PLEASE keep me from selling my Sydarm

[Al_Steel]

Ok,

I bought a Sydarm NIB a few weeks ago. I was VERY happy to get it since there are so few NIB Sydarms left. I gassed it up with 12 grams, fired off the whole thing.. no problems. SWEET! Did it again, no problems. Excellent.

Two days later I did the same thing, except this time I got about 2 shots out of it and then I get the characteristic Mag "chuff.. chuff.. chuff". It's not blowing forward and it's freezing up. I run through 2 more 12 grams. Same result. Ok.. so I figure it needs a copious amount of oil. So 5 drops of AL in the holes and gas it back up. Shoots OK but still freezes up... even when I wait a long time between shots and point the gun at the floor (which keeps liquid out of the valve).

So I figure it needs broken in. It's been sitting in a box for at least 3 years so Im guessing it needs a good greasing and a LOT of shots. I take it to a local field, chony it at 270. Then I picked up a CA adapter from Tuna (thanks Tuna!). Then I hooked up a CA tank to it and shot the ever loving crap out it, with balls and without. Ran about 200 rounds through it... all fine. GREAT, it's fixed... not...

Game time at a local field... I take it out on the field running CA on a remote, game starts.. I get about 15 rounds out of it and then "chuff! chuff! chuff!" WTF!?!? Take it home, break it down completely, cleaned it, oiled it lightly, gassed it up and it fires, but not very strong. I'm at a loss now. Any ideas of things I can try to get this marker running properly?

I have heard of people that LOVE the Sydarm and horror stories.. mine is starting to look like the latter and it's one technical breakdown away from eBay (I bought it to use, not gather dust in a collection). Any help is GREATLY appreciated!

NOTE: If you are a tech and will be at NJ NAM I will be more than happy to have you look at it.

Thanks fellas!

[Al_Steel]

Ideas? Thoughts? WAGS?

Maybe a spacer or shim? Bad On/Off? Sticky spring pack? Weak bolt spring?

[rawbutter]

I'm no expert, but I was having similar problems with my classic a few months ago. I couldn't figure out what was wrong with it. But I bought a spare-parts kit from the AGD website for $25, took the valve all apart, replaced EVERYTHING.... and it's been working ever since. :)

[Al_Steel]

I thought about doing that, but wanted to try here first. I would hope that a NIB item wouldn't need all the internals replaced but it had been sitting for a while. If nobody has any other suggestion I may try it.

Thanks!

I'm no expert, but I was having similar problems with my classic a few months ago. I couldn't figure out what was wrong with it. But I bought a spare-parts kit from the AGD website for $25, took the valve all apart, replaced EVERYTHING.... and it's been working ever since. :)

[automikey]

I've had similar problems with slightly used Sydarms. How does a new one/working one typically fire? Can you shoot 8 shots in a row or does it usually chuff after 3 due to the cold co2?

[PhoenixWolf]

I've had similar problems with slightly used Sydarms. How does a new one/working one typically fire? Can you shoot 8 shots in a row or does it usually chuff after 3 due to the cold co2?

My advice: break it down, and oil it thoroughly on all the O-Rings (except those you're supposed to keep clean, like the regulator seat).

[automikey]

Can someone who has owned a new Sydarm tell me how they typically perform, shots per 12gm, shots before valve freezes, etc.? Maybe mine is working normal, I don't know.

[PhoenixWolf]

I examined a Sydarm at the local store recently, and I'm strongly considering buying it. Here's the problem I see with it, though: the 12-gram is located above the valve, and it's positioned to effectively dump directly into it. End result is that it's VERY easy to get liquid CO2 into the valve. If you could somehow rig up a dummy 12-gram, and attach a vertical 12-gram adapter at the front of the rail (like a VSC stock class gun), you would not get liquid in the valve anymore and it would work just fine.

[automikey]

Here's the problem I see with it, though: the 12-gram is located above the valve, and it's positioned to effectively dump directly into it. End result is that it's VERY easy to get liquid CO2 into the valve.

I agree and I think that the Sydarm is meant to be fired more slowly. The performance is better if you take your time and don't try to empty the feedtube all at once.

