how can i learn to fix my airsoft gearbox

[chris555]

ok so im getting tired of paying out good money to have things fixed i have a version three gearbox i bought for a project im not going to go ahead with how do i learn to work on it any pointers or resources to use thank you

[Monty]

There's plenty of guides on Youtube.

[Samurai]

Practice, practice, practice... And some youtube videos.

[chris555]

im with you and looking now but the youtube videos are often done by people that know exactly what they are doing and never run into problems (try fixing your car with you tube videos) im wondering if there are other resources out there that i could read or watch with more in depth info. its maddening i completely fixed my camaro and modded the suspension but i cant fix a air soft gear box lol its frustrating.

[TheGhost]

Before I even got my first Airsoft gun I watched about 15 hours of tutorials and tips on youtube, It helped me quite a bit. When I got my gun and had to change the spring, It was a whole different story. I lost the very small spring inside the gear box, Nearly cut one of the wires and broke my motor. What I am trying to say is: With out physical practice and actually doing it, You will find learning a lot more harder. Watch some videos But play around with your gear box, Make your self feel confident when Opening up your rifle, Because Without that, You will not get very far.

 

I wish you all the best in your mysterious journey inside the gear box, Best of luck friend!

[Rock-climby-Dave]

Don't learn with a cheap gearbox.

 

I do nothing but work on gearboxes day in day out and I still struggle to get a shitty CYMA V2 back together sometimes. Anything remotely well made (even the G&G Combat machines) will aid you so much with triggers and AR latches not actively trying to jump out.

 

also, screwdriver as far into the spring guide as possible before splitting the case.

 

Remeber, you aren't necessarily paying the person fixing it for the time spent on your gun, you are paying for the time AND tools AND knowledge of what could be wrong. It's that experience that costs. Proper airsoft teching is a very specialised skill set that you probably can't use or gain any way other than on a gearbox.

 

also, learn how to solder properly aswell, You'd be surprised at how many people claim they can solder and it becomes apparent removing electrical tape (not heatshrink as it should be) that they cannot solder for toffee.

[Airsoft_Mr B]

Electrical tape, really?

 

I can't really say owt because I am the worst at looking after my AEGs. Plan for upgrading my MP5 is back on though as I'm not buying any more gear or guns for a while except for a new sidearm (which I am gonna maintain btw, bought maintenace gas, silicone oil etc with the P226)

Just watch a lot of videos, ask questions on here if you're stuck on anything specific (it's like the main reason the forum is here so don't be afraid if you think it's something obvious or a stupid question) Take you time with it and preferably make sure you have a good clear work area with a gun mat or summut like a towel so you can lay out parts and not lose them too easily.

[chris555]

this is proving very helpful guys keep it coming im not short on tools as me and dad are constantly working on our own bikes and cars and i got reasonable at soldering on my motorcycle maintenance course,my main problems where i need help is knowing where everything goes, how to shim and how to time the gears properly. i take the point about more expensive gear boxes but i have a cyma 28 version three gear box to hand and short on funds so im starting with that. seriously any useful tips or tricks keep them coming im going to make an attempt at it tomorrow.

[Rock-climby-Dave]

'timing' isn't really a big thing. Just put the gearbox back together with the sector gear currently not engaging the piston and you'll be fine, it resets itself after that by design.

 

Shimming is the act of making the gears not wobble, but also the faces not touch each other. should still spin freely. Start with the spur gear and you'll be fine.

[Ian_Gere]

The CYMA CM02 V3 gearbox is a beast - the problem is that it can handle anything you might throw at it voltage or spring wise because it is built with wide tolerances, which means that getting it back together can be a pain in the hole - as Dave says, parts seem to want to jump out.

 

My procedure:

 

if the motor connections are removable, remove the power cables from them;

 

remove the motor in its cage by undoing the 2 screws which hold the cage locked to the gb shell;

 

take a bent paper clip like this -

...and reach up through where the motor's pinion gear fits

to hook the anti-reversal latch and pull / this will allow the gears to spin backwards which releases any tension in the main spring / you may have to hook it more than once, but it should end up being loose (doing this prevents damage to the gears when you open the shell);

 

take off the plastic cover behind the trigger using a small flat head screwdriver to lever it;

take off the top strap using a large flat head screwdriver to push it from the rear and then undo the screws;

