Problem with XVavle

[Enhander]

I just recently started having an issue with my XVavle and was hoping some of you all could help me.

I aired up my Tac-One a few days ago to make sure everything was good to go for my game this Saturday. Aired it up and there was no leaks. Took it outside, fired on shot and it started leaking and the bolt would not reset.

Now mind you, Ive had this XValve came to me with my Tac-One that I bought directly from AGD. This is the first problem Ive had with it in 4 years.

I checked the O-rings, oiled it and all that fun stuff. Nothing worked. Im running the stock RT On/Off with 2 shims in my lvl 10. I tried adjusting the carriers, starting with the lowest one (no dots or stripes on the carrier) That carrier stopped the leak..but every trigger pull made the marker full auto. So went up on carrier and the leak started because the bolt would not reset.

Also please keep in mind when I was adjusting the carriers, I was using a ULT. I removed the ULT and put my stock On/Off in it and its still having an issue.

I havent gone as far as replacing all the o-rings yet, but does anyone have any idea of what its doing?

Thanks in advance!

[Tunaman]

Are you saying that it is going full auto every pull? Did you put the large oring down in the on/off hole before inserting the on/off assy w/small oring on the pin? ;)

[Enhander]

Are you saying that it is going full auto every pull? Did you put the large oring down in the on/off hole before inserting the on/off assy w/small oring on the pin? ;)

It was going F/A with the ULT. But I removed it and put the stock On/Off. Now that you mention it....When I put the stock RT back in last night I didnt see the large O-ring down there.

If thats the problem Im going kick myself... :tard:

[Justus]

Of course, check the on/off first. But also, if I recall correctly, when tuning the Level 10 you should start with the largest carrier that doesn't cause a leak. I've had better luck with no shims in the Level 10, too. A carrier that is too small might be contributing to the bolt stick.

[cadams]

Of course, check the on/off first. But also, if I recall correctly, when tuning the Level 10 you should start with the largest carrier that doesn't cause a leak. I've had better luck with no shims in the Level 10, too. A carrier that is too small might be contributing to the bolt stick.

I've had that problem before. Use the same carrier O ring each time and move it from carrier to carrier. Usually you can get an idea if you have a good combo by sliding the carrier with o ring onto the stem of the bolt and checking the friction. Too much friction will stick, too little will leak.

[Enhander]

I've had that problem before. Use the same carrier O ring each time and move it from carrier to carrier. Usually you can get an idea if you have a good combo by sliding the carrier with o ring onto the stem of the bolt and checking the friction. Too much friction will stick, too little will leak.

Im confused. According to this:
http://store.airgundesignsusa.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=catalog.prodInfo&productID=201&categoryID=22

Theres no o-ring before the small on/off o-ring..or am I reading this diagram wrong?

[Tunaman]

That diagram is of a Retro Valve...the Xvalve has another oring there not shown in that diagram.

[Enhander]

Gotcha. Now its driving me nuts...I want to get home from work to try and fix it.

Btw Tuna, check your email :clap:

[Enhander]

Anyone have a pic of that O-ring? Just so I know what Im looking for?

[Enhander]

Cancel that... I reference my ULT install guide I posted on Spec Ops....all the pics I needed lol

[Enhander]

Ok. I was missing the O-ring. I replaced the o-ring and put the old carrier I had installed and the leaked stopped. However the bolt does not reset when I fire. Ideas?

[Enhander]

Any ideas gents?

[Justus]

By the "old" carrier, do you mean the largest carrier you have? Also, have you chrono'd the marker to check whether or not your velocity is turned up where it should be? And... you didn't change the bolt spring did you? Those things are what I started with when I was facing a bolt stick issue a couple months ago.

Edit: Check out this thread, starting around post #16: http://automags.org/forums/showthread.php?t=255061

[Enhander]

By the "old" carrier, do you mean the largest carrier you have? Also, have you chrono'd the marker to check whether or not your velocity is turned up where it should be? And... you didn't change the bolt spring did you? Those things are what I started with when I was facing a bolt stick issue a couple months ago.

The the largest one the carrier with no dots or stripes? I think its .05? Im using the carrier with 1 dot.

Bolt spring has stayed the same, gold. Ill try adjusting the velocity, but I never messed with it since the last I used it. Which was in November last year.

[Justus]

I thought it was the other way around. No dots = smallest. Then the dots = half step up, stripes = full step larger. I could be backwards? I'll check.....

Edit: Yeah I had it right:

http://www.airgundesignsusa.com/xmag/html/graphics/carrierlengths.gif http://www.airgundesignsusa.com/xmag/html/graphics/carriersizes.gif

[Enhander]

Ah ok. So I should start .33 and then work my way up till the bolt stick stops?

[Justus]

Start at level 4 (.33 diameter), which will have no bolt stick but might leak, and work your way back until the leak stops. Don't use shims. If you work your way back into a bolt stick situation, go back up and add some oil. Once you've found the "right" carrier for that particular o-ring, fire your gun a few hundred times to break it in.

[Tunaman]

You guys are making this harder than it really is:
Take an oring and the 1.5 carrier.
Install the oring in the carrier and test fit it on the end of the bolt stem. It only needs to be SNUG...not tight. If too loose, go to 1.0 using the same oring....etc.

[Justus]

You guys are making this harder than it really is:

Well, yeah, that's pretty much what I did when I tuned mine, based upon watching this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0mvr30jKhw

I was just being thorough in the interest of obtaining an understanding of how everything in the bolt works together. My Level 10 didn't even come with all those carriers - I think I have #'s 0 through 2.

