Project: JG G36E -> MG36 - Sorta done.

[Asomodai]

Hello all. 

I have just got my G36E through the post from San Marino. So thought I would post this thread up. Again another long term project, but one I am keen to get started on. 

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Picked this up for the princely sum of 105 euros. It is currently firing at 280FPS on .2's. I suspect it is a Gen 4 JG as it has the two piece Hop unit that is not TM spec. The inner barrel is only 263mm long where it should be 509. This doesn't matter much as its still a Nylon Fibre body and I think the bushings will be metal. Either way it will be ripped apart anyway to be turned into a relatively high ROF/low stress build. I intend to run this on 9.9V LiFE batteries. The eye relief on the scope is pretty awful, but I don't plan to aim that much with this. The only thing I really need to convert this into an mG36 is the C style twin drum mag, but I would also like to make it perform like an LMG. At somepoint I may also get the AG36 grenade launcher attachment for extra front heavy action. The aim is for 330-340FPS.

Parts purchased:

AirsoftPRO G36 Hop Unit

AirsoftPRO G36 Long Air Nozzle

UFC V3 Spring Guide

ASG Ultimate M95 Spring. 

Prometheus Purple Bucking. 

SHS (RA) G36 Cylinder Head Aluminium

Acetech AceMOS Plus Mosfet

SLD High Torque Motor 22TPA (Short)

SHS (RA) Stainless steel Cylinder (4/5Hole)

ZCI Piston head (8 Vent Aluminium)

SLD 14 Tooth Piston (Lightweight)

ZCI Gear Set (Advanced) 16:1

Parts needed:

C-Style Drum mag

 

[Samurai]

The G36 hop unit is fine, you will not see better performace with the airosftpro one except maybe some incompatibility issues.

The newer JG g36s have special spring guides that allow you to adjust the fps with a turn of a screw.

I'd go for a somewhat shorter barrel. Around 430mm should be the best.

The rest is okay. Just for safety, don't choose metal piston head and cylinder head. Less stress with high performance plastic there.

+Big 7,4V lipo. No need for 11.1 with high torque motor.

 

[Asomodai]

The G36 hop unit is fine, you will not see better performace with the airosftpro one except maybe some incompatibility issues.

The newer JG g36s have special spring guides that allow you to adjust the fps with a turn of a screw.

I'd go for a somewhat shorter barrel. Around 430mm should be the best.

The rest is okay. Just for safety, don't choose metal piston head and cylinder head. Less stress with high performance plastic there.

+Big 7,4V lipo. No need for 11.1 with high torque motor.

Click to shrink...

I have had nothing but good things to say about the AirsoftPro hop unit. It has more hop arm adjustment then most G36 stock units. It's far better at stabilising the hop unit mechanism as its screwed into the front gearbox screw hole and it is better at preventing the inner barrels from twisting. I have one in both my JG SL8 (Which is essentially the same rifle) and my SRC XM8. 

I have looked for this hole, I see it in my SL8 but not in the G36 which makes me think this could actually be a Gen 3, though it has a Gen 4 hop unit. Its a Golden Bow rather then a JG, which are made by the same factory but maybe slightly different specs. 

I am thinking a metal cylinder head but plastic piston head. 

430 sounds like a fair compromise, I will need to put some barrel spacers in though. Maybe lots of PFTE. 

I would rather at least have a 9.9V LiFE as my upgraded SL8 likes to lock up on Semi with 7.4v's.  

 

[Asomodai]

Bought some other bits. 

ASG Ultimate M95 AEG spring. I like these as its a weak rated M95, so more like a M92/3? No chance of it being 350 FPS, but can be very close to. 

Prommy Purple bucking. 

 

[Nick G]

Bought some other bits. 

ASG Ultimate M95 AEG spring. I like these as its a weak rated M95, so more like a M92/3? No chance of it being 350 FPS, but can be very close to. 

Click to shrink...

