PTS Magpul PDR-C service questions

[shadowfacex]

So, in the wake of Luke from Negative Airsoft dissing PTS PDR-C and vowing never to touch one again, I need to perform a piston swap on my vanilla PDR-C.

However the last time I touched a gearbox was a long time ago (5-6 years), and I’d love to learn a bit more about precautions of disassembling this particular one before I actually do it.

• What should I watch out for?
  
• What type of piston should I look for? Any specific models I should consider?
  
• Are there any parts you’d recommend I should upgrade while I’m there?
  
• Any videos I should check out before performing an open heart surgery? (apart from NA ones, I watched all of his PDR ones)
  

Any other suggestions, warnings, I’d appreciate, because quite frankly, all I want is to bring it back to life and improve its reliability. It has never failed me before and it’s just wear and tear I presume.

 

[Tackle]

I shall be eagerly watching this thread, mine also packed up, sounds like piston stripped but couldn't be arsed to sort it yet, be good to know what's in store for me lol ?

 

[shadowfacex]

I have initially thought that it’s misfeeding because of the hop unit, but after testing this thoroughly that turned out to be a false assumption. After testing some more, I noticed that the air nozzle randomly stays retracted after cycling, which kind indicated a stripped piston (apparently, very common after several thousand rounds on this thing).

I was going to give it to Luke, but he told me to pack it into a display case somewhere, yet apart from that little issue it’s firing perfectly at 340 fps, so I can’t just give up, right?

 

[Tackle]

Definitely not, he may not like working on them but that doesn't mean they're not cool as f#ck ?

 

[Guest]

Definitely not, he may not like working on them but that doesn't mean they're not cool as f#ck ?

tbf, all AEG’s are absolute shite to work on, and anybody who says different doesn’t know Jack Shit.

Doesn’t mean the PDR-C isn’t super cool though

 

[shadowfacex]

I asked Luke about some advice on maintaining the PDR, this is what he replied with:

Short stroke a 15 tooth full steel rack piston by 3 teeth,  knock off two from the pick up & two from the release side of the original sector gear, correct the aoe using a plastic washer 2mm thick, m120 spring, polish feed channel, make sure the tapper plate spring isn't blocking the feed tube & pray.

Sounds a ton more involving than I thought, but then he definitely knows his shit. That said, if the gun only needs a new piston… why a full rebuild?