 

use the small screwdriver to lever the gb shell apart by a millimetre starting at the motor hole rear;

when you can fit the screwdriver between the shell halves directly behind the main spring, push it all the way in;

this then is your handle to hold the spring guide and main spring in place against the left side of the shell as you lever off the right side;

with the right side shell removed, holding the left side and gubbins in one hand and the screwdriver in the other, lift the spring guide out allowing the main spring to extend carefully;

 

unless it has been opened before there will be a fair amount of earwax looking grease / there is nothing wrong with this stuff other than that it's messy / unless you have some decent grease to replace it, resist the urge to clean it off (I recommend CT-2 Teflon grease);

 

do whatever you're going to do inside;

 

the CM02 gb is meant to be loose, but you don't lose anything by shimming it better than the factory spec / however after having done it several times i'm not convinced that you actually gain anything either, but hey ho it's good practice;

 

put a good smear of grease on the piston head o-ring so that it evenly coats the interior of the cylinder;

if you are replacing the air seal nozzle with one which has an o-ring, place a light smear of grease around the base of the cylinder head spout so that the nozzle o-ring gets greased but the grease doesn't get far forward enough to end up blasted as particulates down the barrel;

 

set the spur gear with the tappet plate cam peg at approx 11 o'clock, so it is touching the tappet plate but not engaging its spring;

 

the spring guide will compress the main spring enough to fit and jam in place with the little flat peg fitting into the left side shell, but once you do this you need to keep hold of the piston to prevent it pinging out;

 

the problem with getting it all back together is that you have to simultaneously hold the piston, keep the anti-reversal latch spring from toppling the bevel gear and keep the trigger in place, whilst you manipulate the gb shell to get it together with the 3 gear bushes/bearings into their holes - i suspect that everyone has their own knack of doing this but after the amount of times i've tried and failed, then had to reset the gears and try again, i've given it up;

 

now i just keep track of the piston and bevel gear as i close the shell without the trigger - fit the top strap back in place;

use blobs of grease to help hold the trigger spring and trigger rocker to the trigger;

take hold of the gearbox in left hand with the bottom cracked open about 1.5mm (so that the bevel gear is just still held in place) and trigger in right (or vice versa) and fit the trigger spring end into the tiny retaining hole in the left hand side of the gb shell;

next you push the trigger so that the left side pegs that the trigger pivots on and the rocker slides on go into their holes in the left side of the shell then rock the trigger upwards towards you forcing the right side pegs to fit inside the gb shell as it opens further - the knack here is to only allow the shell to open as much as is absolutely necessary so that, as soon as the pegs pop into their right side holes the gb snaps shut;

 

unfortunately it is often not quite as simple as that sounds ( ) because the gear bushes/bearings often shift during the process so that the shell does not snap shut - if you keep a tight hold of it though, so that nothing shifts any further, you can poke the gears back into position either with a cocktail stick on the outside or, if you can find a thin piece of steel like that which comes out of replacement windscreen wipers to make a tool like this -

...from the inside by poking it between the halves of the shell

- while you fiddle with the gears, the trigger mech pegs may come out / just make sure that the left hand side ones do not or the trigger spring, because in that case you will have to take the trigger out and start again / with a bit of practice you can get spur gear bushing/bearing just into its hole with the trigger correctly seated even though the bevel gear bushing/bearing is not quite in and then it's just a case of poking that into place / the main knack is keeping a firm hold on the halves so that the gubbins don't slip any more than is absolutely necessary;

 

refit the screws being careful not to overtighten them or you will knacker the threads they screw into;

do not be tempted to leave the plastic cover off - it isn't necessary for function but it keeps dirt out of the box / it's there so that you can put grease/oil on the gears without opening the shell;

refit the motor and hey presto!

[n1ckh]

When I stripped my Beretta for cleaning and greasing the very 1st time, I took close up pictures of everything

 

There was 3 small springs so taking pictures helped as I knew how they were positioned

[Sitting Duck]

Some people are so good at what they do they make it look it easy

 

As been pointed out it isn't quite so easy - atm my failure/grief ratio is still very high

but learning all the time - still losing bits but not as many as first time when gearbox

exploded as I first took it apart - BOOOOOOM - wtf ?????

