AEG maintenance for a noob

[DasPhoenix]

For my first AEG I purchased a G&G Combat Machine M4. Seemed like a popular and cost effective way to get into airsoft. Now that I have it, though, I'm wondering how anal (or rigorous, if you prefer) I have to be about maintenance with it. I've undressed most of the exterior of the gun a couple times, just to make sure I know how it all comes apart and goes back together, but I haven't yet pulled the gearbox out or taken it apart.

I've read tons of information about gearboxes, and I've seen a lot of stuff about bushings, angles of engagement, and proper lubrication (just to name a few). How important is it to rip apart the gearbox of a new gun that's running stock parts, and check and correct all of those things? I have a little bit of trepidation about tearing the gearbox apart. I'd rather not turn the gun into a $150 brick by losing a spring in the carpet or the like.

I understand it's probably hard to quantify the importance of getting your gearbox correct. There is no way to specify how many BBs will pass through it before it strips a tooth or something, but I would like to just get an overall feeling from people on what my experience is likely to be like if I don't take it apart and check its fit and finish.

Also, is the gearbox something that needs to be periodically re-lubed? Or does the grease hold pretty well and last?

Thanks.

[Crapshoot]

I, personally, wouldn't open up a G&G gearbox until something broke in it, or if I planned to upgrade/downgrade it.

[Beavis]

You should be fine for a while, g&g is a decent brand. Don't open up the gearbox just for the heck of it unless you know what you are doing because getting it back together isn't easy as it looks (as i had to learn the hard way).

[Ike]

Every stock gearbox can benefit from a good, proper, re-shim (starting with the bevel gear and shimming it in accordance with the pinion gear), re-lube, and angle of engagement correction. However, at stock performance levels, none of this is really necessary. People were fine for years before AOE became a popular correction to make; although there are some people who still refuse to believe that it helps for whatever reason. If you haven't done any gearbox work before, I'd suggest that you just wait until something breaks. Once you get comfortable with it, you'll do it with every new gun that you get. It's always good to see more people wanting to learn how to work on their guns, especially newer members.

[blarg92]

Cleaning the barrel frequently is a MUST and makes a significant difference in accuracy.

Like others have said, if you're new to gearboxes then don't open it unless something breaks, which should be a while with a G&G.

Edit: now that I think about it, my G&G has a tightbore barrel so maybe you don't need to be as anal about it with a non-tightbore. I can't see how it would hurt though.

[Ike]

Blarg brings up some good advice. Although the barrel isn't part of the gearbox, keeping it clean is very important. Run a piece of soft cloth through it with some silicone oil once or twice, and then put dry patches through it until they come clean. Also, make sure that you wash your bucking with warm soapy water, rinse it, and let it dry. Both your barrel and bucking should be free of lube for the best accuracy.

[DasPhoenix]

Dec 31, 2011 16:20:30 GMT -5 Ike said:

Run a piece of soft cloth through [the barrel] with some silicone oil once or twice, and then put dry patches through it until they come clean. Both your barrel and bucking should be free of lube for the best accuracy.

Not sure I understand the point behind running oil through the barrel, then stating that the barrel should be free of lube.

Also, how am I going to prevent oil from ending up in my barrel/bucking? I've been putting silicone oil into my mags each time I use them, to get them lubed up and feeding smoothly. I imagine some of that oil has to end up coming through the hop up unit and barrel with the BBs.

[Knief]

The bit of lube (not oil, petroleum is terrible for the rubber parts of an airsoft gun) helps to collect the grime that builds up in a gun. It also helps soften and buffer the dirt and dust that's in your barrel so you're not just rubbing it against the side with a dry cloth. Think of trying to clean off a plate with a dry towel. You just smear your dried on spaghetti sauce around instead of actually removing it. Then, you run a couple of dry swabs down the barrel to clean out the excess lube, and you've got a clean barrel.

[DasPhoenix]

Ah, got it. Makes sense. Not too difficult. How often should I clean this stuff? After every day of airsoft?

[Knief]

Every game or two, yeah. It'll depend on how much time you spend low crawling through thick brush and digging your barrel into the earth, and how much time you spend chilling in the staging area complaining about the heat.

[specks159]

Personally (And I'm rather anal about gun maintenance) I clean my barrel each day that I play. Also, like Ike said, every stock gearbox could use a good re-shim, re-lube, and AOE correction. If anything, re-shimming the gun is almost an absolute must. After that, I usually open my gearbox up every 30,000-60,000 rounds or so to check for unusual wear, re-lube, etc.

You could get by without this at stock levels, but doing this now will do wonders to improve your gun's longevity, and it will save you money since you won't have to keep buying replacement parts. And taking apart a gearbox is not nearly as difficult as people are led to believe. Plus, there are PLENTY of good guides out there. Just my $.02

[Spear]

Guys if hes new I think the last thing he wants to do to improve the longevity of his gun is open his gearbox. There are plenty of good guides, yes; but what happens when he opens his box and runs into an unexpected problem? Plus how is a new player supposed to determine a good guide from a bad? The OP would be much better served finding someone who knows what they're doing to show him the propper way to do something before he goes and does it himself. It is after all, a Combat Machine. Its not like it'll blow up tomorrow if he doesn't re-shim, re-lube, and do an AoE correction.

[DasPhoenix]

Thanks for all the advice and input, guys. I think for now I'll take the approach of waiting for something to break. That way at least I'll have some sort of focus for what I'm doing when I do eventually have to take it apart. It doesn't seem like I'd get good results if I took it apart now and tried to blindly improve everything in the gearbox.

Thanks again for all the input though, especially on the cleaning and general maintenance. It really helps to know how often to clean it up.