I have 2 Sydarms and one works better than the other, so I'm trying to get them both up to speed.

You're correct on the dummy 12gm idea, but then it's not the Sydarm I wanted anymore.

[Al_Steel]

I wanted to rule out liquid CO2 messing up the works so I picked up a CA adapter hooked up an ASA off the bottom of the grip frame and ran both CO2 and HPA to it. Rigged this way it would cycle fast without chuffing. Since it was NIB I wanted to try to break it in. I thought maybe the problem was just it was new and needed to wear a bit.

With the CA setup I ran about 200 shots through it. At around 150 it started to be a bit more reliable and didn't misfire so much. That's when I thought I had resolved the problem. But then it started locking up even with CA.

I agree that CO2 is positioned to allow liquid into the valve. If I can get it working with a remote CO2 then my plan is to use a vertical adapter with a Palmers 90 deg ASA elbow and a CO2 quick change adapter. That places the 12 gram parallel to the body, under the barrel, below the valve, and gives the CO2 a long way to travel.. maybe reducing the chance of liquid in the valve. I could also put a 3.5oz CO2 tank on that setup with an Anti-siphon valve.

I know I could always run remote, but if I do that then what's the point of using a pistol?

Here's some more details:

Velocity is adjusted to 260fps

1) New CO2
2) Pull the trigger slowly, the first few shots fire fine
3) about 3-4 shots the trigger won't reset.
4) Pull the trigger all the way back and it will reset
5) Next shot and subsequent shots will "chuff" kind of like when you short stroke.

I'm going to start swapping springs, seals, etc and see if I can find some combo that fixes the problem today.

Thanks!

[maglover728]

You have tried it on air and had the same thing happen? I will play around with mine and see if I can come up with any ideas.

[PhoenixWolf]

Try this theory, then: your quickstrip screw is too tight, or not tight enough. End result is the valve is not aligning perfectly with the mainbody. OR, your front gripframe screw is too tight. Same deal.

[RobAGD]

It could be several things.

Ruling out the Co2 is teh first thing to do and it looks like you did that.

Next is there is no level 10 in these or ULT then your dealing with a main springs / pT Spacer issues. You need to take a look at when and what is going on with it.

I am now in the FX Pevs, if you want to drop the Sydarm off in RV it will typically get to me in a day and a few days turn around back to you in RV.

Let me know

-R

[Al_Steel]

Rob,

Thanks man.. yeah it's still bone stock.. no lvl X or ULT. I haven't changed out anything yet. I'm headed to NJ Nam this weekend but I could drop by FX Pev's next week sometime. If I don't get it figured out by then I'll swing by, it's no more out of my way than the RV store.

Thanks for all the help fellas!

If I find out what the problem is I will definitely post the fix.

[Al_Steel]

FIXED!!! W00t!!!

Went to NJ Nam last weekend and took the Sydarm. There I found an Automag Tech/God that discovered the problem.. for the life of me I can't remember his name but he was with the Deadringers, one of Alpha's crew. (If you read this please speak up b/c if you are going to ION I WILL get you a case of your favorite beveridge. )

Anywho, the problem was with the regulator. After replacing O-rings and still having the problem he discovered that the regulator was actually backing off from the valve body after several successive shots. You could watch the alignment marks move when it was firing! It would fire fine and as soon as the marks went out of alignment the gun would start "chuffing", or acting like it was short-stroking.

Soooo... this morning I put about 3 wraps of teflon tape around the threads on the regulator, took great care to ensure that no tape found it's way inside the air passage, screwed it down nice and tight so that everything lines up, gassed up and voila!!! The problem she is gone!! I shot about 100 shots with no problems at all. Then I dropped in a CO2 12gr and again, no problems.

So, if you are having a similar problem with your Sydarm then check:

-Regulator O-ring
-Regulator seat - the thick teflon o-ring in the center of the regulator
-The seal between the regulator and the valve body - Alignment marks that go out of adjustment after several successive shots.

If they are loose, leaky, or out of alignment you can have the same headaches that I did.

Thanks again to the tech that helped me and to the Deadringer guys, especially the one that donated his O-rings!!! You guys freaking RULE!