older used 68 automag, repair questions

[txpb]

I was just given an older, used 68AutoMag as a birthday gift. I would like to know what I should do about a few problems I am having. Since I live in a small town there aren't many places I can have my gun looked at. Let me tell you how the gun is setup before I explain the problems.

The gun has a vertical bottle adapter and bottomline that runs to a psycho ballistics drop forward. Everything else is stock. It is a standard feed gun. Body is a bit scratched up and there is some rust on the inside of the frame. Rust reaches inside to the valve. Came w/ a 20oz co2 tank and a smart parts barrel.

the promblems..

The first day I played I used a co2 tank. I froze up the gun and busted the o-rings =o( The gun was leaking air from the back of the valve. Fortunately someone was kind enough to replace them for me. Now I have switched to compressed air. I am using a 68ci Crossfire tank @3000psi.

The safety is loose on the gun. It is so loose that during games it will move from the safety off position to safety on position. I have no idea what to do. For me this is a big problem. I was told to just take it out but I would rather not, it feels wrong. How can I fix it?

After the gun was returned to me w/ new o-rings I have been unable to remove the quick disconnect so i can't field strip the gun. I was told that the gun is in dire need of oil. I was also told that the spring inside needs an oil treatment. I was wondering if I should just replace the spring. The quick disconnect is very very tight now. The owner of the shop could not open it.

The field strip screw is almost completely stripped. It is hard to turn I am going to order the replacement tonight.

Tonight there seems to be air leaking down the barrel of the gun.. I dl'ed the owner's manual so I will just follow instructions to troubleshoot that.

I do chop some paint but I think that's just b/c of my rate of fire w/o a revvy. I will buy one soon but stick to 3 shot bursts for now.

What to do? I am really vexed that I can't open the quick disconnect and that the safety is sliding on/off. Suggestions?

I would like to upgrade my gun but am in no rush. Since all I've had to pay for was a hp tank I intend to add the AGD Intelliframe, 9v revvy, and the level 10 bolt. The rt valve will have to wait a bit. Also, would getting a new mag body w/ powerfeed help much or is the revvy on my standard feed enough? And as far as the rust.. do I just use fine sandpaper to rid my frame of it? The frame is scratched pretty bad too any suggestions?

Thanks in advance for any info or help you can give. Hope to find someone here in town that can help me out. I was told this gun is 6 yrs old... the valve should still be ok right? I will post some pictures tomorrow.

Frank

[Gadget]

I've removed the safety from both of the grip frames I've had on my mag (being left handed I kept clicking the safety on by accident, very annoying) - with a decent barrel plug/sock and on/off on your gas supply, they're a bit redundant, I'd remove it.

Air down the barrel when you're not pulling the trigger is usually the powertube o-ring and very easy to replace, if it leaks while you've got the trigger pulled it may be the on/off o-rings, also straightforward to fix.

If the q/d is tight - are you sure that the gun is fully de-gassed? If it's still under pressure it will be very difficult to release. If your air-system has a method of turning off the supply, switch it off and then dry fire the gun to degass it before trying the q/d. If you've not got a way of turning off the gas, think about buying a dump valve to install before the q/d.

Once you've degassed, remove the valve and check all the internals - they're very straightforward to remove/replace. The spring-pack at the rear (covered by the velocity adjuster) should ideally be lightly greased to prevent it rusting and the piston in front of it needs a bit of oil. If any of the parts are rusty or damaged, you can order replacements for not much money from the AGD store.

Chopping paint can be a problem if you're not used to firing a mag (plus not having a revvy won't help), when firing make sure you pull the trigger all the way back and then release fully to avoid short stroking - I found it helpful to actually allow my trigger finger to flick forward and hit the front of the trigger guard before pulling again - doing that for a bit gets you into the flow of firing.

To remove the rust, try a metal polish - I use some german stuff called autosol which is for polishing chrome and acts as a gentle abrasive, it should get rid of it. Cosmetic scratches shouldn't cause any problems and as all the major components are stainless any rust should only be a light surface layer. Check the body rail to make sure the z-lock at the back (the zig/zag cut out which the valve locating ping slots into) isn't too badly worn.

For upgrading I'd go for the revvy first and then a level 10 - which should prevent you chopping.

Above all else - don't give up on it! Mag's are built like tanks and you should be able to restore it to 100% with a bit of TLC. I've owned my mag from new for 9 years and it still works as well as the day I got it. Make sure you get that field strip screw replaced asap - as that could be affecting the position of your valve on the rail and cause leaking and other problems.

[Schnitzel]

try and take some pictures of the marker, like the rust, and other damaged parts. If you want, go ahead and try and contact one of the moderators if serious problems exist...they'll help you with anything. Just be patient and kind.

[Vanced]

The mag will probably out last it's player if treated right, and we all thank Tom for that. And the folks here will provide all the help that you need, if given all the right info. And it's a good thing to learn your valve inside and out, and tinkering has always been the best way to learn.

But if you can't get it figure out, I'll suggest one thing, check out the Valve for Stars or Punches, and look at the warenty policy at airgun.com , to see if it has been to AGD. One of the perks of owning a Mag is the Top Noch Tech guys. The gun may have a free service left on it, and it WILL be in top working order when it is returend to you, and then it will just be simple maintenance to keep it running after that.

Just a friendly FYI, that maybe worth looking into...

Vanced

[hitech]

Here is a link to the warranty page:

http://www.airgun.com/WarrantyPolicy.shtml