Maintenance Summary
****the folllowing information is not solely my own...it comes from consolidating numerous posts throughout this thread****
In general most maintenance comes from Inspection and Cleaning/Lubrication. You must inspect for wear & tear on contact points. You must lubricate the magazines and working internals of the rifle. This is not a "fire and forget" system.
Look for broken parts, loose fit, excessing wear/cracking on all parts. Once you get a handle on where to look it doesn't take long to give it a once over before and after use.
Inspect:
- screws should be snug
- pins should be snug and set in far enough
- contact surfaces for scoring, marring, cracks
- nozzle for bent/crushed stanchions
- o-rings for nicks/tears
- inner barrel for jams/scratches/etc...
Lubricate:
- gas in mags...use 3-5 drops of thicker silicone oil in each mag and fill with propane. This will keep the mags sealed for storage.
- o-rings...use either thicker silicone oil or very light rubber friendly grease
- bearing/rolling surfaces...use light grease
- The criteria are:
- won't dry out
- will stay where placed
- won't slow down the action unnecessarily
- if it's contacting rubber...it's got to be safe for it (no petroleum products or products with a petroleum carrier)
There's an enormous amount of gas going through the system...and it'll dry out the o-ring seals quickly. They'll dry, get sticky/tacky and that'll slow things up.
Bolt Catch
- locking too frequently - stretch the bolt catch spring
- Not sure it has already been posted here or if you have already tried this, but there is a mod posted on
Arnies about adding a regular AEG shim behind the bolt catch which supposely makes it run flawlessly and catch most of the time as the bolt catch stays straight when the bolt catch plate pushes it up and it catches the bolt with a larger surface than before.
Add shim between the bolt catch and the receiver.
- With no bb's in the magazine, you should have a little notch raised from the magazines, and with BB's loaded, the notch will lower. There is a switch on the topside of the magazine which enables and disables the lockback feature on each magazine.
Sealing Gas Mags
- gasket seal
- lube
- grease
- while we are on the subject of mags, iv been messing with mine trying to get rid of leaks. lithium grease is working great for me, got 2 mags up and running yesterday that would not hold gas before, but i noticed something. it seems like the ability of a mag to hold gas is closely related to the match between the mag body and the back plate. i would grease up the seal, install the backplate and get everything locked down- and the mag would leak, usually at the top or bottom. re-try with a different back plate, same seal and body, and get a perfect seal- no leaks at all. i should also note that all my mags have over-fill type valves on them, so no leaks is pretty impressive i think. to figure out if the back plate is a good match for a shell, put it on the back with no rubber seal in between. the top and bottom edges should sit really flush with the mag body, like right in there. most of the big leaks on my mags were coming from the top and/or bottom of the back plate so i think this is a key area for leakage.
as a side note, has anyone tried re-threading the female threads in the magazine? im talking about the ones that hold the back plate on. i stripped one while tightening the back plate screws damn zinc
i recently received a replacement part #59 (knocker cover) from renegadecow on arnies. it is a home made knocker cover made from steel. its really nice and dropped in perfectly. it doesnt have the sharp internal corners that the stock part has (just a hole for the knocker nub to poke through) so i dont see it breaking any time soon. if anyone needs a new #59 i would highly recommend this part. only cost $15 shipped from the Philippines. i can post up pics if anyone is curious.
Lubricating (Mags)
- three drops of Grenade oil or 5 drops of gbb oil in each mag each
- Also I'm finding I'm having to lube the bolt/valve a lot as after a couple (5-10) mags the valve won't slide smoothly anymore. Is this normal?
Lubricating (other)
- reason why I like the new ultra slick multipurpose grease is because you can lay on a really thin layer and it's effective for a long time. won't dry up or become gummy. a thicker layer in areas you want more works too because it'll stay put and doesn't get flung off with every shot.
I think it was Renegade) that told me the Ultra Slick is now what use to be Super Lube or it's a suitable alternative
Hopup
- Does anyone know if the Stinger Hop Up for the M4 series will work for the PDW?
Edit: msged RA-Tech, and they said that it's compatible.
Cleaning
- Shelledpants is full of WIN with this awesome pictoral cleaning guide
Hey gang,
I just posted up a cleaning guide. Please inform me of any corrections.
http://www.airsoftcanada.com/showthr...50#post1234750
- clean the sh*t out of the upper receiver, including the track the charging handle rides in, and the inner wall of the bolt. had the same problem when i replaced the charging handle. i mean go to town, brushes and stuff. it cant be too clean. then re-assemble and re-lube.
Jams
- The "Jamming" can also be caused by the swelling of the large O-ring on the black plastic nozzle assembly guide. I have solved this by pretty much working it in and racking the rifle about 300 times.
O-rings
- (this where to get it is worth posting up....thanks!)
I found a local source for the nozzle o-ring (part #45). I personally haven't one fail but I like to keep extras handy just in case!!! The only snag is they require a minimum purchase of $25.00. I just bought a metric o-ring set which included 20 of them as well 29 other sizes for $23.00
http://www.globalrubber.com/
The o-ring size is 7mm ID with a cross section of 1.5mm (7mm x 1.5mm)
Buffer Stop
- I would take a look at parts 123,124,and 125 (these parts make up the assembly retaining all the parts in the buffer tube when gun is open) to see if they set at the right height. I had these parts back out a bit causing all kinds of grief!!! These parts ride in the groove in lower half of the bolt. If not set correctly they effectively pinch the bolt between the upper and buffer tube. It maybe the issue since you just swapped out the lower.
Check to see if there is some wear on the pin(125) and the groove on the underside of the bolt.
- i take the buffer retainer out with a pair of scissors. yes, scissors. just spread the blades apart enough so the points fit in the slots on the top of the retainer. then turn like a normal screw!