Warning to TM AUG users: remove magazine before removing barrel/grip group

[MadMax]

Users of TM AUGS should remove received magazines before attempting to remove their barrel-grip or entire front groups.

I found that an otherwise NIB AUG had a broken hop up stuck in the front opening of the mechbox.

On closer inspection, I noted that the bb inlet sitting in the magazine well is a part allowed to float around:

http://tech.airsoftcanada.com/TM/TM%20-%20AUG/aug1.jpg

I am referring to the round bit which sits in the magwell which pushes open the gate on the top of the mag and lets bbs up into the hop up body.

It's a round thingy at the far right edge about 25% from the bottom of the page (part block marked ST-20).

When the mag is removed, this part is allowed to push downwards against a light spring which keeps it biased up.

If the magazine is left in the receiver, the part is held firmly against a conical surface in the bottom of the hop up body. If the inlet is not allowed to push downwards by a received mag, a joining strip on the top of the hop up body (in block ST-44 near the top right) can be broken when the barrel assembly is twisted during barrel-grip removal.

[Lisa]

Interesting... I have always taken the mags out of any gun I'm working on (not just my aug) just because it's common sense.

[Kokanee]

good call Carl *squirt* thread stickied

[MadMax]

Well the other thing that'd probably happen even if you didn't break your hop up is that your loaded mag would dump it's pellets helter skelter into your body heh...

[TheToastmaster]

Just so it's recorded, the CA AUG does not have this same concern. The BB inlet is designed differently such that the magazine will feed with or without the barrel installed, and the hop-up chamber is seperate from the part that feeds the bbs from the mag.
If the barrel is removed with a loaded mag still in the gun, the mag will simply eject all of it's bbs into the reciever (annoying, but not likely to break anything).

[MadMax]

Um, I'm not sure what you mean by that.

In the TM model, the hop up module is a separate part from the bb inlet which pushes into the top opening of a mag. Problem is that an inserted mag prevents the bb inlet from moving. It has to be able to drop downwards a bit to release the hop up assembly, so if you try to remove the HU with a mag in the rec'r, you end up pulling the HU apart.

[Captain Tenneal]

He means that the CA AUG doesn't have that part that pushes the inlet vertically upwards into the hopup unit. The CA Hopup unit just sort of floats over the bb-inlet, held in place by the body walls. The BB inlet has very little movement and pretty much all it can do is spin around inside the body.

However, you'll still get the same result with a loaded magazine as it does have a tendancy to half-feed a bb. Plus the part with the spraying bb's inside the gun = not fun. I spent better part of fifteen minutes trying to clean that mess up once...

[TheToastmaster]

In fact, on closer inspection which I've recently done, the CA loading inlet is designed opposite to the TM one. When the barrel is inserted, the hop-up unit fits very nicely flush against it, but it floats such that it will push downwards to accomodate the barrel.

Actually, now that I read both side by side, I think that they may be designed almost the same, but the CA will still disassemble fine with a mag in. I've noticed that the inlet needs virtually no play to allow the hop-unit to fit in place.

[Churchill]

What would be the symptoms of having done this to your AUG? I've taken the barrel out but left the mag in a few times by accident and now my AUG isn't firing right. It's only firing about one out of every 5 shots, the range and power aren't half what they were and the barrel shakes a bit when you fire it. Would this be because I removed the barrel but not the mag or is this some other problem? If it is the barrel thing, how would I go about fixing it?

Any reply is much appreciated.

[Jimski]

your hop-up has probably been moved or damaged when you took the barrel out.
get any mag out
get the front receiver+barrel) end out
check the hop up or better, take a picture.

[Churchill]

Wow, thanks for the quick reply.

Well I've had the barrel in and out like nobody's business but I can't see anything obvious wrong with the hop up unit. I'll try and get some pictures soon, my phone's on charge at the moment.

Edit: I got a couple of pics of it. As I said before I really can't see anything obvious wrong with it. =/

http://img154.imageshack.us/img154/8...pbottomzi6.jpg
From the bottom.
http://img241.imageshack.us/img241/8018/hoptopjs5.jpg
From the top (the silver thing is the >>>Hop>>> label)

Edit: Anyone?
Edit 2: Never mind, I think I know what's wrong now. There's a piece of plastic at the front of the unit that's snapped off. God knows where it's gone to but meh, a new metal unit is only about £25/$52.

[ACU Kyle]

Thanks my AUG is messed up enough, thanks for the warning!