ShotGun or Peashooter

[paulmartone]

First, I have learned so much from this Forum, Thank you Very Much!!!!!

I have read of others having backfiring on deceleration/popping/wheezing, but on acceleration nothing wrong at all. Things I have already done are,

Tightened bolts from exhaust to header, both front and back. Tightened bolts from pipe to exhaust. Replaced my spark plugs. I will note here that my front two plugs were nice and white and dry, my back two however were dark and wet looking. I had all the plugs out and checked for spark visually while turning the bike on. They all looked nice and bright and of the same consistency. My question now is I have read the instructions for both shotgun and Peashooter, Is there one that I should try before the other? I read in the peashooter he did not recommend blasting air to clear circuits as air can complicate things by forcing dirt...

I'm going to be taking my vmax to the show and shine here in Vancouver this August and want it to sound as awsome as it looks. Thanksunk:

 

[alorio1]

The shotgun method is very effective and the best for cleaning carb circuits. I would also check A/F screws and put them @ 2 1/2 turns out to see if that helps with popping on deceleration, but be sure and write down where they are set before you do this in case you have to go back to original A/F screw settings. If you have a carb sync meter that would also be a good thing to do for sure.

 

[SpecOps13]

As the names imply, the Shotgun procedure is the more powerful of the 2. Peashooter is more of a normal maintenance thing... Good Luck..

 

[maleko89]

Be careful with the shotgun and do not set your PSI too high. Some have knocked their floats out of adjustment. If using carb cleaner make sure you remove all the rubber pieces you can...slides, o-rings, etc.

 

[jfeagins]

Too much carb cleaner down holes other than the ones indicated in the shotgun instructions can/will do harm to your coasting enrichener diaphrams. Been there, done that one. You don't want to do that.

Oh, and when using pressurized carb cleaner, be sure to wear your safety goggles. That chiit will ruin a pair of contact lenses in a hurry. (don't ask how I know that)

 

[one2dmax]

+1 - I go through one set of safety glasses on each rebuild and I KNOW it's going to spray me and still can't avoid it.

Sean

 

[Rusty McNeil]

No kidding, I use it to blow passages while standing outside in the driveway knowing full well what is coming, and still get it past the glasses into my eye:bang head:

Really calls for goggles, or a haz mat suit!

 

[jfeagins]

One can of Berryman B12 carb cleaner = $4.00.
New pair of hard contact lens = $60.00.
Knowing those lens' probably saved my eyes from being chemically scalded = PRICELESS!

Sure was a MF'ing BEEECH getting from the garage into the house to flush my face with my eyes clamped shut and burning like that though. (screaming like a little kid all the way)

Never did find those lens afterwards. They might have shot out when I clamped my eyes shut in the garage. Might have been flushed out in the sink. Might have melted them down to nothing. Goggles were laying right there next to the carb I was working on, but I forgot to put them back on after a bit of supper that evening.

 

[maleko89]

Getting shot in the eye is why I mapped all the float bowl holes out....a blast in the eye from the main air jet sucks ass.

 

[Miles Long]

My bike as well is starting to have low speed/idling problems. The idle speed has gradually dropped to about 800rpm, and the bike stalls occasionally at lights. On the plus side, it still starts well, and pulls great without hesitation, at all speeds above a whisper.
This would indicate just idle circuit issues, correct??
I've always been a proponent of the "try the simple things first" philosophy, so I'll try Peashooter method first - seems pretty simple to me.
I've read about the method as described in this forum in several places. I'm going to use Seafoam and a syringe, not a pressurized carb cleaner.
Does anyone have any extra tricks or tips, that they have learned, when doing the Peashooter procedure?(such as Dave/Grumpys tip about draining the float bowls initially)
Thanks in advance, Miles

 

[paulmartone]

What do you think is the better to try, One can of Berryman B12 carb cleaner or my compressor set around 100psi with blast of air?

side note, a little down cause vancouver lost against boston tonight,

Looking forward to clearing my carbs!!

 

[jfeagins]

I can't find the Berryman B12 in a pressurized can anymore in my area. Don't know why. I've resorted to the cheap chitt with wallyworld brand on it. It doesn't have nearly the umph that Berryman's does.

If you are doing the shotgun, and stick to only PAJ1 and PAJ2 holes, I'd say ...........use both. First the pressurized carb cleaner, and then follow it up with a shot of compressed air.

When I have done the pea shooter, I use an eye dropper to direct the drops to the right holes. First I do it with the bike OFF. Then I start it up and repeat a couple times while blipping the throttle.

 

[Thevmaxrider]

I found that doing the peashooter with a syringe full of Sea Foam that I forced down the air jets in the throat of the carbs worked wonders! Do it with the engine running. It will spit, piss, bitch, moan, groan, and smoke like hell, but it worksunk:

 

[alorio1]

Never done the peashooter and I don't dought it works well, but if you are sure you A/F screw move easily I would take maybe 30 more minute of time to do the Shot gun method. But if you aren't sure about your A/F screws moving freely and start to remove them it could ruin your day stripping the head of the A/F screw. I would squirt some PB Blaster in the A/F screw holes just in case the Peashooter method does not clear your problem. Also if you have to remove the A/F screws find a screw driver made of good steel and modify it to fit the A/F screw well. Most people strip the heads of their A/F screws trying to get them out with a tiny pocket screw driver and if the screw happens to get in a bind the pocket screw driver will chip out a portion of the screw head and usually the screw is seized where ever it stopped at and then it on the way to a machine shop. Do yourself a favor and find a screw driver that fits well before you attempt to move a A/F screw that is questionable. I made my own years ago and have never stripped an A/F screw.

 

[jfeagins]

Anybody ever have Maxy spit fire bassackwards up through the airbox and into your face while running carb cleaner through it?

I always imagined it being able to "get' someone, but I've never had it happen. I learned a long time ago, working on a Chevy truck, to not look too closely down the bore of a carb whilst throttling an engine. Darn Holley's will get you every chance they get. I believe I've seen Quadrajunk do it a time or two as well.

 

[Shuriken]

Haven't had much time with the Max in the last year or two. I just did the "shotgun" cleaning last night because my bike wouldn't really run at all at idle without choke. I used carb cleaner and compressed air.

I didn't really see any visible problems except that a couple of jet needles had gunk on them up near the plastic diaphragm assembly (This seems to be consistent with the bike being parked a long time).

After cleaning out/blasting air through the circuits and cleaning the jet needles and reassembling, the bike will idle now.

I will ride the bike a bit with good gas and some treatment and then I will synch the carbs for the season.

I hope I won't have to delve into the jet blocks....

 

[Shuriken]

Okay, well the shotgun may not have worked as well as I thought... perhaps time to look at a jet block cleaning!

 

[paulmartone]

What is a jet block cleaning? I finally got around to the ShotGun method of cleaning my circuits. Work has been so busy. I had a little trouble getting one of the A/F screws out but it did come out. Two of the A/F screws are strip'd, maby only 2 or 3 threads. Should I replace these or do you think it's ok to put them back in? I purchased some seafoam today and am going to try the peashooter, but first I need to know about the strip'd A/F screws. I wrote down the # of turns per screws until gently seated. However I may have screwed up on one of them when I was counting. Looking forward to firing it up soon.

 

[vmax2extreme]

If the A/F screws are stripped, is the actual seat thread need to be re tapped? Can you get one of your good A/F screws in and out without issues? If the seat threading is fine, I'd get new A/F screws......I dont like things broken or just getting by.


Just my 2 cents.....

 

[[email protected]]

I would replace the A/F screws if you see any signs of damage. I know they are not super cheap but, cheaper than the alternative.