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This guide serves a dual purpose. It serves 1) as a guide to upgrading an autococker for low pressure operation and 2) as a guide for the general disassembly and assembly of an autococker. You will / could learn a lot from this article. =) This article is owned by DirectPaintball.com. Any copying of its pictures or contents is strictly forbidden. Disclaimer, please read. ATTENTION: This article is intended to help guide certified airsmiths in the disassembly, upgrade, and reassembly of an autococker paintball gun. Due to the risks related to the use of paintball guns and working with compressed gases, only experienced air smiths familiar with the safe handling and operation of paintball guns should attempt to use this guide. Always wear paintball certified protective face, eye, and ear equipment while working on a paintball gun. Before you start, read the article and think!!! Keep in mind that this guide is based on the 1999 autococker. Autocockers change from year to year and some parts and processes may be different for your specific autococker. If you do not plan to upgrade to low pressure operation, click here to go straight to the teardown section. Why upgrade your autococker to low pressure operation? Advantages to going low pressure: 1) Low pressure operation is easier on paintballs which means less breakage & better accuracy. 2) Lower operating pressure allows lighter springs and slightly less gun rock/recoil which improves accuracy at higher rates of fire. (You will want a motorized hopper.) 3) Low pressure guns are generally more gas efficient. Some players have noted increases upwards of 20 percent once they have changed their autocockers over to low pressure. 4) If you are using CO2, which is not recommended in autocockers, it needs at least 180 psi to exist as liquid, even at below zero temperatures, thus operating at lower pressure causes less problems with CO2 going liquid in cold weather. 5) Low pressure tends to be quieter. On the down side: Low pressure guns are more sensitive to velocity spikes in cool weather due to liquid in the gun. If you are on N2 or a remote, this should not be a problem. For those with a back bottle of CO2, there may be an anti-siphon bottle in your future. Low Pressure Parts: The avoidance of name brands is intentional. Shop and ask around. Get parts that will do the job at an affordable price. In order to get your autococker operating at low pressure, you will need to buy new parts. SEE NEW PARTS PHOTO (below):  Front Block Regulator (13) - You will want a more easily adjustable regulator for the cocking system. The original is a good, reliable regulator & could be used, but its a hassle to adjust. Hammer Spring Kit (1) - A spring kit of different strength hammer and valve springs. Lighter Hammer (8) - A slightly lighter hammer will reduce kick and allow for finer tuning. Also, be sure the new hammer has some thread locking ability on both the cock pin and cocking rod threads. Mine has two little nylon set screws, one for each of the before mentioned screws. It's nice not to have the cocking rod loosening by itself. Volumizer / Low Pressure Chamber (12) - You'll need a little more volume for gas in your gun if you want to maintain velocity at a high rate of fire. If you have a 2000 Autococker, you may be okay since it has a larger front block screw. High Flow Valve (10) - You'll probably need a higher flow valve. Most valves also came with a high flow valve pin (9). High Flow Bolt (3) - You will need a higher flow bolt(3). Pressure Gauge (11) - A pressure gauge is very helpful for tuning your autococker. I recommend you find a gauge that reads pressure somewhere between the ranges of 100 - 900 psi. Lightened Back Block (2) - I also bought a lighter back block to help with cocking speed & reduce gun rocking. To aide you in selecting new parts, I recommend you take your autococker (degassed and unloaded) with you when you go to buy upgrade parts. Generally the local paintball proshop employees are more than happy to help you find the right parts. For the low budget consumer, once you know what parts you want, you can go online and find them for a fraction of the price. TIP: Don't walk through Wal-Mart with your autococker for at least three reasons. 1) Wal-Mart doesnt have what you need. 2) People who know almost nothing about firearms - and that's most of them - will really get spooked. 3) Cops may show up & invite you to "come home" with them. Autococker Valve Wrench Tool With all these mechanical parts that go inside of a very mechanical gun, you'll need some tools. But not so many as you may think. Most are probably in your tool box or at a hardware store, all but one. The one that's not even mentioned even in the autococker owner's manual, but you will need to replace the valve for upgrade or maintenance. The infamous & rare autococker valve wrench. Available on a few web sites and maybe your local dealer (he'll more than likely need to special order it). Price ranges from around $11 to $30. Your local dealer would probably remove and replace the valve for you, if he has a tool. Autococker Teardown / Low Pressure Upgrades * If you are not upgrading to low pressure, this is still an excellent guide for how to teardown and reassemble many of the autocockers components.  