Bad valve on a YBB-103

[kamakazekiwi]

I just received an old YBB-103 I purchased on eBay, valves were described as moving easily. Unfortunately, when it arrived the 2nd and 3rd valve were completely stuck. After some effort I was able to remove them, and a full cleaning of the valves and casings got the 1st and 2nd valves working alright, but the 3rd is still pretty much unworkable. It gets completely stuck halfway down, and has to be pulled up with difficulty.

My question is, is there any way to repair this? Or should I ask for a refund? I really don't want to return the horn, but if it's not going to work I don't really have a choice.

[Dan Schultz]

FYI... the pistons on a YBB-103 are all the same. You can put them in any casing and the horn will play.

[kamakazekiwi]

Looks like I jumped the gun, I was able to fix the problem with the third valve by re-seating the stem, it moves freely now! Still concerned with the fact that the 2nd and 3rd valve had become completely stuck when I received it (the valves had a fair amount of green corrosion in them before cleaning), but the valves are all moving well now.

Side question before I lock/delete this, I'm aware that the valves of the 103 are supposed to all be identical, but they aren't quite on this horn. The first and third valves have metal valve guides, while the second valve has a white plastic valve guide. The piston itself is also actually shorter than the piston of the 1st and 3rd valves. Is this a replacement valve from a later model Yamaha or something? The second valve doesn't seem to play stuffy, despite the fact that the second valve won't go all the way into the casing (valve button stops ~1 cm above the upper valve cap).

[Dan Schultz]

...

Side question before I lock/delete this, I'm aware that the valves of the 103 are supposed to all be identical, but they aren't quite on this horn. The first and third valves have metal valve guides, while the second valve has a white plastic valve guide. The piston itself is also actually shorter than the piston of the 1st and 3rd valves. Is this a replacement valve from a later model Yamaha or something? The second valve doesn't seem to play stuffy, despite the fact that the second valve won't go all the way into the casing (valve button stops ~1 cm above the upper valve cap).

The piston with the plastic guide came from a post-100,000 serial number horn. They interchange as long as the related stem, guide, and washer are used. Also... the post 100,000 valve caps have coarse threads and will not work on older models.