Kraken
 

Hi, i just bought a kraken for my first gun and im pretty damn sure i can upgrade all the parts my self.(if you can work on a car how hard is it to change a few gears/shims) but now im wondering if i just buy a 6.03 barrel and a new hopup unit if my gun would be good and reliable. Im just gonna be using it with my friends who just have night prowlers at best. Mostly i want reliablity. Oh i already bought a new 8.4v 1600mah for it. Forgot to say but im in california so i dont need to worry about getting age verified i can get it here and my kraken has a full metal body other than the plastic stock and foregrip.

Thanks.

P.S. Dont say why did u buy a kraken i want usefull information not go buy a tm.

Those would be the easiest upgrades to install and don't actually require you to open the gearbox. There's some other stuff you should do to increase reliability:

http://www.airsoftcanada.com/showthread.php?t=52692

metal bushings and piston head before anything else since you already got a better battery

I know you said you just need help, but out of curiosity, if you are in Cali, why DID you buy a kraken over a TM/CA/blahblah??

Just like you wouldn't just dive into working on a car without doing some research and without the reasonable expectation that you might just mess it up...you've got to expect the same with a mechbox. They are simple...once you understand how the parts work together and what does what. Then there's the fine tuning...just like engines/cars. The devil's in the details...

From what you asked (or maybe how you worded it), swapping out the barrel/hopup won't do anything for the reliability. Shimming/internal parts will. Some parts/setup (e.g. gears, shims, spring) will work towards reliability. Others (e.g. nozzle, piston seal, spring) will work towards performance (i.e. higher fps...which isn't all that it's cracked up to be, more consistent fps, etc.)

I'd recommend that you research mechbox.com (great videos), this site (especially the link provided) and arnies airsoft. There's another really good writeup but I can never find it when I want to reference it (Deadelus...or something like that. Great high res pictures of how the gears should be spaced out in relation to the mechbox and each other). Focus in on bushings and shimming. Don't worry about pure performance at this point, just get the shimming right (who knows, it might now be horrible out of the box...but you should reshim if you're going to replace plastic bushings with metal ones).

Worst case is that you blow up the internals...but then smile and realize it wasn't your car and that you easily get another! LOL

Hope that helps...

Tys

Redlux i bought a kraken because i read that i can upgrade this gun to be better than a tm. It cost me 110 for this gun and a tm about 300. if i can put 100 worth of upgrades and get a better gun than a tm i did good. Oh and can anyone give me a link or something to learn how to reshim i mean i get the process of what it does but not exactly to kno when to stop shimming. And another thingh for reliability all i need is 6mm metal bushings and re shim it and it will last me a long time?

Reshimming is easy, I dont think they have 'guides' on reshimming, but take a look at the videos featuring the AK47 and the Version 3 gearbox at http://mechbox.com/ . Its more of a matter on how well you know your way through the gearbox and what effects it rather than knowing how to shim alone. (Well, knowledge there is good, too.)

Study there for a while until you find yourself confident with the guts of an AK and v3s, One thing for sure is that krakens (or any tm ak clone) are much of a pain to disassemble compared to a lot of AEGs.

Have fun
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THREESOME VIDEOS

if you dont wanna trust yourself witht he mechbox then find a gun doctor in your area and get him to do the work for you may cost you a couple dollars but you have the secruity of knowing you wont break your gun while attempting to upgrade it

Yea there is a really good airsoft gunshop about 5 minutes away from me but i would like to be able to do it myself so if something breaks i can fix it there.

would this be a good part list
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ECHO 1 Nozzle for AK 12.00
Guarder Enhance Hop Bucking $6.75
Systema Precision Shim Set $5.00
CA 6MM Oil-less Steel Bushings 12.00
Systema Duracon piston head with bearings 20.00
G&P Polycarb Piston (White Color) 25.00
MadBull Ver. 2 Precision Barrel for AK 35.00
Echo 1 Version 3 Spring Guide with Bearings 13.00
Total=128.75 us dollars (which is now like 128.75 canandian dollars)
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oh and would all those parts work?
Im also gonna get a hopup unit from a local store.

BAD! ECHO 1 Nozzle for AK 12.00
Good Guarder Enhance Hop Bucking $6.75
GoodSystema Precision Shim Set $5.00
Could be better CA 6MM Oil-less Steel Bushings 12.00
Good Systema Duracon piston head with bearings 20.00
Could be better G&P Polycarb Piston (White Color) 25.00
Good MadBull Ver. 2 Precision Barrel for AK 35.00
NO!!! Echo 1 Version 3 Spring Guide with Bearings 13.00
Total=128.75 us dollars (which is now like 128.75 canandian dollars)

Thanks amos for info. what nozzle,bushings,piston, and spring guide should i get?

He's going to say Modify.