mechanism has weakened, and can no longer pull back the valve lever. As for my AB, I pumped it up and dry-fired it, and I actually got a blast of air from the nozzle, so maybe it's not broken after all. I'm going to fire it with water in the tank just to be sure; It would be really weird if it somehow fixed itself.
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Re: Double Surgery

Post by C-A_99 » Tue May 24, 2011 9:48 pm

The MD2k I opened is a bit different; the rod from the trigger broke off and connected to a piece that slid along the pump shaft. Looks like they changed the design later to cut down on costs.

Your Max-D mech looks fine, at least from the angle you tok the pics at. To test it manually while it's open, just pull on the main plate directly; don't pull the trigger itself. Also, check the valve alone. Push the valve back without touching the plate that controls it. If it springs back, your mech is okay. If it springs back sluggishly, you may need to lube. However, it may be difficult or impossible to spread the lube thoroughly if the valve is not able to turn 360, but it'll still help.

Haven't dealt with the AB, but the FF should be pretty similar. If the problem is in the riot blast valve, you'll need to disconnect the Max-D mech and lube the valve with silicone. The valve should be able to turn a full 360, and that'll help it spread. After that, there should be no problems with the riot blast.

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Re: Double Surgery

Post by atvan » Tue May 24, 2011 9:59 pm

For the 2000, I may be able to help you. I had a similar problem with a MD 3000. I simply hooked up the spring to the ball valve arm instead of the MD mech, then made e spring stretch farther to give it more force. I actually hooked it up by a screw hole where the was a protrusion- when I open the gun, the spring pops off, but it is pretty easy to put back on. It is also a bit ugly as the front doesn't close all the way, but it work like new, but quiet. I did not have to drill, cut or glue at all. The only problem is that the 3000's lever is 90 degrees from that, on the side, so you may have to make a mou so that the spring stretches farther.

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Re: Double Surgery

Post by SEAL » Sun May 29, 2011 2:58 pm

Well, I think I located the problem. It appears that the lever that pulls open the valve won't turn all the way unless it's forced, and on top of that, I believe the ball itself has gotten stiff. I tried WD-40 and silicone spray, but it only seemed to make it worse. So I took apart the mechanisim to try and find a way to fix it. Here's what I found:

Here's the mech from below. As you can see, there are two screws holding the plate on.
Image

Another view of the mech, this time from the side (The reason I took these pictures is mainly so I can remember how the mech goes back together. :p ).
Image

Here is the mech and trigger after I unscrewed everything and removed it.
Image

And here's the valve without the mech attached. See that little peg in the middle of the valve? That is connected directly to the valve, and it's where the lever screwed on, and I believe that's also part of the problem; The lever doesn't catch on the peg very well due to the plastic wearing out.
Image

Any suggestions? I somehow have to lubricate the valve, and do something about that peg so the lever will grip it better. If anyone has any questions, please fire away; I may not have been very clear.
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Re: Double Surgery

Post by C-A_99 » Sun May 29, 2011 6:36 pm

I completely avoid WD-40 altogether, as there's a lot of confusion and fud about it being spread around. Some forms of it are safe for rubber and plastic, and some are not, and it's damn near impossible without a ton of testing to tell what's safe and what's not. That said, sometimes lubrication can screw things up; hasn't happened in stock blasters, but I recall one time when I applied some kind of silicone spray to a 3/4" PVC valve, it slowed down. No clue what causes that. However, I never really had a problem with lubes that were specifically labeled to be used for plastic and rubber.

Does the valve controlling lever work properly? I never dealt with this problem (where the lever disconnects with the valve) and that actually might explain why my MD5k stopped working properly, not sure. I'll have to investigate this as I've never disassembled a Max-D valve other than its mech; I've always left the lever intact with the valve and never went further.

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Re: Double Surgery

Post by SEAL » Mon May 30, 2011 1:28 pm

Well, it appears that my AB wasn't broken after all! I test-fired it yesterday night, and it didn't leak one bit! That's wierd, because I can swear that I had to manually close the valve by pushing the trigger forward. Maybe something settled in, I don't know, but it was a pleasant surprise. Now it's no longer "Double" surgery. :p

My MD2000 however... I havn't really gotten anywhere. The silicone spray I used says on the can that it's recommended for plastic, so I don't know what's up. I have some silicone grease, that says it's for use on valves (And some other stuff.), but I don't know how I'd get it to the ball; With the spray, all I had to do was shoot it into the nozzle, but for the grease, I would have to find something long and thin to try and poke it down the nozzle. Any better ideas?

EDIT: I lubed the valve with the grease, but when I re-attached the lever, I found that it no longer opened the valve. I believe the problem is that the peg on which the lever attaches has worn down, and is causing the lever to slip and not grip the peg. I will try to figure out a fix, but any suggestions are welcome.
Last edited by SEAL on Mon May 30, 2011 5:20 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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