| The
Teardown
1. Remove
the cyclone feed from the marker. This is done by loosening and
removing the screw opposite the cyclone feed. This screw is called
the feeder-housing bolt.
2. Disconnect
the air supply line (cylinder hose) to the cyclone feed. You can
typically just pull on the line and it will come loose from the
barb without damaging the hose.
3. With
a small Phillips head screwdriver remove the screw that holds the
cyclone paddles (sprockets) to the cyclone axle. Using a small flat
head screwdriver GENTLY pry up the sprockets off the axle. The paddles
come out the top of the cyclone housing; sometimes they require
some prying to remove them.
4. With a small Phillips
head screwdriver remove the four screws on the bottom of the cyclone
feed. This will allow you to remove the bottom cover that protects
the internals of the cyclone.
5. Remove
the spring arm that presses up against the axle by pulling it upwards.
6. Separate
the axle, ratchet, and cycle assembly from the cyclone feed housing.
Then separate the piston rod from the cylinder.
7. Slide
apart the ratchet and axle
8. Using a pick or a
punch remove the spring guide and spring from inside the ratchet.
DO NOT LOOSE THESE TWO LITTLE PARTS!!
9. Now
using a pick or punch tool, punch out the ratchet pin that holds
the ratchet and cylinder piston rod together. You will want to compress
the spring and collar to have a clear look at the pin.
You have now taken everything
apart. Now it is time to put the loader back together.
The
REBUILD
1. The first thing we need to do is take one of
the two pins included with the kit and hammer it into the ratchet.
The ratchet is the darker colored piece in the kit. You’ll
notice that there are two spots for pins. At one end of the ratchet
there is a hole, and on the other end there is a slot or groove.
We want to install one
of the included pins into the side with ratchet (gray part) We will
install the pin into the side of the ratchet that has the hole that
goes into the center of the ratchet. Set the ratchet so that the
flat side is down, and carefully hammer the pin into the ratchet
(you may need to use needle nose pliers to hold the pin in place
as you begin to hammer it down.
Its important not to
hammer this pin past flush with the ratchet. If you do, the pin
will stick out the bottom and drag against the cyclone housing once
it is installed.
2. Place
the piston spring and spring collar (newer models) back on to the
piston rod.
a. Apply
a liberal amount of lubricant to the end of the piston rod that
accepts the pin and also connects it to the ratchet. This end of
the piston rod moves in conjunction with slot of the ratchet. It
is important that there is as little friction between these two
pieces as possible. We suggest grease like Dye Lube, or Shocker
Lube to do this. Honestly, any lubricant will work, but the slicker
the lubricant, the better your Vortex Mod will work.
Installing one of our
Lightening Rods is the ultimate reduction in friction. Click here
for more info about the Lightening Rod.
pre-b.
In the next step we are going to CAREFULLY combine the ratchet and
piston rod making sure to line up the hole in the end of the piston
rod and the hole for the ratchet pin (again, to do this you may
need an extra set of hands). There are two pins that we have used
for combining the vortex mod and the piston.
The one type is a small
coil pin that is exactly the same size as the coil pin that we just
hammered in to the ratchet that holds the spring in place. The other
type of pin is a longer silver pin that is the same that we include
with the lightening rod. Either pin will work, but they are installed
differently. The shorter pin goes through the thinner side of the
slot like one in the picture labeled pin type 1. The longer silver
type pin goes through the thicker side of the ratchet slot. The
longer pin is dipicted in the photo that is labeled pin type 2.
I like to start the pin
into the hole by gently tapping the head of the pin into the hole.
This will make the next step easier. Be sure to start the pin on
the thinner side of the slot. Be careful not to bend this side.
If you miss the pin and hit the ratchet with the hammer you will
probably damage your ratchet. In the video we hold the pin in the
stock piston rod hole. This is a clever way of holding the pin if
you do not have needle node pliers.
b. So
at this point you have identified what pin you have....and we are
ready to combine the piston rod and ratchet. First take your sping
and put that over the piston shaft, and now place the black spring
collar on the end of the spring closest to the ratchet. The cupped
side of the collar goes toward the spring....and cups the spring.
