That's a good idea, Jack.K. I wonder if the plastic would be strong enough to stop it from coming all the way though. That's why I was thinking a metal plate.
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Impact probe screw failure & solution
- Thread starter Pestassassin
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Not good and puts off my plans to get one on order. At least until they re-design / fix this.
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I will not shoot mine until FX fix this major problem for the Impact.
I would like to ear what Ernest think of this.
At 9 min 40 secs in this video Ernest mention something very important is this regard.
Take a look at this. If the screw he mention is loosen that might be the reason why the set screw on the probe have broken because of what Ernest mention on this.
What do you think of this guys ? I think that make sens and might be why this bad experience happen.
I would like to ear what Ernest think of this.
At 9 min 40 secs in this video Ernest mention something very important is this regard.
Take a look at this. If the screw he mention is loosen that might be the reason why the set screw on the probe have broken because of what Ernest mention on this.
What do you think of this guys ? I think that make sens and might be why this bad experience happen.
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maybe a temporary fix is to replace the M3x6 grub screw with a M3x8 steel grub screw since the threaded hole on the pellet probe block (feedingpin holder) is deep enough that a longer grub screw can still fit in which will not leave the Hollowed out portion of the screw to take the backward force.
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GQ,
That loc tite fix is what I mentioned. If you have one barrel set and don't plan to covert to others that works. But that small allen isn't going to stand up to much torque from an allen wrench before it strips. And it it strips, it's not coming out if loc tited in, so you are done swapping without a new piece.
Jack,
I still think a solid steel screw that is cut off at the top and notched with a dremel to create a slot for a straight screwdriver is going to be a better temp fix.
That loc tite fix is what I mentioned. If you have one barrel set and don't plan to covert to others that works. But that small allen isn't going to stand up to much torque from an allen wrench before it strips. And it it strips, it's not coming out if loc tited in, so you are done swapping without a new piece.
Jack,
I still think a solid steel screw that is cut off at the top and notched with a dremel to create a slot for a straight screwdriver is going to be a better temp fix.
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The trouble here isn't that "tinkerer" myself included, cannot find a workaround for now, but this is inherently unsafe for most owners. I wouldn't be surprised if there was a world wide safety recall to replace the probe system (or similar remedy)
I like FX and I am sure they will be quick to rectify matters, but I would caution anyone to "suggest" fixes to an potentially disastrous situation.
I like FX and I am sure they will be quick to rectify matters, but I would caution anyone to "suggest" fixes to an potentially disastrous situation.
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Unique issue. I'm glad no one was injured. I think you're the first to experience this.
You must have a .30 only? I've been back and forth between calibers many many times. It seems, to me, that if this happened over time, you might have felt resistance while screwing/unscrewing due to the threads getting buggered up. Maybe those of us that have multiple calibers would have picked up this if it was a problem that developed over time.
I have also shot 1000's of rounds (both .30 and other) without any issues.
Did the pellet come out of the barrel? Is there any chance you double loaded? My intention is not to point the finger but rather to understand if there was any other influence on this failure. I noticed that the threads look flat all the way around the bottom half of the setscrew in the picture. This should have made it hard to unscrew (if you needed to change calibers).
I also agree that an issue like this could be remedied with a higher grade solid screw. I've see slotted setscrews for applications like this. It would be more difficult to use than an allen screw but, could also be a quick fix.
Tom
You must have a .30 only? I've been back and forth between calibers many many times. It seems, to me, that if this happened over time, you might have felt resistance while screwing/unscrewing due to the threads getting buggered up. Maybe those of us that have multiple calibers would have picked up this if it was a problem that developed over time.
I have also shot 1000's of rounds (both .30 and other) without any issues.
Did the pellet come out of the barrel? Is there any chance you double loaded? My intention is not to point the finger but rather to understand if there was any other influence on this failure. I noticed that the threads look flat all the way around the bottom half of the setscrew in the picture. This should have made it hard to unscrew (if you needed to change calibers).
I also agree that an issue like this could be remedied with a higher grade solid screw. I've see slotted setscrews for applications like this. It would be more difficult to use than an allen screw but, could also be a quick fix.
Tom
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I'm not disagreeing with you, Windmeister, but do you really think FX is actually going to recall all these guns to the distributor for repair or even send new pieces out to ALL owners vs take the stance of 'it's only happened once or twice so it must be a fluke or user error".
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Sharroff. No Ernest dont talk about the probe set screw. He is talkimg about another screw that hold the frame for the probe. Take a look at the video at 9 min 40 secs and pay attentiin to what he say.