[Enhander]

Ok cool. Ill try this out when I get home.

[Enhander]

Well, unfortunately none of that worked. :( Any other ideas? Or is this thing gonna need tech'd?

[athomas]

When you fire and hold the trigger, it should stop leaking after a couple of seconds. If it does this, then we know for sure the problem is in the powertube of the valve. If it continues to leak, then the problem is in the on-off area.

Assuming the problem is in the powertube area, use the largest carrier that does not leak. Always remove all the shims from the powertube before doing any level 10 tuning to prevent shim induced leaks. As Tuna mentioned, start at the 1.5 carrier. If it sticks, go to the 2.0 carrier. If it leaks with the 1.5 carrier, use the 1.0 carrier. Always use the same white powertube carrier oring when changing carrier sizes. Its actually the oring that you are adjusting. If you can't find an carrier size that works, change orings and try again.

[Enhander]

Its not longer leaking. The problem is the bolt stick. Im using the 1.5 carrier. If I remove it and replace it with one smaller or bigger..the leak comes back, so Im leaving it in there.

I have no shims installed in the lvl 10 currently.

[Justus]

New powertube o-ring? If so, run a couple tanks of air through and add a drop of oil every couple hundred shots. No paint necessary. Remove your barrel so you don't oil the inside of it, and just plug the end of the body with a paper towel. If you still have bolt stick after that, then I'd switch powertube o-rings and start over with a fresh one like suggested earlier.

[Enhander]

Ok...I dont know what happened...but its working now. It wasnt working last night and it is now..I didnt change anything lol. Im happy though. Just ran a hopper through it...shot great!

Should I replace the 2 shims I removed from the lvl10?

[Justus]

No. First, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. lol

Second, I seemed to solve my "leaking down the barrel" problem a couple months ago by removing the shims altogether. They aren't necessary.

[Enhander]

They'll stay out then. I put my finger down breach and fired and the lvl 10 stopped really hard..it actually kinda hurt..which it never has before..Perhaps it needs broken in?

[Ando]

Replace your spring. If it's painful on the finger then it's going to chop...chop paint all day long.

Just ask yourself this when working on your lvl 10. Would I stick my tongue in there? :rolleyes:

[Justus]

In addition to what Ando said, I've noticed mine hits harder if I stick my finger in on the barrel side of the breech, but if I stick my finger right in the middle or on the bolt side, it's soft as it should be. I think that's normal if that's the case with yours. (If that's not normal, someone tell me!)

[Enhander]

I have the gold spring on it now. Should I lower it to the silver?

[Justus]

You can try the red spring (medium) or the silver (long) but I'm guessing you'll get bolt stick again if you use them. Check them first, and order a gold spring if that's the case.

I have a silver and red spring with my LX too, but can't use them b/c of excessive bolt stick.

[Enhander]

Ive got 3 of each kind of spring lol. All my mags run the gold. I thought the red spring was for shooting at higher pressures?

[Ando]

Don't use a silver spring as is. Chances are it's not going to work too well. Athomas has a good "how too tune your lvl 10" in the tech forums here on AO. Think it's on page 68 in the "Official Level 10 Problems Thread". You'll find the answers you need on how to cut and set your silver spring if that's all you have.

I personally use red springs in all my mags.

[athomas]

As mentioned, when checking the force of the level 10 you need to hold your finger against the bolt, not away from it. The low force acts on only the first 1/4" of the bolt cycle. After that, its full force. that means if you place your finger against the barrel side of the breach, it could hurt.

You need a chrono to accurately setup your level 10. The force may seem excessive, but if the velocity setting is too high, this would cause more pressure in the chamber which would result in the higher force. If you lower the velocity setting, the impact force will also be reduced. You can't do any of that unless you are near a chrono.

Once you have access to a chrono, select the bolt spring that allows you to shoot at about 20fps above the lowest velocity setting that the gun will start to cycle at. So, with the velocity turned down so that the gun won't cycle at all, gradually turn up the velocity until it starts to cycle. If you want to shoot at 280fps and the gun starts to cycle at 260fps with a certain bolt spring, then that spring will allow you to shoot at 280fps with consistency and great anti-chop capability. If the gun starts to cycle at 240fps, then you probably want to use a stiffer bolt spring because operating at 280fps (40fps difference) will cause a lot more impact on the ball and won't be ideal for anti-chop. On the other side, if the gun doesn't start to cycle until 275fps, then you may want to use a lighter bolt spring because the 5 fps difference may cause the gun to not cycle consistently and you don't want a finicky gun on the field. If the next lighter bolt spring is too light, then you can cut down a stiffer spring a tiny bit at a time until you get the desired operation. Make sure the cut end goes against the bolt.

[varq]

my x valve gets bolt stick when I go to fire the first shot. After a little tap on the back of the valve with the palm of my hand it viola it works. (more than just a little tap i have it hit it pretty good with my hand) Try this and see if it works. Maybe its an oring in the valve.. i have never changed the oring on my valve and had it for 5 yrs! amazing

[athomas]

my x valve gets bolt stick when I go to fire the first shot. After a little tap on the back of the valve with the palm of my hand it viola it works. (more than just a little tap i have it hit it pretty good with my hand)This is a bolt stick issue with having a carrier that is too tight. Tapping the valve isn't a solution, but temporary fix to get you going in the field.