Things to do before you start. Step 1. Prepare a comfortable, well lit workspace. You'll need several square feet of clear & level work space to spread out and place small parts so they won't be disturbed (and surely lost forever) by passing family members. I suggest you also cover the work surface with a white towel to protect from grease and dirt.  Step 2. Gather up your tools: (See Photo) Allen wrench (T4) sizes needed: 1/16, 3/32, 1/8, 5/32, 3/16, & 7/32. Open end wrench sizes 1/4" 7/16"(T3) & 1/2"(T2) Flat bladed screw driver (adjusting regulator), Dental pick, needle nose pliers (T1), a small tack puller (T5) (looks like a screw driver with a forked, curved blade - come to think of it, a well made dinner fork may work), bench vise or two pipe wrenches and a piece of leather from an old belt, scissors, pencil, and paper. If you wish to remove the valve, you will also need to purchase an autococker valve tool. In addition you will needed: Teflon tape (pipe sealing tape), Silicon or non-petroleum base paintball gun oil, cleaning rag & rod, a bottle preferably at least half full of CO2 or N2 and some paint balls for testing and any tools that may be needed specifically to assemble your new parts. It's also nice to have a bowl, pan, or small box to put parts in. I call this a CLL or Can't Lose Location.If you are not familiar with the terms "CW" = "clockwise" and "CCW" = counterclockwise" , you may need an operating, old fashion, analog clock with a second hand for later reference. (Under 20 years old? Bring up windows & right-click the task bar time clock to bring up the "Adjust Time" menu. Watch the circle thing just above the time for a second ... see it move? That's the second hand on an analog clock and it rotates in a clockwise direction.) Lay tools out neatly along the edge (right if right handed) of the towel. Lay all your new parts out also along an edge. Better sill, in a box or bowl. You're all set? Ensure that your autococker is completely degassed and all paintballs are removed from it prior to disassembly. Remove barrel, hopper, air/gas supply (bottle), and forearm cover if you have one. Also, remove the beaver tail if you have one. Lay all of these parts out of the way. Front Block Gauge Installation Installing a front block gauge (New Parts 11). A front block gauge is an excellent upgrade choice. It allows you to know the input pressure into your guns front block. Having a front block gauge will make it much easier to precisely tune the front block regulator on your autococker.  Turn the gun upside down & look for a socket plug screw in the bottom of the front block. (See Photo). The gauge will be screwed into the hole occupied by this plug. Use a good quality 3/16 allen wrench in good condition. It should not have worn or rounded edges & be sure it is a good fit in the plug. Chances are, this plug has been glued in with Loctite* and it will be hard to turn. It loosens CW (remember that means counter-clockwise). Be sure you keep the wrench perpendicular to the rotation axis while applying pressure. If your wrench starts to slip/strip, stop & seek help. It is very important that you do not strip any threaded parts on the autococker as it will require considerable work by a skilled machinist to repair any damaged screws or screw holes. Once it starts to turn easily, turn the gun right-side up so debris from the glue residue will drop out when the plug is removed. With the plug out & the gun right-side up, use the dental pick to gently scrape out the excess glue. You do not want pieces of glue lodged in your valves & causing problems. The plug can now be the first part in your "old 'cocker parts" (OCP) collection. Before installing your new gauge, you'll want to put a wrap of Teflon tape on the treads as a thread sealer and lubricant. Teflon tape comes in two types, white and yellow, I recommend you use the "yellow" Teflon tape as it is designed for gas applications. If you've never used Teflon tape before, here is some advice. Two important things: Wrap the tape around the threads (about 1 and 1/4 turns) so that the action of advancing the threads does not unwrap the tape. Do this by holding the tape against the tread, then act like you are advancing the treads (CW), allowing the tape to wrap. When you get an overlap, pull the tape tight & cut or break it off. More importantly, do not overlap the end of the screw in front of the treads. If the tape is too wide for the thread, wrap the excess to so it will be on the OUTSIDE of the gun. Tape in front of the treads could break loose and run about freely inside your marker, eventually doing what it is designed to do, sealing up some opening. With the treads wrapped, carefully screw the gauge into the plug hole until it is snug (See Photo). Do not over tighten! Now hold your marker as if in play & look at your gauge. Tighten the gauge into an easy-to-read position. All done? If you have a forearm cover you are not. Slide your forearm cover into place as far as the new gauge will allow & mark it. Use the scissors to snip away gauge clearance until the forearm cover can be fully assembled. Once finished, air-up your marker & listen for leaks. If the gauge threads leak, tightening another turn should stop it. Read the gauge and write down the reading. It should be around 