Posted by Ron S. on January 19, 1999 at 21:27:19:
In Reply to: AAAAARGH! it may be my carb! posted by Sparks on January 18, 1999 at 11:09:11:
Hey "Sparks"...as I've just finished reviewing old stuff (to find out what year your Mav is) another possibility came to mind. If yours is a '73, it "should" (IF it's still stock) have an aluminum 'spacer' under the carb (for the EGR valve). This spacer can/will/does corrode to the point of 'leaking' raw air into the manifold, obviously the gaskets associated with it could be leaking too . Another related suggestion is your EGR valve itself, could be sticking/stuck causing the lousy idle/running. Just some more ideas...
: 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.