A&K CA Echo1 M249 Takedown to Gearbox

[Merceinarie080]

That gun is beautiful and the us army crate is sick man if you ever sell it I may buy mines a TOP and parts are hella hard to find but again admiring your LMG

[segalplayer1]

Hi, I own a CA Saw para and where the barrel unhooks (the metal slide it comes off) is bent and i have to force it on and off when i take it off. One of my friends put all his weight on it when it wasn't on all the way and bent it. How would I repair this or am I F'ed?

[skillcape14]

what type of piston is that my front tooth broke

[skydude38]

With the bbs in it, does it have like a shotgun affect? How heavy was the dumby?

[smokytyrz]

Dang it no one ever shows how to remove the feed cover. I can't get the pin to slide out.

[BongoOldChap]

@smokytyrz are you talking about the hinge pin? youre trying to take the entire feed cover off?

[smokytyrz]

@BongoOldChap Yup! I've tried rotating the cover to the sweet spot and hammering that pin out but it won't budge. Is there a set screw somewhere? Thx!

[smokytyrz]

@BongoOldChap Yes. And I have now got it done. Needed a hammer instead of a mallet. Was being too gentle. Pin came right out. But now I can't get the new feed cover to shut. It seems like the only difference between my stock feed cover and the new one (G&P I think) is the shut latch on the cover is further to the rear, making it fall behind the "tooth" on the mechbox. Do I need to reverse this tooth so the feed cover will latch? Thx

[Gumpa2]

@BongoOldChap yea mabe he has the mark 2 versionl, and wants to place one with rails

[BongoOldChap]

@Gumpa2 probably, the para version has a long 20mm RIS, Ive got a ELCAN mounted on mine, looks the shiz, its easier to mod the mk1 and 2 covers by removing the rear sight and mounting a g36c front rail instead using 2 bolts

[Maksymaxi]

Oh sheesh... You sure werent kidding about the standard motor heating up... I actually saw smoke coming out of the cylinder once! Thats definetly why the gun jams... Theres sometimes the nasty smell of an electric burn... All I have is one simple question: Did you have to do anything to your gearbox to get that new marui motor to fit? I'm asking coz I remember reading from somewhere that the gearbox's engine space would be smaller than usual... Is that true?

[BongoOldChap]

@Maksymaxi sometimes you may have to shave some of the metal from the gearbox motor adjustment screw area so that there is some room, ive marked a annotation on the video at 6.08 to show where, this is not true of all gearboxes though, out of two m249 ive only done it to one

[Maksymaxi]

@BongoOldChap Right... Well thanks a lot :)

[Maksymaxi]

Oh wait... Now I know whats causing the jams. Seems like the piston sometimes gets stuck in the spring-end of the cylinder and doesnt release. Is there any way to fix this or should i buy a new piston, or could this be caused by a motor that cant pull the stock spring all the way every time? The gun wont fire at all with a m135 spring, just gets stuck like the stock spring sometimes does... I dont think this is caused by the gears, I lubricated all of em and it still jams :S

[BongoOldChap]

I had to change my motor because the stock one wasnt good enough, it would pull it though, just got slow and hot.

I would try a different spring with a lower rating and see if the problem still persists, if its still jamming with a m100 then its the spring coiling up inside the piston

The metal fragments you found earlier sound a bit worrying, did you find out where these were from?

[Maksymaxi]

So the problem isnt the engine lacking torque, but the problem is in the piston? Im a bit of a noob in AEG upgrading, I really dont know what that spring coiling is. Is it between the piston head and body? Is it relatively easily repairable, or should I just get a new piston, the stock piston is a bit cheap anyways, no big loss.

And the metal fragments mentioned earlier, they might be from the pistons only metal tooth... The previous owner hadnt lubricated the internals too well...

[Maksymaxi]

Spring coiling eh? Im a noob in upgrading AEG's, I have no idea what that is or what it does, is it between the piston and its head? So if the jamming is caused by the coiling, would replacing the piston fix it? Wouldnt be much of a loss, the stock piston isnt exactly top of the line...

And the metal fragments mentioned earlier are probably from the pistons only metal tooth, theres a square shaped area that looks pretty worn, I dont think the previous owner lubricated the gearbox very much...

