Posted by Sparks on January 18, 1999 at 11:09:11:
Last weekend I pulled a plug to take a look. They were all black, but looked good. The shop that installed them must have used the "out of the box" gapping method. they were all .025".
So, I cleaned them up and reset the gap (except for the one on the passenger's side I couldn't reach- 3rd back from the front, passenger side)
Lo and behold she ran fantastic.
This weekend I go after the last plug, and had to put in a new one. (it was very old, and insulator broke upon removal).
I used a can of carb cleaner on the carb (factory 2bbl)It was so black it didn't even look metal, replaced some cracked vacuum hoses, replaced the breather, air and fuel filters.
It resisted starting, and had some backfiring. So I replaced the wires. I did'nt have the buckos for the good ones right now, so I bought
what the shop had. This made a litte difference, but not much.
The most noticable problem is upon acceleration between 25 and 45MPH. It surges and backfires.
I cannot swing the price of a carb right now, or even the price of shop help.
This Mav is used daily - I got it to keep me out of the elements. (normally ride a Mcycle)
I should be getting a Chilton Manual this week- I was high bidder at ebay.
In the meantime, I could use a litte advice.
one more thing, on the side of the carb is a round black device my mechanic referred to as a preheater
when I had the water pump replaced. It is set as rich as it will go. I tried moving it from as lean as it will go and back, and different points in between,
with no difference in performance.