Hi Capa issues

4126 Views 17 Replies 6 Participants Last post by Marco, Mar 14, 2022

Marco

Discussion Starter · Oct 7, 2021

Hello guys,

I am looking for some advice on my Army Armament TTI combatmaster. It is basically a heavy Hi Capa with aluminium externals and a heavy slide. Most parts are TM compatible.

It is shooting great, even in winter (with black gas).

Only problem is dirt. Once some dirt / sand gets into the gun, the slide wont move far enough back to feed another BB. Sometimes the nozzle isnt moving completely into the Bucking, so it jams. I like to get dirty while playing, so this happens usually once per day.

I am operating it with TM mags (which have a lower gas output), I could swap to Army armament mags (which have a higher gas output). My other ideas are getting a lightweight blowbackhousing (easier slide movement), swapping to CO2 (more power), polishing the parts that move on each other, so it has less friction or changing the lubricant (curently Tamiya Boron Nitrit grease). If nothing helps it would have to buy a TM hi capa and put my tuning parts in there, which is also the most expensive solution.

The only other issue is that the slidecatch isnt working very often, when the mag is empty. It feels like the little pin coming out of the mag isnt hitting the slidecatch well, it can pass on the side of the slide catch. Also the pin has very little force when pushing up. I changed the slidecatch to an enhanced one, that is easier to move, but isnt doing its job any better. Sometime it is working with the original Army armament mag.

I clean the pistol after every game. After that the slide moves very smooth. However while sitting at home with the freshly cleaned and lubricated gun, the slidecatch sill isnt working when inserting an empty mag and pushing the slide back. Soemtimes it works while an original Army Armament mag is inserted, but only the first time I try, after that it wont work again.

Does anyone have an idea or had the same issues?

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RonSwanson

· #2 · Oct 7, 2021

I have the same gun but without the issues.

Don't use co2 the gun will detonate and destroy itself, it won't hold up to co2 long from the feel of it. I would also stick to non TM mags as the slide is big and heavy as well so needs some power to cycle.

Test the mag catch by inserting the mag with the slide held back and lock at the mechanism, release the slide than slowly pull it back looking in the top and watch to see if the mags is pushing on the inner slide catch lever. Could possibly be broken and not catching correctly.

Marco

Discussion Starter · #3 · Oct 7, 2021 (Edited)

When I hold the slide back and insert the mag the slide catch is reliably pushed upwards. But when i push down the slide catch once, the pin from the mag isnt engaging the pin anymore. The pin is up, the slide catch is down. The slide catch is completely new, maybe the pins on all my mags are worn off?

Edit: When I remove the slide I can clearly see, that when first inserting the mag, the pin pushes the slidecatch upwards. Once pushing it down, the pin can move more towards the middle of the gun, while the slidecatch is on the left side, so they dont meet each other and there is zero pressure on the slidecatch. So I need magazin followers, that have a wider pin or need enlarge the slidecatch.

I exchanged most of the internals, so I thought the gun would operate well with co2. Will the Army Armament mags make a noticable difference on moving the slide reliably backwards, since they are pumping out more gas?

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mrvanagas

· #4 · Oct 7, 2021

Marco said:
When I hold the slide back and insert the mag the slide catch is reliably pushed upwards. But when i push down the slide catch once, the pin from the mag isnt engaging the pin anymore. The pin is up, the slide catch is down. The slide catch is completely new, maybe the pins on all my mags are worn off?

I exchanged most of the internals, so I thought the gun would operate well with co2. Will the Army Armament mags make a noticable difference on moving the slide reliably backwards, since they are pumping out more gas?

Yes. Since the TM Hi Capa slide is plastic, thus its lighter and needs less gas to cycle. Since the AA TTI slide is metal, it needs more gas to properly cycle

Marco

Discussion Starter · #5 · Oct 7, 2021

do I need the Army Armament mags, or will the valve do the job?

SiliconeSword

· #6 · Oct 8, 2021

I recommend that you get the following parts to lighten your gun
Airsoft Masterpiece or other aluminum BBU
Piston that seals in your nozzle or noew nozzle that seals on your magazine
Light weight spring guide plug
Aluminum rear sight
Stronger nozzle spring

This should allow your gun to function a bit better with underpowered mags, but I'm not sure how well since I'm still figuring out my SSP1.
The most obvious thuing is the magzines, as TM mags are meant for like 250 FPS and a plastic slide(still heavy with the BBU and other stuff) so the gas flow sort of sucks.
You could buy those Laylax high flow valves for a possible increase, but new magazines would be your best bet, Novritsch, KJW, ProWin, Guarder, JAG, Echo1, and Army Armament being ones that are good.
As for C02, I'd say don't try it unless you have a light BBU and other stuff as it will probably put unnecessary stress on your gun. That being said, Airsoft GI says you can use C02, but it may be that the North America stuff is different from other stuff as tends to be the case.