[BongoOldChap]

Id recommend, piston change and insert a bearing spring guide

the m249s are notorious for coming out of the a&k factory with NO lubrication at all

[Maksymaxi]

A new piston and spring guide? Well, I can get those for like 20€ so not very expensive... What about the piston head? Any need to change that? And there was some oil in the gearbox when I first opened it, added some gun oil to cylinder and shims too. Well thanks for the help! Wouldnt have figured that out myself, youre like the master of all M249's :D

[BongoOldChap]

@Maksymaxi I replaced my head with the guarder aluminium one just becuse I had one, some have argued against this but for me its worked well so far, Ive got to strip mine later because its making a bit of a strange noise though, I think Ive bust another piston

when you say oil in the gearbox you mean white lithium grease? thats what should be in there and what is recomended for good gear lubrication, available on ebay or bicycle shops

Im no master but thanks, I just like to play

[Maksymaxi]

Hey Bongo, sorry to bother, but I have a bit of a problem with my M249 Para. I bought it used, and it gets jammed sometimes. It usually unjams if I just pull the trigger a few times. The problem doesnt seem to be with the engine or the gears, yet taking the spring out and putting it back in seems to reset it. I opened the gearbox and looked around a bit. Didnt find anything obviously broken, yet there were some tiny metal fragments in the cylinder. Could those have caused jamming?

[DeltaWinters88]

That is a incredibly retarded amount of shit on that gun. Sorry no offense but when you've been to a few training sessions, you'll learn quickly to get rid of excess fuckin crap.

[BongoOldChap]

so youre telling me Ive not been to any training sessions? how incredbly arrogant you are for one so young and whiny, wind your neck in son

[DeltaWinters88]

Sir with all due respect, why the hell do you still have that much stuff on it if you did go to training sessions. I don't mean airsoft team sessions, I mean US army training sessions. I don't doubt that you have been to US army training sessions but if you've been taught and have retained well, seriously man thats just stupid...

[BongoOldChap]

you answered your own question, this isnt the army, its airsoft

Ive had plenty of kills and strategic advantages with this para combination, perhaps if youd shown some actual respect you may have been let in on some information that would have been of benefit to your game, change your attitude, you sound like a idiot

[DeltaWinters88]

Sorry I understand its airsoft, but I've just had WAY too many friends go into the military and just get pissed as shit when peeps put excessive stuff on guns and pretty much they've given me this mindset. If you can, just respect my opinion.

[DommyCee]

I personally thought the music was a good choice, as was the tutorial. It's not distracting music, and has that "focus" tune to it.

Thank you for the video Chap.

[Maksymaxi]

good guide! simple and clear. im thinking of buying a para, but i'd like to know a few things first... is the flashhider orange? if it is, is it removable? and are there rails to mount stuff below the handguard, or would i have to attach my own?

-- cheers --

PS. if you make anymore guides, put some better music on it? like some good old rock, deep purple, rolling stones or smtn :)

[BongoOldChap]

Flashhider orange in US? Yes, rest of world it is black, it is removable, just respray black

No rails under handguard, check my other m249 video for my solution

thanks and noted on the music

[Maksymaxi]

so its different black for other countries... well good, spares me the trouble of spraying it :D

gee i wish i had the money to buy a shitload of stuff to attach to my para when i get one :D

well, thanks for the answers, helps a lot :)

[1Paintballer]

My rear take down pin for the stock wont come out any ideas?

[BongoOldChap]

Has the nut unscrewed? If not get pliers on it.

Apply a little thin oil on both sides of the bolt and leave it for a good 5 minutes to settle and work its way in. Try getting the pliers on the bolt and turning it.

Hold a small screwdriver on the end of the threaded bolt and then gently it through with a panel pin hammer or similar. Be carefull that you dont damage the bolt thread by making sure that the screwdriver comes into contact with the center of the bolt and doesnt touch the thread.