Just fitted one of these in my L119 build. I am getting 330 fps at the moment on a standard barrel that I had knocking about from my AUG and that I shortened to use for the basic build. I expect that to go up a bit when I fit a tight bore. Perfectly happy with the 330 TBH

 

[Asomodai]

Just fitted one of these in my L119 build. I am getting 330 fps at the moment on a standard barrel that I had knocking about from my AUG and that I shortened to use for the basic build. I expect that to go up a bit when I fit a tight bore. Perfectly happy with the 330 TBH

Click to shrink...

I used one in my Cyma P90 build. With a ZCI 6.02 barrel and near perfect all guarder air seal stuff it was hitting 334FPS. That was a 260mm barrel. With this G36 it would be closer to 500mm so likely to get over 340FPS. 

 

[Nick G]

Sounds good, my existing non tight bore is 270mm for the 10" version, I plan to put together a barrel/hop unit as a drop in for when I run the 16" version. That will be about 440mm.

Your build looks like it's going to be great, I do love a G36

 

[Asomodai]

Had a slightly disappointing day today. 

I decided to not buy a new ZCI barrel and instead cut and recrown and old TM Famas barrel I had laying around. As this is primarily an LMG it doesn't have to be THAT accurate, though the Famas barrel was pretty good in its day! To help lift heavyweight BB's I would rather not have a full length 509mm barrel. 

A week ago I received the AirsoftPro parts in the mail, unfortunately the rubber O-ring was severed, a quick Email and AirsoftPro sent out a replacement FOC and arrived very promptly +1 to them! 

Today I thought about at least putting the barrel, hop unit, bucking in and changing to deans. Maybe I would have fielded it tomorrow along with the XM8 for an all G36 mag day. 

Unfortunately it didn't quite work out like that. This JG is very different to my XL8. The gas tube section has a big old piece of metal straddling the plastic section, I cannot remove it and the wiring was underneath, so I had to rip I out. Must be glued together! 

I took my old TM Famas barrel and cut it down to just over 400mm down from 509mm (I plan to use a 4/5 ported Cylinder to match barrel length). I gave the barrel a mild crown and polished all the muck out and installed the bucking and AP Hop unit. Then I tried to put it into the outer barrel , it went in smoothly enough, but I cannot get the hop unit to align correctly with the Outer barrel. I have had to twist the barrel for now. I am unsure as to why this is happening. I am sure I can sort it. 

Moving on, I took out the gearbox and removed the top forward screw, this JG is held together with security Allen keys. I could barely get one out (I had a T10 and forced it into a T9/T8 hole). I replaced the screw with the other part of the AP Hop unit. I then tried to put the hop unit/outer barrel assembly in and screw the two pieces of hop unit together.....Nadah. I couldn't force the main part of the unit to line up with the gearbox part. I got the digital calipers out and the original Air Nozzle is .07mm wider at the base then the AP Specific G36 Nozzle I have waiting to go in. 

To top it off, the side rail which goes onto the side of the scope does not fit, the holes do not align and I will have to drill or Dremel a wider hole in the rail. 

So all in all, a bit of a nightmare. 

In more positive news I have just ordered the last of the parts bar the C-Mag. 

SHS (RA) G36 Cylinder Head Aluminium

Acetech AceMOS Plus Mosfet

SLD High Torque Motor 22TPA (Short)

SHS (RA) Stainless steel Cylinder (4/5Hole)

ZCI Piston head (8 Vent Aluminium)

SLD 14 Tooth Piston (Lightweight)

ZCI Gear Set (Advanced) 16:1

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[Asomodai]

I was going to just hand this over to a tech. I had only opened up a V3 gearbox once before and that was just to change a spring on a Cyma G36, so I was a little reluctant. But tonight I was a bit bored so though I would give it a shot! 

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This is what greeted me. Nylon bushings, an inappropriate cylinder for the new inner barrel length. The wiring was pretty good. 

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Standard JG fare from a decade ago. Yellow snot lube turned brown in places. Awful compression, fairly solid Golden Eagle branded gears. Tappet looks atrocious but was actually pretty solid, which is good because I didn't buy a replacement. 

