Service your Foam Lance.

vectra

This was taken from AB Facebook page so thanks to them

Tools needed

https://scontent-b-mxp.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/1004899_10152029124387226_1821723989_n.jpg

The Lance



Tools again


Place Lance in Vice



Remove Connector



Like so



Push out securing pin on nozzle



Slide off nozzle



Place in vice and remove brass bar



Now looks like this



Unscrew foam injector screw



Check that is not blocked with anything, if it is this can cause poor foam.



Now prize of the nozzle blades from the end of the lance, use the screwdriver to do this.



Like so

vectra

Back in the vice and undo the main barell of the lance to reveal the metal strainer (filtering Gauze)



Like so



Here is the gauze



Push it out



Inspect it! You can try to soak it overnight in de-scaling fluid! Try the lance again, if you still get poor foam then you need it replacing.



Make sue the hole is not blocked



Remove adjuster



Remove seal from Barrel shaft



Place in Vice and remove barrel



Remove foam Pickup



Like so



Remove it, sometimes dirt, grit blocks the hole in the foam pick up, this will result in no foam being picked up via the plastic pick up tube - clean it!

vectra

Check all is clean in here



Clean in hole



Check and clean small hole



This is what your lance should look like now



Now to reassemble

PTFE Tape all Threads






Back in vice to tighten



Put seal back on



Tighten Adjuster knob



Replace main barrel



Replace foam blades



Get them Straight



Replace securing pin



Replace connector





All Done, an as new working Autobrite Direct HD Snow FOam Lance!

randy hickey

Fair play Vectra for taking the time to put this together.

If it's any additional help, here's the exploded parts diagram of the PA foam lance:



Taken from here:
http://www.pa-etl.it/download/mantec/ls3-1.pdf

joujoujou

Additionally, just in case above mentioned pdf would disappear one day, here it is:

cena

Could you buy the parts and build the lance yourself. Wold it work out cheaper than buying it fully made

Curran

Im sure you could buy all the parts separately....reckon you'd get charged approx 2.75 a part (on average), by 24 parts......

cena wrote: »

Could you buy the parts and build the lance yourself. Wold it work out cheaper than buying it fully made

No!

Sorry, couldnt resist!

Sidewayslarry

Fair play Eugene, thats a nice little job for you to do now over Christmas lol

vectra

Sidewayslarry wrote: »

Fair play Eugene, thats a nice little job for you to do now over Christmas lol

I might just investigate my old one and try bring it back to life while I am at it.
Must put that filter in I bought recently as well into my newer one :P.

Sidewayslarry

vectra wrote: »

I might just investigate my old one and try bring it back to life while I am at it.
Must put that filter in I bought recently as well into my newer one :P.

Yeah I broke one of my lances a couple of years back (drove over it :rolleyes: ) and because it was a few years old I just bought another one. I was on detailing world a while later and spotted a thread similar to this and inspiration hit me to strip the broken lance and see could it be resurrected. As it happened, i never really found out what the problem with it was, but once I stripped it down, replaced the gauze, and re-taped all the fittings it has worked perfectly ever since. And to think I was going to throw it in the bin!

Well worth putting an hours work into them

dar83

Just on a side note, if you find you're starting to get poor pressure/foam from your lance, it might be worth just pouring water from a (shortly before) boiled kettle through it. Should clear out most of the stuff that may be blocking the gauze and save you from taking things apart completely, maybe.

Sidewayslarry

dar83 wrote: »

Just on a side note, if you find you're starting to get poor pressure/foam from your lance, it might be worth just pouring water from a (shortly before) boiled kettle through it. Should clear out most of the stuff that may be blocking the gauze and save you from taking things apart completely, maybe.

Yep, another good tip is to use your compressor to shoot air under pressure into the lance to clear any blockages. I was worried about possible doing damage to 'o' rings when doing this but I've been using this technique for years now with a 200litre compressor and no problems at all

JAMES VTI S