 

My 2 main areas seem to be either trigger switch system not 101% correct on semi

or the friggin piston decides to jump off the rail and just twist slightly at last minute

which means the first plastic teeth shred when you test it - arrrggghhhhh

 

plus usual Anti Reversal latch not working correctly if you manage to get back in ok

(I'm sure that sod was designed by some evil sadistic son of a 8itch)

 

But still usually enjoying the learning curve - crying at the time it don't go right

but if push comes to shove a new box is about £50 if you really screw up

 

Oh and one final thing - TM compatible is not 101% guaranteed I am finding out

some bits do work as direct replacements, some need a slight modification

and others just really won't work in some cases/boxes and so you need to transplant

some bits from old & new - jeeeeeezzzzzz

 

yeah don't think I am gonna make a Dual Sector Gear box or

a super duper high speed short stroked mofo box just yet - rather never at this rate

 

but good to see most admitting it ain't quite as easy & simple as we all first think

getting this wisdom & experience takes time but I ain't giving up - not just yet

[Ian_Gere]

Yeah, the AR Latch is a pain in the hole sometimes. I use a blob of additional grease to help hold that poxy spring stuck to it and the pivot peg into its hole in the left gb shell. It also helps if you set the bevel gear so that the AR latch is engaged into the ratchet on the bevel gear, rather than sitting against a ratchet tooth, because it is then under slightly less spring pressure and therefore less likely to pop out of its hole or push the bevel gear over. Only slightly though...

[Sitting Duck]

yeah about the AR latch - me thinking I might get some metal strapping tape from work

(steel pallet strapping tape aprox 15mm x 1mm thick)

make that up into a U or n shape to clip onto box and offer some thin clamp on that mofo

then I might get one of my hands back maybe

and could to help hold that down, watch that, careful now, mind that don't move, keep pressing - hang on

 

BOOOMMMM - ah FFS not again

 

well that was an idea about a small short metal clip made up to help keep AR in place

thin enough to get box together but might just about be strong enough to keep AR in check

 

Love to see how these chinese/taiwan peeps do it - must have some thin little levers/devices to hold it together

I mean even experienced workers making these up day after day must use some stuff to make life easier

and even if you get a m8 to help - 3 or 4 pairs of hands might seem like a good idea but you can't see $hit

when you try to check if its all aligned etc..........

 

still enjoying this learning curve - atm, but have come close once to throwing a box down the garden

[Ian_Gere]

Mate, if you get that clamp idea to work, please make sure to take pics of it and, if possible, how you use it, so we can all share in the breakthrough!

 

BTW, I reckon that the workers who put it together will have a jig which hold everything in place.

[Lozart]

Errrmm....Hunter Seeker already make one: http://www.shapeways.com/model/1786116/anti-reversal-latch-clip.html?li=shortUrl

[Ian_Gere]

Errrmm....Hunter Seeker already make one: http://www.shapeways.com/model/1786116/anti-reversal-latch-clip.html?li=shortUrl

Which does look pretty effective, but at €15.70 posted is a bit of a piss take IMO - I would cheerfully go a tenner, but on a V3 GB the ARL isn't as annoying as on V2 and, since I have the good sense and taste to have an arsenal free of M4's, they can fuck off...

[Samurai]

Just put a neodymium magnet on the underside of the GB at the AR latch.

In emergency cases (you can't find the magnet) a hairpin from the motor side.

[Sitting Duck]

well started to cut/bend/shape whilst at work and thought about plastic being better than steel

(plastic won't scrape on AR like steel would when removing the clamp)

 

Then saw Samurai's nifty little trick, yup them earth magnets bloomin' work well

tried two 15mm one just recently when I got home and that AR latch seems to stay put

many thanks for passing on that handy tip sir....

 

Ah well maybe by crude little clampy thing might come in handy if trigger decides it wants to bust loose

but usually them triggers behave themselves a bit better than AR's

 

All the same a quick pic to show my idea - obviously it needs trimming and plastic - could use almost anything

(old credit/loyalty card or the card you get with a new sim so to speak)

might still come in handy for trigger as they are alloy/non-magnetic perhaps but deffo can confirm magnets work brilliantly

 

Dunno if this magnet may make lever or stuff slightly magnetic but doubt if that is a real bad thing

 

now all I need to figure out is a way of compressing spring and holding that in place and I get both hands back

but for now that AR trick is a real blessing - thanks again

 

 

[Ian_Gere]

5pcs Strong Neodymium Magnet Rectangle Magnets 25mm x 8mm x2mm N52 - £1.49 posted / just got some - i reckon that an N52 might be strong enough to hold the trigger in place just by the spring.