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The most basic pig metal spring guide below. Replacing with a UFC V3 ball bearing spring guide. 

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7MM nylon bushings replaced with 7mm bearings.

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Very odd, the bearings wouldn't go in without a vice grip pushing them in to the left side of the gear box, as a result I scratched up the outer gearbox casing. The bearings for the right side of the gearbox plopped straight in. Great factory tolerances there

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Stock piston had a single metal tooth which surprised me. Terrible piston head though. Replaced with full 14 tooth lightweight piston and aluminium ball bearing piston head. 

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Poor seal on the stock cylinder head and the same basic design as the rest of the air seal components. Replaced with a decent G36 replacement, shorter cylinder nozzle but shouldn't be a problem. Dual O-Rings really make the difference. 

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This was a bit bizarre, the original piston head was a PTS style one so the original spring was a PTS style as well. Replaced with the ASG Ultimate M95 full length. 

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New 16:1 ZCI Advanced set to replace the stock 18:1's. 

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The new cylinder is a 4/5 type for 400mm inner barrels. 

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A bit worrying here. The original Nozzle is like nothing I have ever seen. Its fatter then the AirsoftPro one and has this weird rectangular side, this Air nozzle did not work with the AP Hop unit. This appears to be the short type 24.3mm G36 nozzle. Whereas the AirsoftPro one is 25.2mm. 

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Cleaned out the shell and started lining things up. 

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State of that shell! Ah well, only way I could get the bearings in! 

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Original motor was replaced with a ZCI 22TPA high torque. 

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Here she is on fully charged 9.6 Nimh. Sounds pretty good considering I didn't have to correct AOE and I just put a basic thin shim on each gear (Only 4 of the original bushings had shims). I am surprised how much quieter it is compared to my P90 build. 

Unfortunately as alluded to above, I tried to feed a couple of bb's through the hop unit and the nozzle will not go back far enough to let the bb through into the chamber unless pushed. It appears that this gearbox may need the rare short type G36 Air Nozzle. I can get one but may take a week or so. I do worry it wont seal very well with the bucking either being 0.9mm shorter. So I am unsure what to do next, I could try and grind away at the current nozzle and see what happens... Unfortunately I cant just go back to the stock one as it wouldn't work with the AP Hop unit. 

However I can push the nozzle back manually far enough to let a bb through. Could this be a tappet plate issue, I am not sure how it could be. I could shim the hop unit a bit, but that would mean I have to disconnect the Hop unit stabiliser that is screwed into the gearbox. 

 

[ImTriggerHappy]

Don't grind away at the nozzle as everything is shaped to perfection. Just order the right length and do it properly.

 

[Asomodai]

Don't grind away at the nozzle as everything is shaped to perfection. Just order the right length and do it properly.

Click to shrink...

I thought that the length of the Air nozzle on a G36 was dependent on the type of hop unit you have. Is it actually dependent on the gearbox itself?

I.e a G36 gearbox that has a 24.3mm air nozzle stock has to stick with a 24.3mm nozzle even after changing the hop unit?

 

[ImTriggerHappy]

I thought that the length of the Air nozzle on a G36 was dependent on the type of hop unit you have. Is it actually dependent on the gearbox itself?

I.e a G36 gearbox that has a 24.3mm air nozzle stock has to stick with a 24.3mm nozzle even after changing the hop unit?

Click to shrink...

To be honest found lots of differences between gun models. I can call a fit of lots that I have experience of but your g36 is not one of them.

Not all v3 boxes are exactly the same or their placement within the receiver to the hop everything varies.

 

[Asomodai]

To be honest found lots of differences between gun models. I can call a fit of lots that I have experience of but your g36 is not one of them.

Not all v3 boxes are exactly the same or their placement within the receiver to the hop everything varies.

Click to shrink...

Thanks for the advice. Looks like I'll be playing nozzle musical chairs like with the P90!

