AA S4XX/5XX Air Cylinder Removel…
Has anyone successfully removed one of these, short of using a hacksaw?
I’d appreciate any advice. This thing is on tighter than the shroud was.
H 😯 😯 T
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Somebody went crazy with the RED locktite and the superglue. 😆
Hoot,
Get a FX Royale before you hurt yourself.
Regards,
Roachcreek
Multiple duct tape wraps, torch applied, chilled below freezing, wrapped in multiple sheets of rubber and turned with a 16″ pipe wrench, put in a vice and wrapped with 400 grit sandpaper wrapped in rubber (finish be damned!) and 18″ leverage bar applied to no avail. Vice grips, extra large, clamped down on wrap so tight I had to close it with 14″ Channel Locks, and then turned the vice grips with leverage bar….all that happened was the tape eventually tore off all ten layers.
Hair drier, blow torch, propane torch, MAPP gas torch….all to no avail.
That’s when I sent it to the machinist, and he got REALLY serious but had to stop or ruin the tube.
Sometimes you just have to say “fugget” and give up. It ain’t gonna happen…no matter what!
H 😥 😥 T
Consider this…….Chuck up the receiver in a substantial vice protecting the sides with rubber sheeting or other material. Wrap the tube with duct tape near the bottom connection point, five to 6″ in width, several layers deep. Then take a layer of 1/8 to 3/16″ sheet rubber, same width as the duct tape, spray one side with 3M adhesive lightly and wrap that around the duct tape securely. Then use two of these – http://www.amazon.com/Vise-Grip-9-Inch-Locking-Chain-Clamp/dp/B00004SBCB/ref=pd_bxgy_hi_img_b
On the top and bottom portion of the rubber covers. Let the adhesive dry for an hour or so.
THEN heat the attaching point with a hair drier to warm the bond.
Put firm and steady pressure on both tools to loosen the grip.
Good luck
I could not get it off. A machinist could not get it off with extreme measures.
For reasons unknown to me, my air cylinder was locked in place.
H 😯 😯 T
da gfinch’s idea is starting to look pretty good about now. I’m sticking the whole thing in the freezer for awhile, and then try again.
Thanks for the ideas…
H 😯 😯 T
What I did when the cylinder was to tight to remove with the methods mentioned above was clamp the cylinder tube into the vice but be sure to have pieces of wood to prevent damage to the cylinder itself and grasp the other end with the leather belt and unscrew. It’ll be easier because the leather belt wrapped around something with four corners and not something round and smooth.
Good Luck
Hold a bottle of canned air upside-down & spray the tube where it connects, then try the belt/strap wrench again. The super-cooled air may shrink the tube just enough to allow you to remove it. Good luck, Hoot.
Righty tighty, Lefty loosy. When all else fails run over it with a car and then hit it with the BFH(Big Frendly Hammer)
No luck. I even used a propane torch and a strap wrench.
Hoot
I did exactly as you guys said….
First I grabbed it by the throat and wrestled it to the floor. We rolled around for near 15 minutes with my hands twisted all around it’s blue throat! That didn’t work at all. Didn’t budge a bit.
Then I got a leather belt, like Cygnus X said, beat the hell out of it, just like my daddy used to do to me when he was drunk, and then twisted it with both hands, but it still wouldn’t turn.
Finally, I grabbed my vice and raised it over my head…but paused and thought to myself… “Self, what about the pipe wrench? That vice might bend it when it hits.”
So, exhausted…I stopped for tonight. Early tomorrow morning I’m gonna get my pipe wrench out, beat the supreme hell out of that cylinder with a belt, and if that won’t do it…then I’m gonna beat ever loving hell out of it with the pipe wrench! If it ain’t moving by then, I’m gonna drop that 50lb vice right on top of it, like rob2dr said to do!
Thanks for the suggestions fellas….
Kindly ‘Ol Uncle H 😯 😯 T
i have removed one…used a belt and a pipe wrench that sucker was on there ! i saw they had used glue on the threads, so it would probably be easier if you heat it up a bit to soften the glue….too much heat will damage orings, and possible valve stem which is plastic too (or at least was back a few years)
Removed three of them… none were really that tight… on one I did use a leather belt and a vice though…
The other two were able to be removed by hand.
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Hoot, I ran the problem by the AA forum (damn, it’s hard being that polite) and here’s what the replies said:
“ive just swapped 2 aa410 over and they came apart with no stress once the tube was empty but it was a differant story, with a small amount of air in them you have to dry fire till the valve blows the rest of the air off then they come apart easy .”
“wrap a marigold or inner tube round to get a grip on and unscrew by hand 😉 make sure the cylinder is empty first though.
never had them that tight that they cant be unscrewed that way.”
Now, being a manly man, you don’t have a marigold, but your wife might. My guess is the marigold has secret, mystical powers. I doubt you could substitute a geranium. Certain other flower buds are very sticky, so I’ve heard.
If nothing works, you might need the Armstrong method:
Drill two half inch holes through the air tube, at 30 degree angles to each other. Tighten the rifle into a secured vise and put two 5/8 inch, 8 foot chrome steel rods through the holes. Get four strong guys, one on each end of the steel rods to twist the sucker off. If that fails, send one of the guys to get beer. It is written you must not abandon these friends in their hour of need; help them eradicate the beer.
Then, as RC says, get an FX, since the AA is ruined.