Level 10 Bolt Stick

[Abonhamc]

Hello, I bought a gently used Automag with an new enough o-rings throughout, an x-valve and level 10 bolt. Gassed it up, it fired, it chuffed, it was a-ok. I decided to swap the trigger on the intelliframe for a new trigger. From the trigger with the finger grooves to a more modern blade trigger. No ULT kit or swapping anything else. Literally just tapped out the pin, put in the new trigger, and went on my way. Gassed it up, nothing. The trigger felt pressurized, but wouldn't fire. I turned the velocity adjuster as far clockwise as it would go and tried again, now it was dry firing, but the bolt was sticking every other shot. I tried a few different combinations of shims/carriers, and I'd be happy to explain everything in further detail upon request. The gun does not have an ULT kit, just a new trigger. That is to say, I do not have the ULT sear, and the On/Off is whichever one comes with the xvalve. I'll be at D-Day in Oklahoma next week, so I'd really like to get this squared away asap, but I don't know what variables I should be looking more closely at. Thanks very much for any help that you can offer!

[nak81783]

When aired up, is there a gap between the trigger rod and back of the new trigger? This is typically the width of a credit card.

[Mondoatx]

A question and a comment...

Does the trigger have any set screws in it?

Make sure your field strip screw is tight... may want to tighten it up a bit (quarter turn) beyond finger tight with an allen wrench... I have a couple of mags and if the field strip is just finger tight it causes a misalignment and the sear does this weird thing where the pin comes forward when pressurized and offers resistance but it does not come forward all the way nor will the gun cycle.

[Nobody]

Do you have enough air? Mags generally won't fire if the tank is under 1000psi.
Are you using a HP tank? If you do not have an output pressure of at least 700psi, it won't fire.

[Abonhamc]

I will check all of these things when I get home. The tank was nearly full, so it's not a tank pressure issue, but could be the sear gap. The triggers are both AGD, but the new styled "blade" does feel considerably lighter than the old two finger style, not in pull weight, but as I held each trigger in the palm of my hand, so it might have less metal in the back or perhaps I need to adjust the sear position to account for the new trigger. I assumed that it was plug-in-play, but can someone direct me to adjusting the sear? That seems a very likely culprit. I'll also try a different tank just to make sure it isn't something wired about that particular tank. Thanks all, I'll let you know how it goes.

[Abonhamc]

Alright everyone, I took the thing apart and lined up all my carriers in order and removed all my shims and retuned it from scratch. I fixed my issue, and for future reference, this is how I did it:
1. I started with the 2.0 carrier (two engraved lines) and worked my way down in carrier size until it no longer leaked through the front, reusing my yellow carrier oring all the while. After I heard no wheezing through the barrel, I knew I had found the right carrier size.
2. Now, it was time to test the bolt's reseting ability. To do this, I stuck a pencil in the breech and noted that the bolt was having trouble reseting after hitting the pencil, so I added a shim and repeated the test. Better, but still sluggish. I then added one more shim and repeated the test. Perfect. Chuff, reset, chuff, reset.

So that was 2 shims needed, but your mileage may vary.

[maniacmechanic]

see , it wasn't that hard ,,, was it ??

[Mondoatx]

good man!

[Tunaman]

L10 carrier orings are white...not yellow.

[athomas]

The fact that you had to add shims to complete the reset means there is still some bolt stick issues. If the bolt fires or chuffs, but won't reset, it means the spring tension cannot overcome both the residual pressure and the friction. The residual pressure by itelf should not be an issue, because the bolt has already vented the excess air and has attempted to reset. It can't reset because the friction is still too much. You will need to solve that issue or you will risk a sticking issue at the most inopportune moment during play.

[Tidowe]

QUESTION:
I have an xvalve with level 10 bolt. 285 on the crono with 850 psi input. when rapid firing the bolt sticks. I have tried with shims and without shims with different carrier sizes. all new O-rings in the valve. any ideas??

[TheRealKaz]

QUESTION:
I have an xvalve with level 10 bolt. 285 on the crono with 850 psi input. when rapid firing the bolt sticks. I have tried with shims and without shims with different carrier sizes. all new O-rings in the valve. any ideas??

Which on/off is in the valve?

[SWE HooK]

need to say that when i got my LVL10 i got huge problem with leaks and used smaler carrier and ended up with the smallest and still leak and bolt stick on the same time.
ended up with that the oring where egg formed (0 not O ) and leaked in one end so the tipp is to inspect the oring so it is in good shape.

[athomas]

If it fires, then you are probably not getting level 10 carrier and oring related bolt stick.

How old is the bolt spring? If it has more than 25000 shots on it, it might be worn out. The bolt springs are a consumable item and need to be replaced periodically. A weakened bolt spring can cause a slow reset, which manifests itself with coughing and bolt stick symptoms, especially at higher rates of fire.