500 to 600 psi.Adding a Low Pressure Chamber Adding a low pressure chamber is a cheap, but important upgrade to any 1999 or older autococker. The older autocockers (99 and older) have a smaller front block bolt that considerably restricts the air flow into the front block. Adding a low pressure chamber for around $20 can make a noticeable improvement in the air flow in older autocockers. After I added an ANS low pressure chamber to my autococker, there was an immediate increase of 20 feet per second in my guns velocity. To do this, you will need to disassemble most of your marker. Your new low pressure chamber (New Parts #12) will probably have a threaded end with two O-ring seals to serve as a replacement for the single button head screw in the center of your front block. You will need some room to work, so first remove the cocking regulator. Cocking Regulator removal The cocking regulator, commonly referred to as the "front regulator", (Standard Parts #13) is the front block (Standard Parts #9) component with only one air tube attached. Even if you elect to keep the stock regulator, you will need to remove the cocking regulator to gain access for installing the low pressure chamber. Use the tack puller (T5) to pry/push the brass retaining ring away from the air tube end. Do not pull on the hose, you will only tighten it or you may crack it. Instead, slide the tack puller under the hose end and pry gently up. The tube should move off the small and FRAGILE ferrule (the little tube that the hose is pressed on to) with little resistance. (A pair of small, flat bladed screw drivers will work in place of a tack puller, but will require much more dexterity.) Use a 1/4" open end wrench to unscrew the hose ferrule (CCW) and place it and it's nylon washer in a "can't loose location" (CLL) Use a 7/16 wrench to remove the regulator, also turning CCW. Now you can get to the front block screw. Back Block Removal Before you remove the front block screw, you will need to remove the back block(SP#6) and cocking rod(SP#23). Don't panic. It's easier than it seems. I'll step you through it so you won't loose, or at least minimize the chance of losing, your guns timing. Remove your bolt(SP#4) by pushing the button on the bolt retaining pin(SP#5) and pulling it out. Put the bolt pin in the CLL. Next, pull the bolt straight back. It should slide out easily. If not, cleaning & lubrication is long overdue. If your upgrading place the bolt in the OCP, otherwise, stow it in the CLL. Cocking Rod Removal Remove the cocking rod(SP#23) that is in the center of the back block(SP#6) by turning it CCW. You may need a pliers or wench (7/16) to get it started, but it should turn by hand. Place in a CLL. Now its the back block's turn, CCW & count the turns! Write down the number of turns required. If you are replacing the back block, place it with the OCPs, otherwise, stow it in the CLL. Use care in handling the marker that you don't catch & bend the loose hanging back block rod. Do not remove it. If you do, you'll only make timing more difficult. Trigger Frame Removal  Removing the trigger frame(SP#17).One more major thing to remove, but it's really easy. Really. The trigger frame(SP#17) is held on by two small button head screws. When you are shooting, your trigger finger is touching one and the other is wearing a callous on your 1st thumb joint. Two things to watch out for: 1) You must be careful of the 3-way rod(SP#11). Allow the trigger frame to lower some but slide it carefully to the left off of the trigger (3-way) rod. 2) Just above the safety button, and on the left side, is a small, compressed spring that applies pressure to an even smaller steel ball that rides against the safety. Take care that this spring does not get lost. If care is not taken, your 1st and last glimpse of this spring will be seeing it disappear across the room. I have lost the safety spring before it required 25 minutes of crawling on my hands and knees to find. If you have a bottom line feed(SP#16), use a 5/32 Allen wrench & remove the two bolts (CCW) in the bottom of the grip and place them in the CLL. Remove the trigger frame(SP#17) screws by turning counterclockwise with a 1/8" Allen wrench and put them in the CLL. Carefully slide the trigger off the trigger rod(SP#11) while watching for the safety pin spring. Carefully place the trigger frame with the spring so it will not fall out in the CLL.Front Block Removal  At this point, you should now have your front regulator, back block, cocking rod, and trigger frame completely removed from your autococker. Finally, remove the front block(SP#9) with a good quality 7/32 Allen wrench that is not rounded or worn. (You guessed it, some chuckling chump probably Loctited the treads.) Be sure you wrench is straight & rotation (CCW) is perpendicular to the rotation axis. You do not want to crash into your tubes, ram(2-way)(SP#7), or three-way(SP#8) when the bolt suddenly breaks loose. Use care when the front block is loose not to bend your rods. Remove the front block screw & place it within your OCP, old O-rings, front and back, in the CLL. (The dental tool is handy in removing the back O-ring. from the block.) Pick any Loctite residue from the treads. Once the thread are clean, you are ready for assembly.Low Pressure Chamber Installation  Installing the low