[1Paintballer]

thanks that helped but I got another question this going to be the most noob question ever. Ok so i was examining the gear box and I was just wondering where do the bb's actually enter? I'm a paintballer so give me a bit of a break

[BongoOldChap]

np, the bbs dont enter the gearbox, they get fed by the boxmag in front of the black nozzle at the front of the gearbox, the black nozzle goes back and forth when the gb is running allowing a bb to be pushed upwards, as the piston comes forward pushing the air out it then pushes the bb forwards, make sense?

whats winning for you? paintball or airsoft? ive not tried paintballing so dont really know

[Ninhanju]

schönes video endlich mal was ordentlich erklärtes :D

[Vanessa10386]

dude thanks for the vid, explained a lot. these things are friggan simple!

[BongoOldChap]

no problem, glad it was good for you

[doodskater77]

What are some good upgrades for the A&K M-249, like gears wise and hop and tight bore barrel wise??

[BlitsBB]

does the m249 use the standard hop up rubber as the m4?

[BongoOldChap]

Im not too sure, the M249 hop up rubber is fairly long, I replaced mine with a element 65 hard which isnt as long but seems to be doing the job.

Im going to have another look at mine, I may even replace the whole hop unit with the classic army one as its been recommended to do so.

[BlitsBB]

thanks very much

[giansantiago]

what version of gears do m249s take?

[BongoOldChap]

version 2

[giansantiago]

thanks thats really helpful

[StahlenderWind]

"Remove the two allen screws here" 2:01

Which size have do the screws?

[CauseRealBulletsHurt]

1 star cause of the really gay music lol!

[BongoOldChap]

Ok, fair comment, can you make a suggestion for the next vid please?

[CauseRealBulletsHurt]

Its a good video but try some better music rock or metal maybe u could do a how to mod movie show people how to mod the A&K M249

[kevinwearspradadood]

fool you are stupid as shit its probably wmg

[harakevin]

great video!!! just got my a&k 249 para yesterday so have watched this vid now a few times to get my head around a few things. better than a manual!!!! one question by the way...whats the name of the song. kinda mesmerizing. thanks

[BongoOldChap]

Thanks, glad you got your para, good fun, any problems with the boxmag? Mines been a bitch.

Song is by GrooveArmada called At the river the English riviera remix. Ive had to shorten it down but if you search youtube for it youll find it, I did, and then I ripped it.

[harakevin]

problems with boxmag!!! how did you know?? yea only out of box and already misfiring an epic fail amount. tried m4 mags and similar stuff. this a common problem?? more importantly is it fixable. excellent airsoft weapon though.

[BongoOldChap]

There maybe excess plastic on the lugs inside the boxmag mechanism, this allows two bbs to tget lodged on their way up.

Also two AA batteries isnt enough, I soldered a 4xAA battery holder into mine which upped the voltage to 6v. This worked a lot better.

[harakevin]

nice. cheers for reply. now all i need is a bit of time to sit down and address these things. it just looks so dam good i dont want to do anything to it for fear of ruining it. guess when problems kick up during my first skirmish with it il have a different outlook. ha

[BongoOldChap]

Its a very solid gun and youll be hard put to ruin it, give it a good testing before you skirmish, its a shame to take it and have it sat in the safezone because of something simple like a hop rubber or boxmag problem.

Quick note that m4 mags in mine wobble a bit so I wrapped camo electrical tape around 2 m4 mags that I purchased specifically as backups for the m249, the tape packs them out a bit, some people have had this problem, others havent

[retfosria]

I don't have a good camera for a video, and I ended up not doing any of the other upgrades.

I instead bought an action aim ak-74 off of ebay.

To make money for the tightbore, I would need to sell my jg m4 enhanced

[retfosria]

I have the para. I also have a homemade barrel extension that is over a foot long.

The barrel would be a matrix prometheus clone tight bore barrel that is 591mm in length.

[BongoOldChap]

Go for it, you can always sell unused barrels on the forums. I look forward to seeing vid of your gun soon.

[LukasM86]

Where does the battery go on the A&K para version?

[BongoOldChap]

In the front foregrip

[LukasM86]

ok thanks

[retfosria]

Can the A&K m249 handle a 591mm tightbore?

If not, what length tightbore would give me the best performance?

[BongoOldChap]

Which model have you got? mk1 or 2, Para? Prometheus give good results

[BlitsBB]

any suggestions where to get the full tunn up kit

thx

[BongoOldChap]

I bought mine from rsov (dot) com you could also ask at ehobbyasia as they might well have it as well. I

[BlitsBB]

1: Do you have to replace the hop up rubber before you can replace a precision barrel?

