FX Fx streamline, Fx quality?

[Rod777]

Hi all. A little while ago I bought a Fx streamline which had very little use. These guns are very expensive which is why I am bringing this point to you. I have customised my pcp as that is what I do for a hobby. while working on the gun I, very disapointedly, came across some issues, the first was the pellet probe and the second was the air port adjuster wheel. They both leaked badly when taking a shot. I had to remidy this by machining my own custom pellet probe, slightly oversized and tapered so that it would squeeze on the breech seal tighter, also I included an aditional o-ring on the probe shaft, sitting just inside the breech, completely sealing the breech. I know that this is an issue with many pcp's as the pellet rides over the o-ring each time its loaded but this was losing a lot of air.
As for the port adjuster wheel, it too was losing a lot of air, both from the inner part and outer. I don't think there's an excuse for this one, its just bad quality control. The o-rings needed to fit slightly tighter when assembled, there was next to no resistance from the seals when installing the parts together and the air would easily escape when taking a shot. As I said this could have been prevented easily with just a little more care and attention. I resolved this issue also by finding better sized o-rings and deburring any holes for the o-rings to ride over easier. Problem sorted.
The main point here is that these problems should not be there on ANY pcp but especially such an expensive pcp. By the way just incase anyone was thinking if I tried just replacing the o-rings for new fx ones, I did and that made no difference as it was a matter of size and tolerances. I managed this work as I do a lot of this kind of thing but I know that many would not be able to or even have the tools to get the job done. As this is a manufacturing error there will be a lot of people out there with an expensive pcp that's leaking like a sieve and the performance drastically affected. I don't know about the dreamline but the early ones were very similar to my streamline and am sure they too have the same problems, maybe they realised the errors and corrected them - I don't know.
Anyway I thought I would bring this to attention. Happy airgunning.

 

[Airgun Al]

I prefer to buy BRAND NEW, for this very reason!
Usually, a 10% or even 20% savings, just isnt worth the risk to me, as opposed to buying BRAND NEW, with a warranty.
Good to hear you got it sorted out.

 

[ChickenDumpling]

In my visit with some various members on this and other forums, some being senior member via PM ... they told me to avoid FX because of QC issues when discussing my next pcp. Now, I have never owned any of the FXs past or present nor followed to close as I have excluded FX from my current next PCP list. If I did go FX, they said only buy brand new, with warranty, and from a dealer.

 

[elh0102]

Regarding the air leak at the breech when firing, the only thing subject to wear there is the breech O ring seal. Unless the probe was damaged, an O ring of the proper size should seal it. If .22 that would be a 5.28 X 1.78. I think my Royale uses the same breech, and I've blown a couple of breech seals, but a new one always seals it up.

 

[Gerry52]

I understand your unhappiness with an expensive gun that seemed to get past quality control but imho the majority of comments about the FX Streamline are lauditory. Yes, sometimes a "lemon" will get past the inspectors but in my opinion we should look at the overall satisfaction of buyers rather than the few errant lemons that got through when making a qualitative statement about the manufacturer. Glad you got it sorted out & hope you made FX aware. Even though the gun you got had "very little wear" it was pre-owned & we never truly know what a previous owner really did to said gun.

 

[Vetmx]

Well at least you know the real reason the guy sold it. Now that you blueprinted it, I hope you enjoy it.

 

[Blejda]

I had many pcp's including two Streamlines,both without any problem and super accurate.I have 4 year's old Impact and no probems so far also Dreamline and you can guess no problem again.
But had problems with Taipan,Brocock and Kalibrgun for reference.
So from my experience Fx has better qc then the other brands i had issues with.
Btw i also have another Taipan that i like alot and never had problems with it at around 5 years old.
I am not here to defend any brand just my experience.

 

[qball]

PCP has rubber O-Rings and they all degrade over time. Streamline is pretty old by now so no surprise there are issues with rings, granted it could just be the o-rings needed some silicone grease but since they are old it's better to just replacement while you are in there, they are very easy to replace for the most part.

 

[Rod777]

I prefer to buy BRAND NEW, for this very reason!
Usually, a 10% or even 20% savings, just isnt worth the risk to me, as opposed to buying BRAND NEW, with a warranty.
Good to hear you got it sorted out.

Fair point, although in this case the rifle realy was in mint condition and had less than a 100 shot through it. It is due to it's perfect condition that I could give the rifle this review/opinion. Cheers for the reply.

 

[Privateer]

Fortunately the Streamline I bought didn't have these issues.

 

[scubajeeper]

I, on the other hand, have never had a problem with used guns, as a matter of fact, the only gun I’ve ever had a problem with is the one gun I bought new. Lucky I guess, if you’re careful, you can find some good deals. A lot of guys like to try new guns and sell them after shooting them for a while. It could be that the guns I buy aren’t the easily adjustable ones, except the Impact I had, I had no problems with it either.

 

[Airgun Al]

Fair point, although in this case the rifle realy was in mint condition and had less than a 100 shot through it. It is due to it's perfect condition that I could give the rifle this review/opinion. Cheers for the reply.

Used = Used in my book!
Years ago, these pcp air guns were rather simple.
Thats not the case now.
Its not uncommon to see brand new gun owners swapping barrels, regulators, and performing their own "voodo customizing" on factory oem parts, as soon as they unbox a new rifle!
With all the adjustability , options, and aftermarket parts available for todays modern offerings, its going to get worse, before it gets better!
Nothing beats BRAND NEW with a WARRANTY, and even a 15% or 20% discount, just isnt worth it in my opinion.
Im glad you got it sorted out, and hopefully the enjoyment you receive from it, here on out, will make it all worthwhile!