pressure chamber(NP#12). Your low pressure chamber screw holds both the chamber and the entire front block in place. Be sure one O-ring. is over the threads & against the shoulder. The other O-ring must be in the small counter-bore on the back side of the front block. If these O-rings are not properly in place, the gun will leak. Do not force these seals with tools that may mark, scratch, or cut them. Do place a drop of oil on each. Screw the low pressure chamber threads all the way through the back O-ring. until it is secure against the counter-bore to be sure it does not get damaged by the treads. Next place the front block in position and turn the low pressure chamber clockwise to tighten. Be sure the front block is all the way down with it's channel aligned to prevent it's turning and rotate the low pressure chamber clockwise until quite tight, but do not use extra leverage on your tool. Be sure that you do not strip any threads by using extreme force.Adjustable Regulator Installation  Installing the new adjustable cocking regulator(NP#13): Apply Teflon tape to the threads. Always be sure the tape does not overlap the thread end, allowing a piece to break loose & lodge somewhere in the valves or tubes. Thread the regulator(NP#13) clockwise into its proper hole in the front block. When it starts to tighten, watch the alignment and position of the hole for the ferrule. It must be in a position that you can screw on and tighten (snugly only, not too much) the ferrule tube and still slide on the air tube & retainer. Also, if you have a forearm cover, it must clear the tubing with minimal rubbing. The tube must not bend too tightly or rub too hard against other surfaces. Once you are tight enough and fairly sure the threads are sealed, carefully screw the ferrule in clockwise. Be sure it starts correctly and do not force it, it may be cross treading if it required lots of force. Screw it down to the nylon washer and then snug it with a 1/4" open end wrench to tighten. You should be able to slide the hose on by hand with some minor help & support with the nettle nose pliers. If you need to cut the tubing, do so. Remember, too long is better than too short. If you do cut it too short, you will have to buy new autococker hosing. Use the nettle nose pliers to slide & push the retainer in place near the hose end. Tighten the cocking regulator into final hose position.Hammer Removal Removing hammer (SP#21) Use the 3/16 Allen wrench you use to set your velocity. With the back block (SP#6) removed, rotate the velocity adjuster nut counterclockwise until it comes out. The hammer spring should follow. Put both in the CLL. Looking up from the bottom of the gun, you'll notice a small pin protruding from your hammer. This pin is a set screw that is screwed into the hammer. It serves a dual function. Primarily it exists to hold the hammer in firing position. Secondarily, it keeps the hammer from being removed by novices. To remove the hammer you need to turn the screw/pin counter clockwise about three full turns. Remember EXACTLY how far you turn it. You will want to turn it back the same amount at reassembly. Worr Products provided a small hole in the center of the sight rail to allow removal of this set screw (See Photo). Insert your 1/8" Allen wrench in this hole and feel for the Allen screw socket. You may need to move the hammer to find the screws socket. If you do, use your cocking rod from the CLL to either push or pull the hammer slightly forwards or backwards to get the allen wrench and set screw to line up. Once you locate the screw, insert the Allen wrench in a position that allows you to easily count the number of turns required for removal. Unscrew the set screw until it is just barely recessed within the hammer. Remove the Allen wrench & the hammer should fall out of the back of the marker. The hammer should be easy to remove from the gun, if it does not come out easily, the set screw is probably not entirely recessed within the hammer. Readjust the set screws position so it is entirely within the hammer and the hammer will slide out of your gun freely. If you are upgrading to a new hammer, put the hammer with the OCP, otherwise, the CLL. Valve Removal Valve (SP#20) removal. You will need an Autococker valve tool to do this. If you do not have one, I suggest you order one. With the hammer removed from the gun, slide the valve tool it into position within the lower body chamber (chamber where the hammer and hammer spring are normally located). If the valve tool is in correctly, you should feel it secure in position. It may require slight pressure to resist the small valve pin spring. Turn counterclockwise to loosen and remove the valve retention screw. With the gun body held vertical, back down, remove the tool & the ring should follow. Place in the CLL. There is a set screw also holding the valve that is directly under the valve. (Normally covered by the trigger frame.) Use a 5/32 Allen wrench and remove the set screw CCW. Place in the CLL. The valve, valve pin, and spring should fall out with a slight rap. Valve Replacement  Valve (NP#10) replacement: If you have a new valve, put the old valve body and valve pin in the OCP. If you have a spring kit (NP#1), select a spring slightly lighter than the original valve pin spring (SP#18) for starters. Be sure