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Set screws can hold a lot of torque even for that size only if it was tighten down, the whole cocking block front to rear and probe will be solid to work together to withstand the force,
now if you have a loose set screw the forces will be on the set screw itself and it wasn't designed to take a side load.,
knowing that ----> I always keep mine lock tight and tighten down.
I think there should be 2 screw screw, 2 are stronger than 1
now if you have a loose set screw the forces will be on the set screw itself and it wasn't designed to take a side load.,
knowing that ----> I always keep mine lock tight and tighten down.
I think there should be 2 screw screw, 2 are stronger than 1
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FX like any other business would not wait until something "worse" happens before taking action. It doesn't take a lot of errors to cause litigation and a much worse financial woes for a company like them. Besides there is also the fallout of the rumor mill and hearsay that could damage their reputation for years.
A recall might be as simple as shipping out new "screws" or a new Bolt with New Screw.
Now it is perfectly reasonable to think that out of 200 users(random #), you get only one failure, but the deck is stacked against them with a potential horrible result, such a failure can have at which point anyone would look back and say, "it would have been much cheaper to rectify the lingering hazard just to be safe."
And please keep in mind the fault here is a part that FX themselves ask the user to mess with, so to mitigate risk the engineers involved should have over engineered this portion ten fold.
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The set screw did not come loose. It sheered completely off at the point where it contacts the probe. I did not even attempt to back out the set screw because I was worried that if I did, the sheered end would tear up the threads.
Yes, the pellet came out of the barrel. No, I did not double load.
The only reason that I can think of that this could've happened is due to a faulty set screw that was not up to the task, strength-wise. All I can do at this point is guess as to why it failed. And my best guess is that the allen key hole was machined too deep into the screw to begin with, causing a situation where there was not enough solid metal to hold up to repeated pressure. But, again, all that is is my best guess.
As of right now, AOA seems to be taking the situation as seriously as it is. They've sent me a return label so their technicians can look it all over.
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Temporary fix won't work in this situation, as the probe is bent and unusable. On top of that, I don't want a temporary fix. I want to know that this will never happen again.
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The same exact thing happened to my 30 cal Impact about 4 months ago.
Link: http://www.airgunnation.com/topic/fx-impact-owners-please-read/
Link: http://www.airgunnation.com/topic/fx-impact-owners-please-read/
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No I cannot. Backing the set screw out at this point will likely damage the threads inside the probe block. My plan is to leave the rifle exactly as it currently is and let the technicians at AOA look it all over.
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Not too late. When I called AOA, I just asked the sales manager, Kip, to read my post about the incident, and explained that doing so would lay it out for him much more calmly than I could've at that moment.
On top of that, in situations like these, I'm usually able to retain a fair amount of diplomacy even when I'm very angry. And as of right now, it appears that AOA is taking this situation every bit as seriously it should be. Shortly after talking to Kip, the service manager (I believe) Kevin called me. I'm having my wife ship the rifle back this evening, as I left to go out of town for work this morning.
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That looks exactly like an Impact pellet probe and set screw to me. That's what mine looks like anyway...
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Pestassassin,
Lot's of us have had that probe screw work it's way loose. I complained to AoA about mine coming loose and they didn't have a fix other than replacing the screw and using loc tite
If Ernest is right and that contributes to the shearing, and all you have is a 30 barrel, then I'd use loc tite blue or red depending on that depending on how permanent and 'will never happen again' you want the fix to be. You'll need heat to remove the screw if you use red, and that could damage what you are heating.
Lot's of us have had that probe screw work it's way loose. I complained to AoA about mine coming loose and they didn't have a fix other than replacing the screw and using loc tite
If Ernest is right and that contributes to the shearing, and all you have is a 30 barrel, then I'd use loc tite blue or red depending on that depending on how permanent and 'will never happen again' you want the fix to be. You'll need heat to remove the screw if you use red, and that could damage what you are heating.
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Good and responsible of AOA, Kip is a cool fish, and take safety serious.
A little tip to anyone not familiar with engineering. In an instance where you have a bolt shear in a highly volatile situation, and the bolt itself is the safety precaution. You have a serious safety hazard on your hands that more than likely is going to grow bigger. The safe and smart thing to do is to investigate to find the root cause so you can eliminate further issues.
A little tip to anyone not familiar with engineering. In an instance where you have a bolt shear in a highly volatile situation, and the bolt itself is the safety precaution. You have a serious safety hazard on your hands that more than likely is going to grow bigger. The safe and smart thing to do is to investigate to find the root cause so you can eliminate further issues.
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