plunger height adjustment

elfyhead

New member
Joined
Aug 14, 2010
Messages
697
Reaction score
6
Location
New Mexico
on both my TAF and FH, the ball shooter/plunger hits the ball significantly above center - in fact on the TAF, you can barely make the skill shot with it pulled all the way back.

i've tried adjusting them by loosening the screws and moving the assembly around in the hole, but there's just not much room for adjustment there.

i tried shimming them, but nothing worked satisfactorily.

what is the standard way to adjust the height on plungers? seems like it should be easy, but i must be missing something :)...
 
There is usually enough room if you loosen all three screws to make it better.

One other important part is if the brackets holding the playfield to the lock down bar part are bent, your whole playfield may be resting high or low in the cabinet.

LTG :)
 
There is usually enough room if you loosen all three screws to make it better.

Definetly enough room. You will also be able to adjust left to right. I usually adjust it, snug up the screws and drop the playfield down and test it. Repeat as needed.
 
i guess i didn't describe well enough. sure, i can adjust it, but i can't get it any *lower* - the adjustment only makes it worse.

but LTG's comment about p/f height made me have a look at that (i hadn't really been considering it), and on the TAF, the p/f is definitely sitting a bit low, which makes the plunger too high. it's not sitting on the carriage bolts quite right, and the nuts are gone completely. so, looks like i'll be replacing those, and hopefully that will help enough.
 
I noticed on a game I just got that the shooter tip was shot, so I put a new one on, but there were still problems. It seems like it depended on how the tip was positioned. It was not 100% straight to the ball If I turned to shooter rod the tip would hit the ball at a different spot. Could be that it is just that the shooter tip is not on straight. Not sure, but it could be that the shooter rod bushing is worn and it is not hitting to ball correctly. Never had this problem, but I guess it could happen with an older game.
 
Sounds like you've found your problem, but I'll mention that there is a sleeve that the rod travels in. If the sleeve is gone or worn, you'll get slop, a weak plunge, and uneven hits on the ball.
 
messed around with it a bit last night. how the p/f sits on the bolts certainly makes a difference, though i don't think it will ever get the plunger to the center of the ball. but it helps quite a bit.

the plunger itself is fine (sleeve included) - i've taken it apart and cleaned it.

and it's not the tip...

i have to figure out what to do about the p/f carriage bolts now though - the holes for them have gotten expanded to the bottom. with the pressure of the p/f on them and no nut, they've been sagging for some time i guess, so the wood is worn out on the bottom part of the hole. but i think with new bolts and nuts it might be OK. i'm hoping to avoid having to do woodwork on the cabinet (but might not be able to!).
 
I have had to take a wood rasp to the bottom half of the hole in the cabinet for the ball shooter assembly. By "filing" out the hole a bit, it gives more room to slide the ball shooter assembly around to get the right position of it.

Be sure your machine is level first though.
 
I have had to take a wood rasp to the bottom half of the hole in the cabinet for the ball shooter assembly. By "filing" out the hole a bit, it gives more room to slide the ball shooter assembly around to get the right position of it.

Be sure your machine is level first though.

yeah, i was wondering about that - good to know that it's not crazy to think about doing it! i've got to get the p/f set first, then i'll see how it sits.
 
i had this problem before, check and make sure the metal part the "gauge" that shows you how far the plunger is pulled back does not have the front parts bent forward. this will stop the ball from sitting as far back in the shooter lane as it should. resulting in a weaker plunge and hitting higher on the ball.

might not be your issue but worth checking for.
 
Back
Top Bottom