the new valve seal and seat are clean using your finger or soft cloth. Apply a drop of oil. Place the valve spring on the valve pin (SP#19) and, with the aide of the Autococker tool, slide the assembly into position. Be sure the spring slides into it's pocket. The valve should have only slight spring pressure while in position. The flat or hole for the valve set screw should be in-line with the set screw. Use the dental pick to rotate the valve as needed. Retrieve the setscrew from the CLL and snug it (CW) into position, then back it out about 1/4 turn. Retrieve the valve retention screw from the CLL and use the Autococker tool to tighten securely. Now go back and seat the valve set screw. Use a cleaning rod & clean out the hammer chamber. Oil lightly.Hammer Installation  Hammer re-assembly: If you have a replacement hammer (NP#8) with nylon set screws, Snug the nylon set screws against the set screw pin. Check the setscrew pin. It should be flush with the hammer body. If not, adjust accordingly. If you did not upgrade to a hammer with its own set screws within it, you will want to apply a new layer of Teflon tape to the threads on your stock set screw. Using the method discussed earlier, apply the new Teflon tape later. The Teflon tape helps to hold the setscrew in place so it will not loosen while your gun is operating. Once you're satisfied with the nylon set screw adjustments, with the cocking rod screwed into the hammer, slide the hammer in position using the cocking rod. Find the pin setscrew with the 1/8" Allen wrench via the hole in the top of the sight rail. Once found, turn the screw exactly as many turns as it took you to remove it earlier. If you bought a new hammer, you may have to tinker with this setting until you find the right adjustment for your gun. Slightly more and your trigger dwell will be longer before the gun fires with less time between firing and cocking. Slightly less and firing is sooner with more time between fire & cocking. Too little turning and the sear will not hold. Once you have the set screw adjusted properly, remove the cocking rod from the hammer and place it in the CLL. Select the lightest cocking spring in your spring set and slide it in behind the hammer. Retrieve the velocity adjuster and advance it CW about five turns.Back Block Reassembly  Back block reassembly: Be sure the chamber that your bolt slides in is clean. If not, use a cleaning rod & cloth & clean it. Start the back block on the ram cocking rod. Look up the number of turns made in removal and turn CW the same amount. You will probably end up with a very slight gap between back block and body. This gap will reduce the slapping of block against body and therefore reduce noise. If you purchased one, get your new bolt and put a drop of oil on each O-ring and on the bolt in front of and behind the O-rings. Be sure the hole between the O-rings is positioned down and slide the new bolt into the gun body until the retaining pin holes lineup. Retrieve the bolt retaining pin from the CLL and push it through the holes & bolt. Get the cocking rod from the CLL and carefully screw this CW into the hammer until it seats. You should, with some very noticeable resistance, be able to turn this in with your bare fingers.Reassemble your barrel & plug and you are ready to gas the gun up! A note of caution. If you have installed a new hammer, it may or may not have the small hole on it's front that the original has. There is the probability that the hammer is resting against the valve pin and holding the valve open. No real problem except that the valve will not close when you gas-up the gun and result in a major down the barrel leak. Remedy? Cock the gun before gassing it up. This is also a good time to test the hammer catch pin adjustment. It should catch securely, but still release early in the trigger pull. Apply the gas and listen for leaks. (Sometimes the ram (SP#7) & three way (SP#8) seals will leak slightly until they are fired.) You should have no leaks on the components you've assembled. If you do, you can try a LITTLE more tightening. If that does not stop the leak quickly, detach the gas and check that component's seals. With the gun gassed - up, try firing. You should get a shot. If you installed a new adjustable cocking regulator(NP#13) and backed out the adjustment, you should get little to no cocking. With the trigger all the way back, slowly adjust the cocking regulator until the gun just positively cocks. Try it a few times to be sure. Then give the adjustable cocking regulator(NP#13) knob about 1/4 turn more pressure to assure sufficient operating pressure. Your timing should be close to original. The largest effect on timing in this article is the hammer cocking screw adjustment. The more CW that this screw is turned, the sooner in the trigger pull the gun will fire. Too much CW adjustment and the sear / hammer will not catch or be unstable (double fire?). Too much length exposed (CCW) and the gun will fire during the cocking phase - or not at all. Testing the Timing on your Autococker If you are having problems with the gun not cocking right or cycling incorrectly you may need to retime your autococker. Lots of articles exist on timing (Here's a good one from Ravi Chopra's website Later all, Mike Return to Articles © 2002 DirectPaintball.com |