Z-Body questions

[DoubleDutch]

Hi all,

I got around to playing with my recently acquired Z-Body, and I think I done broke something. When I tried to crank on the thumb screw/adjusting knob thing, I broke the screw off (items 3 and 4 from the left).
<a href="http://home.comcast.net/~yuk/popo/z1.jpg"><img src="http://home.comcast.net/~yuk/popo/z1.jpg" width="200" height="150"></img></a>
<a href="http://home.comcast.net/~yuk/popo/z2.jpg"><img src="http://home.comcast.net/~yuk/popo/z2.jpg" width="200" height="150"></img></a>
<a href="http://home.comcast.net/~yuk/popo/z3.jpg"><img src="http://home.comcast.net/~yuk/popo/z3.jpg" width="200" height="150"></img></a>


Luckily I managed to extract the portion left in the body. Now, can I just track down a thumb screw that will fit into the existing hole, and the whole thing will work again? I take it there are no spare parts to be found anymore? The soft rubber piece looks like it is still serviceable.

Finally, it is a hopper-left powerfeed. It looks like the powerfeed is attached with two allen screws, any idea if I can put a hopper-right standard feed or vertical feed on it?

[Smoothice]

Good luck on the thumb screw. Best bet is a hardware store and some creativity.

And changing the feed is a "no". Unless you also get very creative.

[Ando]

How in the world did you break that? Were you trying to unscrew it? I would say use a little J-BWeld
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51hZRtw2FaL._SL500_AA280_.jpg

It'll be good as new. Just be careful when adj from now on.

DevilMan came up with a good Idea for the Nubbin (rubber part). If yours starts wearing down you can use RTV to make a new piece.. I've tried a s*** ton of stuff and nothings held up. I did the RTV and it's the only thing that's worked consistently. It wears down pretty quick but you can get a good 2-4 days out of it and you'll need to make a new one.

Just squeeze the RTV in the slot of the nubbin and let dry over night. (6-12 hrs)


Another simple mod you can do is make a little plate like so...
http://i28.tinypic.com/2vxppc3.jpg
http://i28.tinypic.com/242ym3k.jpg

...and install it here...

http://i32.tinypic.com/1pypvl.jpg
...It allows you to get more of the nubbin on the ball and a good 95% backspin consistency. All that will be for nothing with out a big bore barrel. Bigger the better

Here's my Z-Mag
http://i26.tinypic.com/maw4s0.jpg

[going_home]

Wow nice mod and pics ando.
Take the nubbin cover with the female threaded part to Ace Hardware and start looking thru
the 800 drawers of screws and screen door/ bifold door parts they have.
They should have something that will work, an allen screw or something.
I doubt you will find a thumb screw but they will have something to match the threads.

I've owned several of the Z bodies. Even modded a level 10 to work on one of them.
I ended up giving up on them for the same reason I did on the Flatlines I had on
some of the Tippmanns I had. Yeah the ball travels farther, but by the time its gets
way down there its going so slow, if it doesnt hit a mask, gun, or tank, it just bounces.

And yes its true, it takes a .695 , .696, or better yet a .697 barrel (or Freak insert) or
these bodies wont flatline.

Good luck.


;)

[DoubleDutch]

How in the world did you break that? Were you trying to unscrew it?

Well the gun was put away without cleaning who knows how long ago (by the previous owner), and the threads were seized. I cranked on it using a wrench and crack!


DevilMan came up with a good Idea for the Nubbin (rubber part). If yours starts wearing down you can use RTV to make a new piece.. I've tried a s*** ton of stuff and nothings held up. I did the RTV and it's the only thing that's worked consistently. It wears down pretty quick but you can get a good 2-4 days out of it and you'll need to make a new one.

Just squeeze the RTV in the slot of the nubbin and let dry over night. (6-12 hrs)


RTV huh? What is that?


Wow nice mod and pics ando.
Take the nubbin cover with the female threaded part to Ace Hardware and start looking thru
the 800 drawers of screws and screen door/ bifold door parts they have.
They should have something that will work, an allen screw or something.
I doubt you will find a thumb screw but they will have something to match the threads.

I've owned several of the Z bodies. Even modded a level 10 to work on one of them.
I ended up giving up on them for the same reason I did on the Flatlines I had on
some of the Tippmanns I had. Yeah the ball travels farther, but by the time its gets
way down there its going so slow, if it doesnt hit a mask, gun, or tank, it just bounces.

And yes its true, it takes a .695 , .696, or better yet a .697 barrel (or Freak insert) or
these bodies wont flatline.

Good luck.


;)

I just got back from the Ace Hardware, and after some head scratching the Ace guy and I figured that it was a metric thread! M4 to be exact, what gives? Anyway, I got a few different length allen head screws and should be able to try this out tomorrow.

Oh and on the Level 10, what kind of mod did you have to do? The PO had installed a level 10, and I gassed it up the other day and it dry fired fine. The PO did not strike me as someone that was very technical.

[going_home]

Oh and on the Level 10, what kind of mod did you have to do? The PO had installed a level 10, and I gassed it up the other day and it dry fired fine. The PO did not strike me as someone that was very technical.

Theres a slight lip on the edge of the level ten that has to be filed off.

Oh and I dont believe the bodies were made in the US, thus the metric threads.

Ace hardware is the paintballers screw supplier, they have just about any screw you could need for any marker.


;)

[Ando]

Well the gun was put away without cleaning who knows how long ago (by the previous owner), and the threads were seized. I cranked on it using a wrench and crack!



RTV huh? What is that?



I just got back from the Ace Hardware, and after some head scratching the Ace guy and I figured that it was a metric thread! M4 to be exact, what gives? Anyway, I got a few different length allen head screws and should be able to try this out tomorrow.

Oh and on the Level 10, what kind of mod did you have to do? The PO had installed a level 10, and I gassed it up the other day and it dry fired fine. The PO did not strike me as someone that was very technical.
Lvl X had issues with Z Bodies. If it's working then don't worry about it. The threading tho....The guy who created and patented the ZBody was from Japan so that might be the reason for the metric threading.

RTV...It's used to create gaskets or seals.

http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=1419000&clickid=prod_cs

[DevilMan]

Yes the bodies were made and designed by Yoshi, a member of the Far East Dragons out of Japan. They were imported/licensed here in the US after that. Hence the Metric threading.

The RTV stuff is gasket making material that can be found in any OReilly's, AutoZone, Advance, etc store. If the black stuff is wearing down, I would try the GREY colored stuff as it's supposed to be more "rigid" according to the package. I have not used the grey and have not shot enough on the nubbins I have to wear them out. So I don't have any first hand knowledge of what the results will be for the grey.

I do advise of making a spacer piece out of something hard to give the screw something to push into though.

The Level 10 stuff don't fit in the bodies right, because of the very slight swell that is on the tip of the bolt just where the metal part is pressed in. You can either mod the bolt or pop out the ring and mod it to make it work properly. Or just use a Level 7 bolt with no issues.

[DoubleDutch]

Ok, I played with it some yesterday, and was not too impressed. Either it wasn't putting backspin, or it was backspinning but chopping every other ball. I didn't have a large bore barrel, but I was using X-Ball scenario from the Sports Authority which is very small paint, it was rolling down my all my regular barrels. And while it dry fired fine with the Level 10 bolt at home (of course), out in the field it didn't. I threw a classic valve I had in it and it shot fine.

[Ando]

If you have a freak system. They have a .697 insert that does work with the body.