I have emailed AirsoftPro to confirm that the short nozzle will work with the upgraded hop unit. If so I will order that. I'll probably pick up an SHS Aug nozzle just in case the short G36 one won't quite touch the bucking lips. 

 

[Asomodai]

To be honest found lots of differences between gun models. I can call a fit of lots that I have experience of but your g36 is not one of them.

Not all v3 boxes are exactly the same or their placement within the receiver to the hop everything varies.

Click to shrink...

New nozzle has arrived. Feeding fine now! Not sure of the FPS yet though, will be borrowing a chrono tomorrow to test further. 

 

[ImTriggerHappy]

New nozzle has arrived. Feeding fine now! Not sure of the FPS yet though, will be borrowing a chrono tomorrow to test further. 

Click to shrink...

Chrono is a must and maybe it's time to buy your own? Just get a good one.

 

[Asomodai]

Chrono is a must and maybe it's time to buy your own? Just get a good one.

Click to shrink...

I end up borrowing my mates all the time. Had it for 4 months last stretch, he only took it back to test out his VSR upgrades. He doesn't do any upgrades otherwise

Its on the never ending list of bits I need to get. 

 

[ImTriggerHappy]

I end up borrowing my mates all the time. Had it for 4 months last stretch, he only took it back to test out his VSR upgrades. He doesn't do any upgrades otherwise

Its on the never ending list of bits I need to get. 

Click to shrink...

https://riflescopesuk.com/skan-pro1-airsoft-chrono-3-diamond-35th-anniversary-model-166.html

 

[Asomodai]

https://riflescopesuk.com/skan-pro1-airsoft-chrono-3-diamond-35th-anniversary-model-166.html

Click to shrink...

Christ. I just need an Xcortech! 


My completely upgraded MG36 gearbox is perfect, great rate of fire on just a 9.6mah NimH, not much noise considering whats going on inside. 

Unfortunately shooting at 365 FPS on a weak M95 strength ASG Spring. I think I must have done a decent job on the air seal! 

Hopefully going for an M90 or M85 wont cause double feed on single shot as its pretty close to doing that already!

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[Asomodai]

I have ordered a weak rated ZCI M90 spring and hopefully it will be under the limit. An M80 may give me double shots on semi being so light. 

I also got a flat hop tensioner, once I grab a set of straight bucking I will flat hop for the first time. 

 

[Asomodai]

I nearly threw the damn thing away today! 

The nozzle doesn't want to retract enough for my liking. I am fairly sure it is tappet plate related but neither of my tappets will work correctly. When I drop a BB in the feed tube it wont go straight into the hop chamber, however when a mag is inserted after the first shot it feeds fine. After much finagling just decided to be happy and keep it like that. 

My FPS before I put it together was about 365. I cut the new M90 spring down a coil and it was firing around 330. Still getting perfect compression out of it. 

All the new air seal stuff has been installed, Cylinder, Cylinder Head, Air Nozzle, Piston Head, Spring Guide, Motor, Piston, Gears, Bearings etc. The G36 is a real tight fit trying to get the 16AWG wire down the pistol grip to reach the motor. The wiring I did was slightly dodgy but serviceable enough, standard mosfet installed, not keen on the single trigger contact style ones. Removed fuse and changed to deans. 

I am surprised what little batter space there is in this thing considering the size of the handguard. Not sure I'll be able to get a LiFE in this! 

Rate of fire on a 7.4v LiPO in storage mode is a bit meh at 16 RPS I was getting quite a bit more out of the NiMH. We'll see what happens once I have a fully charged one. Thinking the shimming might need re-doing at some point as It seems a fair bit louder once put in the pistol grip. 

Not sure if it's firing straight or even far as I have my doubts how I installed the Nub and rubber a few weeks back. Hopefully testing tomorrow, as well as dremelling the side rail so the holes will line up with the scope rail fixings. 

Still haven't been able to get hold of a sound activated dual drum mag yet. 

Blerrrruugh. 

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