2: will replacing the spring raise the fps?

thanks

[BongoOldChap]

1. No, but it would make sense to do so.

2. Yes, this is the easiest way of upping the fps.

[BlitsBB]

thx

now i hav comfidence

[adriankeithm]

Could you help me find these items?

Front side Ris

Fab Ergo Grip

Tactical Master Bipod

Noveske soundhog steel amplifier

LXGD Laser

Trijicon ACOG

[BongoOldChap]

Exc observation skills, you really need help in sourcing them? The only item that youll struggle to find is the Front side RIS and thats because I make them.

[monkeyhuntertaco]

were did you get the dummy bullets?

[BongoOldChap]

Uk website called cheapaschips, you should be able to buy some in your local gun or millitary surplus store

[gregorykyle]

What is the case you have youre gun in

[BongoOldChap]

L65A1 115mm Howitzer round case. Have a look at my channel as there is another video about the box and its capacity and where to get one from. Thanks for looking

[BlitsBB]

I you want to change the spring on my m249, doi need to change anything else, or should I get the whole upgrade kit, do you have any website useful? thx

[BongoOldChap]

Spring change as you know is really easy on the m249 and does not require opening of the gearbox, a very quick upgrade when doing this is to change the spring guide to a ball bearing version.

There is a forum called 'arniesairsoft' that has a section called 'The Foxhole' which has a lot of detail on all kinds of support weapons and a dedicated thread on upgrading the A&K gearbox.

[retfosria]

Can the a&k m249 stock motor handle a 12v?

[BongoOldChap]

The stock motor on mine got very hot and slowed down a great deal with just the standard 9.6v I was laying out some very heavy suppressing with it, changed it too a Marui 1000.

Gears - go for the guarder ones IMHO

[retfosria]

What are the strongest gears you can get for $50 or less?

[retfosria]

Will the gearbox be able to handle the upgrade using a lipoly battery?

[BongoOldChap]

Yes but a lipoly will give you greater rof so you put more bbs through it and bring the life down quicker.

Also deleted some guys post by accident, asking about tightbores, I didnt bother with the tightbore as i want a spray pattern rather than accuracy

Please post again as you were also asking about springs?

[retfosria]

How does the AIM monster infinity torque up gearset compare to the others?

Are there better gearsets for $50

I want durability, speed is secondary.

[BongoOldChap]

Again it gets one good review, Ive not used them. Its your choice. The guarder gear sets are good, as are the G&P and the prometheus sets. Have you seen the redwolf website?

[retfosria]

How well will the stock gears hold up to the upgrade?

[BongoOldChap]

Stock gears are ok, I put element 200% ones in mine, guarder gears are also good.

Your battery should be ok, I run a large 8.4v 3000mah tornado in mine and thats good for me and my rate of fire.

[retfosria]

A Tenergy 9.6v 1600mah battery

[retfosria]

Which motor would be better for the upgrade, the G&G high torque motor, or the Matrix magnum motor?

Also, would a G&P polyamide explosive bearing piston head be sufficient for the upgrade?

[BongoOldChap]

Go with the matrix magnum and yes the G&p piston head will be fine. What battery are you going to be using? The stock one isnt too good.

[retfosria]

Do you think an aim polycarbonate piston with metal teeth would hold up to the upgrade?

Will the stock piston head fit the aim piston?

[BongoOldChap]

Ive no experience with that piston but from what Ive read (2 reviews) it looks pretty good.

The piston head will fit the new piston but is a piece of crap. I would change the piston head to a either a guarder aluminium piston head like Ive done allthough some would disagree and tell you to use a Prometheus polycarbonate piston head or similar. Make sure they are ball bearing heads.

[retfosria]

Would the m249 para be able to handle an element 210% spring stock?

rated at 420-440 fps

about how many rounds would it last?

[BongoOldChap]

I put a guarder sp120 in mine and it is ok so a element 210 should be fine.

It is worth buying the element 200% full turn up kit as this will also provide you with a full set of internal replacement parts for when the piston does eventually fail and for replacing the spring guide which you can do without opening the gearbox.

I broke my piston after perhaps 25000, perhaps more. AOE was very bad