Taxi plunger shot fix
I have posted multiple times like others here looking to see how to fix my plunger shot. When I purchased my game it would only go around the bowl 2-3 times max. This is a major game element and it did not work, I was pretty bummed about it.
I did all the following things:
- Corrected the sagged and bent playfield brackets - helped a lot.
- Replaced plunger sleeve - helped a bit
- Played with every spring stiffness, settled on the strongest one - did less than you might think.
- Opened cabinet opening where plunger casting is mounted to allow full adjustability to center the plunger on the ball - settled on hitting the ball very slightly above center.
- Replaced the casting with a new one, mine was aimed right. I could center it on the ball but it always aim right, like putting English on a pool ball. - helped a bit.
- Went back and forth with the plunger tip being a new natural rubber one vs a Titan one. - no real impact.
- Tried removing the wire gate at the top of the wireform - no impact.
Generally I got to the point where I could maybe get up to 100k (7 turns) but most of the time it was 50-75k at most. I also found it varied a lot. The rod in the sleeve is just not that precise in its fit. Pull your plunger all the way out and pull the knob up/down/side/side, it moves around and that can mis-aim the ball. I would often hear a obvious thump/thwack sound as the ball was somewhere in the ramp wire form region, clearly losing energy somewhere.
I found how I pulled the plunger mattered. Pulling it out to a hard stop and releasing was usually worse than a single smooth pull and release at the end point, still not clear why this matters. I suspect the angular slop in the sleeve is the issue since I probably pull out, and then up a bit.
Finally I wondered why my shooter lane has significant wear well past the entrance to the wireform. Shouldn't the ball be riding the wires by that point? I believe that over the years the ball has hammered the wires into a bowed shape, anyone tightening the nuts underneath would just pull it down even more. In the end, the wireform is really low in its recesses.
Check out the video, the takeaway: I bent the wireform back to what it probably looked like when new. I raised the entrance end using small spacers and some washers on the threaded screw mounts so the rails are up and just under the edges of the ball. The ball rides the wires as soon as it gets to them, it no longer runs on the wood. I get way more consistent plunge shots. I have seen as many as 20 revolutions.
I also found that my long Taxi plastic laying on the wireform was affecting the ball for some reason so I have bent it up and off of it. Putting the glass and lock down bar on also reduces the number of turns for some reason I don't understand. All buttoned up, I have played about 50 games since and I usually wrap-around to 1k over 5k now. I actually scored a passenger (25k) by wrapping around. On one shot I scored 100k by wrapping around and getting to 100k a second time.
So far so good. I am sure this will help some of the Taxis out there.