Valve stem turning….
So I was shooting the condor and noticed that the location of the grubs screws was creeping and thought “oh my blue lock tight came loose” or something. Well it didn’t However I can turn the the stem with my hand. Is this bad? The tank is full??? Thanks!
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Thanks gents!!! I may have to go ahead and get a digi cam! However I was busy in the lab and it’s valve seal/valve seat related. I went ahead and put the seal into the seat and put them in the vise and gently mooshed them together and now more no leaking after a fill!!! 20 shots through her and still going strong. Only have 2200 in my tank left so I am slowing pumping up to 3k and we will see what happens then. But I am definitely going to order a new seal and stem from AF tomorrow. The groves on the seal you speak of were there when I 1st dissembled her and think that’s why the stem began to turn while the tank if full which it still does. I can’t find a pic of a new one but I think your are correct. The valve seat seems good but if cheap enough I may order one too. And funny you mention a tweaked stem cause I had issues getting the top hat on and the threads for it aren’t threading right. I wonder if I deformed it enough while polishing? But as a bonus for today my pops used to work for Xerox like 20 years ago and saved a 100 or so set screws. 6 of them are the TH size!!! Can’t beat that cause those little things look hard to find. Next just gotta get some of the nice 90 duro urethane orings for the breach! Well that and a one piece hammer. I’m thinking that the 2 pieces aren’t helping consistency 😆 Again I appreciate the help guys! Nothing like a weekend debug. Okay no back to real life. Have to finish moving out so I can get my ass to the beach next week!!!! Sand, water, fishing, beer and bikinis!!!!!! Oh ya and my friend who owns the house we are gonna stay says there is a big ol nutria living by the 13th golf hole which is basically the back yard there 😈 😈 😈
I’m gonna agree with lurker but their is still the possibility that you can shoot that seal back in…..the groove arround it is where it was sealing and now that you polished the brass surface where it sat before the shape of it changed just enough that it dosnt always line back up and thus leaking air….if its close enough then you might be able to just dry fire it for a few shots and it MIGHT work itself back into sealing if not …….order a new one….Greg
benneeb0y,
Great pictures!
I think SS is on the right track. We need his expert opinion here on the beveled surface of the Valve Seal.
To me it looks like there are a couple ridges grooved into it. One grove would probably work OK if it re-seated the exact same way all the time but 2 or more separate groves indicate inconsistent seating and possibly a source of air bypass. I’d get a new valve seal from AF and align things carefully to make sure it doesn’t take a off center hit.
Someone could possibly resurface the valve seal but I think it needs to be done on a very true lathe. Any wobble would cause it not to seal.
If the brass valve seat is not perfect you can get a new one from AF fairly low cost.
Oh, if your valve stem is bent a little, that could be part of the cause the problem also. If you order a new one, get 2 while you’re at it. And order the grub screws as they don’t come with the top hat for some dumb reason.
When you change from light to heavy pellets you can have a second valve stem with a different top hat setting.
Good luck,
Edmund
Seal and face look fine. Sure the valve spring retainer was in enough? About half way in, then locked down with ptfe tape or loctite seems about right.
Also here are some better close up of the face where the seal seats up to..
This was polished with the dremel polish tampon and some auto polish 2000grit and another that’s 2500 grit so I doubt I deformed it but I guess that’s possible? thanks![/url]
That my special pellet lube lol. Actually it’s one side of a rubber mallet.
You eat rubber mallets?? 😯
The doc said I should need more fiber in my diet 😆
That my special pellet lube lol. Actually it’s one side of a rubber mallet.
You eat rubber mallets?? 😯
That my special pellet lube lol. Actually it’s one side of a rubber mallet.
Here you go! New trick to me but if you take the picture through a magnifying glass it gets a way clear picture on zoom!
Hmmmm, meat and gun parts…. 😎 😛
if you still have the cam take a picture of side profile of the valve seal……
Here are some pics. Sorry for the delay I had to go borrow a digi camera as my cell phone one wouldn’t get a good zoom shot. Let me know if you need another angle or anything. Again I appreciate you being patient and helping out a newbie.
lets see some pics of the seal face and the valve guide that it seals against…. 😕
it never backed out so don’t think it that. i went ahead a screwed the retainer all the way down as I found it and well I must broke something during the first round of firing (filled to 3000 and fired 5 shots then problem began) because now when I fill the tank I get a constant leak when I bleed the tank from filling. Just hisses down. It’s coming out of the TH like it should so I’m guessing the seal isn’t sealing properly or the spring has lost it’s tension. I’m thinking the first one because there is a good amount of tension when trying to push down on the top hat. Any ideas? I’m gonna upload a photo of the valve seal. And the seal is pushed all the way on the stem. thanks for the help!
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Well talked to Af and the lady who I spoke with, forgot her name now but she was very pleasant. 13 bucks for a valve stem and 5 bucks for the derlin seal. I went ahead and ordered 2 of each. Thanks again guys for all the help!