Putting gun in water to find leaks

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T

tor47

Member
May 18, 2018
1,239
188
Other, Norway
Do not do it!

Posting this so others can learn from my mistake. Had a slow leak on my impact, I could not figure out. As a quick way of finding it, I took the barrel, and scope off, and dropped it in water. Thought it would do no harm, if I kept the gun in a warm room afterwards. Turned out it was the aftermarket reg gauge, which was leaking. So no FX to blame here.

But back to topic, the gun would not fire when it was dried. Turned out the inside of the gun had rusted. The hammer, and hammer spring.

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No I did not blow it, probably should have done that to get the dust out first. I know how to dissasemble the gun, as I did install the powerplenum myself. The gun is not ruined, but will require unessesary work, to clean it up.
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poop happens, I don't know if you have fluid film there it's like ballistol but is "thicker" and stays where you put it. It's made from the waterproofing grease in sheep's wool lanolin. It's very moist here in winter and I use it on liners to keep them from getting rusty. Steels best friend, it does attract dust but even if dirty the steel is totally protected.

I tried using ballistol the same way on the liners but didn't work nearly as well. Fluid film lasts forever and really seeps into the metal.

Great stuff, even breaks down light corrosion and it just wipes off.

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Did you blow it out after? The chamber the hammer slides in make sure that's smooth and clear.

Good public service announcement, this should only be a last resort IMO.
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A last resort, probably yes. But blowing one out thoroughly after doing such, and possibly with the use of WD40 and some disassembly if needed as well, would seem to be sensible.
 
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So this ends up being a sort of paradox solution to a problem? To identify the leak, one has introduced water into the system. To clean out the potentially damaging water, one must disassemble clean,lube, dry it all out. How many more potential leaking points get created in the entire process? The short cut becomes the long way around.

Definitely a lesson I'd never considered. Hope you get it all back together without too much trouble.
 
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So this ends up being a sort of paradox solution to a problem? To identify the leak, one has introduced water into the system. To clean out the potentially damaging water, one must disassemble clean,lube, dry it all out. How many more potential leaking points get created in the entire process? The short cut becomes the long way around.

Definitely a lesson I'd never considered. Hope you get it all back together without too much trouble.
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Disassembly needed might well not include o-ring points. Note where the OP stated he had rust. And there are other leak finders available, though those probably should be removed after use as well.
 
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I have no problems dunking in water to find a faint and troublesome leak. But I know going in that once this decision is made(last resort, always), that a full disassembly is required to dry and re lube. I approach it as a positive-

1. The leak gets fixed

2. the gun is freshly lubed with new seals

3. I learn more about the gun each and every time I get inside of it.

I would never just put a gun away once it’s been exposed to any water, wether from a dunk or even from rain outdoors. But that’s just me
 
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Well it is definitely a user error on my side. The gun would have been ok, if the water had not come inside the action. Probably the correct way of doing it, is to use a leak detector of some kind. I tried first to put some saliva around the gauge, but there was no bubbles emerging. When I put the gun under the water, there was tiny bubbles coming out around the cover of the gauge. So it was a unusual leak, as it was the gauge itself which was leaking, and not the seal between the gun, and the gauge. I ended up putting back the original gauge which came with the gun, and the leak dissapared.
 
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Well it is definitely a user error on my side. The gun would have been ok, if the water had not come inside the action. Probably the correct way of doing it, is to use a leak detector of some kind. I tried first to put some saliva around the gauge, but there was no bubbles emerging. When I put the gun under the water, there was tiny bubbles coming out around the cover of the gauge. So it was a unusual leak, as it was the gauge itself which was leaking, and not the seal between the gun, and the gauge. I ended up putting back the original gauge which came with the gun, and the leak dissapared.
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Glad you got it fixed. I've had one gun gauge and one compressor gauge fail internally. It does seem to be a less common thing than a leak around an o-ring area but it does apparently happen with some regularity.
 
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I'll probbaly get slammed for saying this but, in my book every air gunner would be doing him or her self a big favor by at least lerning how to dis and reassemble thier own guns. Most all are not that hard, although there are a few..Most of this is just common sense. My friend always says, it's not if, it's when they start to leak. All air guns will leak at some point . Learn how to keep them happy , it's easy.
 
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“My” gun can be immersed in water if looking for leaks, even with the stock intact … but I DO remove the gripframe, which contains the trigger group and the hammer spring usually comes with it, as some parts in it can rust. The barrel could rust if left alone, but I usually just fire it a few times after to blast moisture out. 

I designed the gun to allow for this, and so far I’ve seen no issues in over 15 years.
 
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I would stay away using WD40 (rust cleaner) as a lube on airgun, ....WD40 attracts moisture from the air and a worst attracts dust. Make sure you wipe it of perfectly.

I learned this in a hard way with my bicycle cables/shifter, and if you google deeper you will find related topics.
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WD 40 Only thing it's used for in the shop is cutting oil for aluminum. Don't even think about putting it on my machines. FGI .Dries and turns to goop.

I do wipe my guns down with Ballistol. The steel parts. It's mostly mineral oil and fragrance.

If you're going to dunk my gun you'll have to throw me in with it. Good luck

DON'T DO THIS! LOL!
 
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I would stay away using WD40 (rust cleaner) as a lube on airgun, ....WD40 attracts moisture from the air and a worst attracts dust. Make sure you wipe it of perfectly.

I learned this in a hard way with my bicycle cables/shifter, and if you google deeper you will find related topics.
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Do you even know what the WD stands for? It is absolutely not a lube but that wasn't part of the topic. It works quite well for certain things.
 
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I'll probbaly get slammed for saying this but, in my book every air gunner would be doing him or her self a big favor by at least lerning how to dis and reassemble thier own guns. Most all are not that hard, although there are a few..Most of this is just common sense. My friend always says, it's not if, it's when they start to leak. All air guns will leak at some point . Learn how to keep them happy , it's easy.
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The Original poster had stated he knew how to completely disassemble his impact as he had done so when installing his power plenum
 
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