Piston head won't come off..

[Omi-san]

I'm currently changing the bushings and spring on my TM M4A1.

I'm stuck because the piston head refuses to come off the piston. I wrapped it with a cotton cloth and slowly turned it counter clock wise. It moved without much effort. The problem is that it's not unscrewing, it just turns and stays there. I can't pull it out either.

It's very frustrating since everything up to that point was going perfectly.

[Fox Hound]

Take a look inside your Piston. There should be a screw thats holding in your piston head in

[Omi-san]

Nope, there's no screw.

[Renegade)]

If its a stock piston head there should be a nut peice inside that holds it in place, Im sure uve tried already the just unscrew the top, but maybe the inside nut has dislodged from the small nub that holds it in place. Use a screwdriver to hold it from the inside of the piston and unscrew.

[lupo]

Chances are that the screw is just spinning inside the piston head. You need to either cut or drill the plastic away from the center of the pistonhead until the screw is exposed. Make sure when your done the pistonhead is nice and flat with no burrs sticking up.

[Omi-san]

If I look inside the piston where the spring is attached, I see nothing but plastic and what seems to be a little round metal pin in the middle. It's flat and doesn't stick out.

There's nothing I can hold while trying to unscrew the head.

[stokes]

http://www.mechbox.com/site/

Go to the V2 one. They teach how to take out the stock piston head without breaking.

Basically just grab the piston head and the piston, hold the piston tight while turning the piston head lefty loosey.

[Omi-san]

Originally Posted by lupo

Chances are that the screw is just spinning inside the piston head. You need to either cut or drill the plastic away from the center of the pistonhead until the screw is exposed. Make sure when your done the pistonhead is nice and flat with no burrs sticking up.

Ok, that worked, I drilled the plastic out and reached the screw. The piston head is out now. Looks like an Australian's nightmare though. There's a small dent on the corner of the head. Will it mess up the compression inside the cylinder or is it the rubber ring that does most of the work?

[Omi-san]

Originally Posted by stokes

http://www.mechbox.com/site/

Go to the V2 one. They teach how to take out the stock piston head without breaking.

Basically just grab the piston head and the piston, hold the piston tight while turning the piston head lefty loosey.

Well yes, I'm been following the directions from this video since I started taking the gun apart. It's just that this part didn't work like in the video.

[Omi-san]

Alright, I don't like the look of this damaged el cheapo white plastic piston. I'm getting a new one.

[Renegade)]

Originally Posted by Omi-san

Alright, I don't like the look of this damaged el cheapo white plastic piston. I'm getting a new one.

lmao, best option for ya. Espicially if u havnt gotten it off yet.

[CDN_Stalker]

Originally Posted by Omi-san

Alright, I don't like the look of this damaged el cheapo white plastic piston. I'm getting a new one.

You know that the TM stock piston is one of the best and most reliable pistons out there, eh? I've only seen maybe two stock pistons break, but have seen a bit over a half dozen good aftermarket pistons break and chew up. IMHO, I'd say just stick with that piston unless it's FUBAR'd. The only el cheapo pistons I know of are the shitty CA stock pistons, those are CRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRAP!

[Kokanee]

Originally Posted by CDN_Stalker

You know that the TM stock piston is one of the best and most reliable pistons out there, eh? I've only seen maybe two stock pistons break, but have seen a bit over a half dozen good aftermarket pistons break and chew up. IMHO, I'd say just stick with that piston unless it's FUBAR'd. The only el cheapo pistons I know of are the shitty CA stock pistons, those are CRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRAP!

Agreed - I run stock TM pistons in all my rifles, for this particular reason. Next time instead of drilling out the pistol, wrap a handtowel around the head and use a pair of adjustable pliers to twist the pistol head off.

[CDN_Stalker]

Actually Kokanee, he tried that initially and it didn't work for him. I'd say out of 10 TM pistons, I'd find maybe two of them that won't unscrew by using two (I just use papertowels) towels, in which case I have to cut away the center of the pistonhead in order to get to the Phillips screw head.

[Kokanee]

Oops, my bad