 

[buckmountain]

Hi all. A little while ago I bought a Fx streamline which had very little use. These guns are very expensive which is why I am bringing this point to you. I have customised my pcp as that is what I do for a hobby. while working on the gun I, very disapointedly, came across some issues, the first was the pellet probe and the second was the air port adjuster wheel. They both leaked badly when taking a shot. I had to remidy this by machining my own custom pellet probe, slightly oversized and tapered so that it would squeeze on the breech seal tighter, also I included an aditional o-ring on the probe shaft, sitting just inside the breech, completely sealing the breech. I know that this is an issue with many pcp's as the pellet rides over the o-ring each time its loaded but this was losing a lot of air.
As for the port adjuster wheel, it too was losing a lot of air, both from the inner part and outer. I don't think there's an excuse for this one, its just bad quality control. The o-rings needed to fit slightly tighter when assembled, there was next to no resistance from the seals when installing the parts together and the air would easily escape when taking a shot. As I said this could have been prevented easily with just a little more care and attention. I resolved this issue also by finding better sized o-rings and deburring any holes for the o-rings to ride over easier. Problem sorted.
The main point here is that these problems should not be there on ANY pcp but especially such an expensive pcp. By the way just incase anyone was thinking if I tried just replacing the o-rings for new fx ones, I did and that made no difference as it was a matter of size and tolerances. I managed this work as I do a lot of this kind of thing but I know that many would not be able to or even have the tools to get the job done. As this is a manufacturing error there will be a lot of people out there with an expensive pcp that's leaking like a sieve and the performance drastically affected. I don't know about the dreamline but the early ones were very similar to my streamline and am sure they too have the same problems, maybe they realised the errors and corrected them - I don't know.
Anyway I thought I would bring this to attention. Happy airgunning.

Regarding the Streamline, I have a .25 caliber version purchased about 6 years ago new from Airguns of AZ. They were a distributor at the time. I've not experienced a noticeable air leak when shooting.

 

[Rod777]

Regarding the air leak at the breech when firing, the only thing subject to wear there is the breech O ring seal. Unless the probe was damaged, an O ring of the proper size should seal it. If .22 that would be a 5.28 X 1.78. I think my Royale uses the same breech, and I've blown a couple of breech seals, but a new one always seals it up.

For you that are interested, I will explain how I managed to detect the loss of air. I machined a custom tool to empty the gun of air by means of opening the firing valve gradually. By doing this the air escapes through the barrel and if you place your finger over the end of the barrel this will simulate the pressure that develops while taking a shot. Doing this will give you time to see what is and isnt leaking while using some kind of leak detecting solution. This is far better than trying to find a leak within a fraction of a second when taking a shot and as i said it produce the equivalend pressure needed also. If your gun is leaking then this way you will find that leak for sure.

 

[chip78]

I, on the other hand, have never had a problem with used guns, as a matter of fact, the only gun I’ve ever had a problem with is the one gun I bought new. Lucky I guess, if you’re careful, you can find some good deals. A lot of guys like to try new guns and sell them after shooting them for a while. It could be that the guns I buy aren’t the easily adjustable ones, except the Impact I had, I had no problems with it either.

I have bought several FX guns used and had good experiences with them. All but one were within 3-year warranty period. FX service was very good as FX USA. Utah Airguns is doing services for FX now. My buying experience with UA is good so its service has a high likelihood to be good. FX warranty is transferable so the new owner of the used gun gets the warranty also. I had one FX purchased new with two leaks, got parts from FX USA and did the work myself. One of the used guns had a leak and I got an oring from FX.

 

[elh0102]

For you that are interested, I will explain how I managed to detect the loss of air. I machined a custom tool to empty the gun of air by means of opening the firing valve gradually. By doing this the air escapes through the barrel and if you place your finger over the end of the barrel this will simulate the pressure that develops while taking a shot. Doing this will give you time to see what is and isnt leaking while using some kind of leak detecting solution. This is far better than trying to find a leak within a fraction of a second when taking a shot and as i said it produce the equivalend pressure needed also. If your gun is leaking then this way you will find that leak for sure.

Very interesting. This rifle appears to have gone to one of the few people who could find and fix the problem and end up happy with the it. Since it was apparently under warranty, I expect I would have returned it. I'm sure that your special tool and process precludes an accidental full-charge escape of air, but placing my finger over the end of a charged rifle while tinkering with the valve would make me nervous. But I assume that you know what you're doing and are not taking undue risk. Thanks for sharing your experience.

 

[Rod777]

Very interesting. This rifle appears to have gone to one of the few people who could find and fix the problem and end up happy with the it. Since it was apparently under warranty, I expect I would have returned it. I'm sure that your special tool and process precludes an accidental full-charge escape of air, but placing my finger over the end of a charged rifle while tinkering with the valve would make me nervous. But I assume that you know what you're doing and are not taking undue risk. Thanks for sharing your experience.

Hi, this is a very controlled way of releasing the air. The setup eliminates any risk to myself or the rifle. Also should anyone want to try this you ONLY place your finger over the barrel when you have a steady release underway. And I would definitely not recommend this procedure on ANY pcp that has no regulators fitted.