With the piston spring and spring collar (newer models) back on
to the piston rod and compressing the spring and collar on the piston,
CAREFULLY combine the ratchet and piston rod making sure you line
up the hole in the end of the piston rod and the hole for the ratchet
pin. To do this you may need an extra set of hands. The pin that
is included with the Vortex mod is designed specifically to combine
the piston rod and ratchet. AGAIN, DO NOT USE THE STOCK RATCHET
PIN.
****If you are installing
the Vortex Mod with a Lightening Rod use the silver
pin that was included with the Lightening Rod. Do not use any other
pin with the Lightening Rod.
3.
With the ratchet and piston rod combined, its time to combine the
axle and ratchet. Before you do, take wire cutters and cut 1 spring
turns off the little (typically red) spring that goes inside
the ratchet. Cutting the spring will make it so that there
is less force and drag between the axle and ratchet. You could try
taking off more to even further reduce friction, but keep in mind
if you cut off too much the loader will not work. SO BE CAREFUL
AND UNDERSTAND THAT IF YOU GET TOO CRAZY WITH THIS, YOU MAY NEED
TO GET A NEW SPRING. If you need to replace the spring, you may
try a spring from an ink pen. You will need to cut it to the right
length, but it will work too. If you use an ink pen spring, cut
it to the same length as the stock spring was originally.
4. Lubricate the axle
and ratchet. Lube the end of the axle where it goes through the
ratchet. The teeth of the axle where they touch the ratchet tooth.
The top, bottom and inside of the ratchet where the axle goes through.The
better lubricated the parts are, the easier they will install and
the better they will work. The objective is to have as little friction
as possible. We suggest grease our Gun Sav. Its super slick but
light at the same time very light and will let the parts move freely.
TechT
Gun Sav - 1oz Tub
$9.99
Lithium grease seems
to work too. DO NOT JUST USE PAINTBALL GUN OIL. AGAIN, DO
NOT JUST USE PAINTBALL GUN OIL. The only returns we have
had are from those people that used oil to lubricate the parts.
5. Re-install
the tiny red spring back into the ratchet, and then the spring guide.
Notice that the spring guide has a groove in it; the groove goes
up against the axle and the two fit together. Before you slide the
axle into the ratchet Make sure that you line up the spring guide
to accept the axle
Now slide the axle through
the ratchet making sure that the groove in the spring guide lines
up with the side of the axle When pushing the axle through the ratchet
you may need to use something to compress the spring guide a little
in order to get the axle all the way in the ratchet. Try not to
force it to much as this could damage the spring guide. The axle
and ratchet need to go together so that the flats on the axle catch
with the tooth on the ratchet.
6.
Insert your new ratchet, axle and piston rod assembly into the cyclone
housing so that the axle shaft is sticking back up through the cyclone
housing. Re-attach the paddles (sprockets). The skinnier sprocket
goes on bottom, and the wider sprocket goes on top. They only slide
on to the axle one way, so make sure they are correct when you start
pushing them on to the axle You may notice that there is a tight
fit when trying to install the top axle That’s ok, just get
it on as best you can, and then install the screw that holds the
paddles in place. As you tighten the screw it will push the paddles
on the rest of the way. The screw needs to be snug, not crazy tight.
If the screw vibrates loose try applying a little BLUE LOCTITE to
the screw. That should keep it in place.
ONLY USE THE
SCREW THAT CAME WITH THE VORTEX MOD. USING THE STOCK SCREW WILL
STRIP THE THREADS IN THE AXLE.
10.
Reinstall the spring arm back into the cyclone housing. Make sure
it is securely in place, and where is contacts the axle is well
lubricated. Again, less friction means more performance. Over time
this spring may wear a groove on the side of the ratchet. The groove
is normal wear and should not negatively effect the performance
of the vortex mod.
11.
Inspect and lubricate the oring (lip seal) on the end of the piston
rod. This seal crucial to the performance of your loader. If this
seal is un-lubricated, worn out, or missing, your loader will not
work correctly. If it’s missing or damaged then replace it.
Either way, make sure that it is well lubricated with plenty of
oil or Gun Sav Grease. |
