WaterWar.net

So I picked up that CPS 2000 off of ebay a few weeks back, the one that was completely taken apart. I have to say, it was quite exciting to unwrap all of the pieces (although the seller packed the box with plastic bags!).
The thing is, all of the pieces are here. Nothing appears wrong. But when assembled, the pump doesn't draw any water.

So there is something wrong with the check valve/pump assembly. I took it apart and tested it.
Until I/someone gets a picture up, here is some crappy ASCII art:
''''''''''''''''''''''''__________________
''''''''''''''''''''''| ________'''''''''''''''___ >Output (Tubing to PC)
'''''_____| |_______|'''''''''''|_________________ [The " are for spacing]
'''|_______________________________________ <Pump shaft
^Intake (reservoir)

So here is what I did manage to figure out. By using a cup of water and my finger, I determined that the pump wasn't sucking anything through the intake on the forward stroke; in fact it was sucking air through where the tubing normally would be. However, if the output hole is covered, the pump can now take in air/water from the intake as normal. Once that is done, it can be pumped through the output as normal (or what I assume is normal). The pump seal is great, btw.
There appears to be some traces of debris around and possibly in the thing.
So the mystery is, what is going on here? Anyone deal with this before?

*Update!*
The mystery continues. By pumping very rapidly and getting some water into the PC/tubing area, I was able to get it working. Like I thought, once there was water in the inner workings, it now pumps up to full pressure just fine.
Problem is, the effective range is like 5 feet. Help!

How is the lamination? Maybe the straws are crumpled.

Take apart the gun, tubes and all, if you can. That requires unscrewing the tubes and using boiling water to melt any glue. That's the easiest way to break things down small enough to clean out debris. I would PM GJIV about what to do from here. He fixed a Monster X I sent him with the same pumping problem.

As for the range, we need more information. Does it fire like a shotgun? Spread out and all over the place? If so, something's gotta be wrong inside the nozzle, and it's probably the laminators like theSoaker mentioned. Does the water leak out of the firing valve when it's pumped up all the way? If so, you may have to do this http://hydrowar.com/repairleakynozzleseal.html

So as far as the laminator goes, I will have to take a closer look at it.
But the thing is, I received this gun in pieces. I looked all over the gun then and didn't really see anything. Also, should I be looking inside of the hard PC? Like maybe there is physically something covering the firing valve? As far as I know, the firing valve doesn't leak, or at least enough for me to notice when fully assembled and tested. When you are talking about leaking from the firing valve you mean from the tip/nozzle of the gun or from the base of the pin on the back of the firing chamber?
When the CPS 2000 is fired, it's as if the bladder is really weak or something. It shoots a very smooth, thick stream in a short arc about 5 feet flat.
Hmm, thanks for the input. I'll be back...

Try replacing the bladder with LRT.

It's fixed! XD
Check out my before and after videos:
*Actually, I tried to login to the community youtube channel (WaterWarfareNetwork) but it asked me to verify and I can't sign in. There is video, I promise, and it's epic.*
Before: http://youtu.be/Wab-Tg29Xrw
After: http://youtu.be/5xW0_dM2VkE

In the meanwhile, enjoy this epic action shot!


So what was wrong with my CPS 2000? Well, remember that weird black debris I could see inside of the pump?
Well, I took apart my CPS 2000...

I unscrewed all of the screws from the hard chamber...

And pried it apart (gently) with my knife. And what did I find?

Tons of that black junk from before! It's completely clogging up the nozzle!

No wonder it wasn't working right. So, I took that half, sprayed some water from the outside in, and spent some quality time with a bent hairpin picking and rinsing out bits and pieces of it.
Tada!

I see the light!
And now, fully reassembled, it works great!

When I made the video, I was holding the CPS2000 with one hand and my phone with the other. The recoil was incredible as you can see, and I just-Agh! I was just so thrilled by the experience.
I actually laughed after that shot, for several minutes. Shooting it is pure joy. I have tried nearly every other water gun out there, but nothing can compare to the raw power of the CPS 2000. It's just madness. It's going to be hard to use anything else at this point. I can get about 8 tap shots (7 of them full power) out of a full chamber. It's just a friggin beast. I have never been so satisfied with a water gun before. It is one gun that you can be proud to own.
Honour it. Fear it. Love it.