Ideally you'd get new mags AND lighter/better sealing parts to make the gun as good as possible without spending like $150 more on a new slide and whatever else, as it's very easy to get out of control with a Hi-Capa if you havn't noticed.

As for the slide catch thing, the slide catch and safety spring may be weak, or the slide catch plunger is acting up, or the little hole they are in is full of dirt, metal dust, and grease.
You can buy new ones for quite cheap, but you'd best remove your safety switch and try cleaning out the slide stop spring hole.

Here's a good Hi-Capa video.

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Marco

Discussion Starter · #7 · Oct 8, 2021

which spring do I need to check for the slide catch?

SiliconeSword

· #8 · Oct 9, 2021

www.evike.com

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Marco

Discussion Starter · #9 · Oct 11, 2021

Thanks for all the advice.

After trying around with my Hicapa, it seems I solved the slidecatch issue. I put some JB Weld on it and sanded nearly all of it away, so that it remained slightly wider. Now it engages the little latch on the side of the magazine follower reliably.

For the slide not moving far enough back you all agree that I need a higher gas output. Some lightweight parts for the slide will benefit it aswell. So I have to either switch my mags from TM to Armament Mags (16,50€). They have more gasoutput, but 3 bbs less capacity. Or I can put higher output valves in my TM mags. Unfortunately the output valves from the Army Armament Mags arent avaiable as spare parts. Laylax Highoutput valves are costing like 22€, which is more than an Army Armament Mag.... So I will get one Army Armament Mag and try how it performs, what happens if I swap the vales with the TM mag and see what I prefer.

It seems like my hammer (stock) is moving a few mm upwards, once it is cocked and touches the slide. Is this a worn out hammer, that needs to be replaced by a steel hammer? Could this be the origin of the slide not moving far enough back?

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SiliconeSword

· #10 · Oct 11, 2021

Definitely a good idea to get an Army mag, but you may as well get 3+ of however many TM mags you have as I think you can swap the hammer valves, if not you just have a few less shots.

As for the hammer, that's most likely due to the frame wearing out.
In my SSP1 I got about 8K rounds through it before it was in need of $50 of parts I've needed to buy for the past 2 years, but while finally getting around to that I took a look at the inside of the frame on the post where the trigger sits, and it's clearly worn due to the hammer moving.
I think a frame from Novritsch is like $30 or something, and you could get a nicer one like Airsoft Masterpiece, Airsoft Surgeon, Laylax, or CowCow, but that's where things start to get expensive and where you could maybe just buy a new gun.
Idk if there's any frames with steel inserts, but that would be the best.
Still, I don't think that the hammer wobbling about will really affect much, so I'd just leave it and let it break, as throwing away the frame when it's got another 5K-25K shots is utter nonsense.

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@wyz2285 how long does a regular hicapa frame last and how long does an upgraded frame last?

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wyz2285

· #11 · Oct 11, 2021

While an advanced frame has steel hammer post do remember it cost typically at least twice as much as your pistol🤪
Since you picked that pistol you're unlikely to be obsessed with hicapas like me so really not worth dish out more than 50% of the cost of the army pistol. Seriously, for whoever consider to upgrade the frame already, might as well build the pistol from ground up. The steel safeties, hammer and what not are all around 50 euros per piece.
Guarder aluminium BBU is like 13 euros on Airsoft Entrepot, together with Guarder nozzle it should be around 40 euros and that would be what I'd be willing to dish out for it. Army mags are good but the follower is a bit short and doesn't engage the slide catch always.

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Marco

Discussion Starter · #12 · Oct 12, 2021

tbh the slide is looking really badass. If i had to exchange it, its the main thing stopping me to go for a tm plastic slide. the hammer isnt wobbling left and right, it is moving slightly up, so it touches the slide when moving forth.

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wyz2285

· #13 · Oct 12, 2021

Not much you can do about the hammer. You could try to shim it by inserting a brass tube on the post.
Stock tm plus a light weight BBU is actually amazing and probably will outlast most pot metal slide hicapas (WE, Army, Golden eagle, KJ etc)

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Marco

Discussion Starter · #14 · Oct 12, 2021

I completely disassembled the trigger part. First of all I found tons of dirt...... After that I found the hammer and the latch where it is locked by the sear still looks like a 90° angle to me (1st photo), so everything is fine.. The other internals are steel already, I also installed the guarder nozzle some time ago.I couldnt find any part that explains, that when the slide is pushed back the hammer cocks, but then moves slightly up, so i touches my nozzle, while the slide is moving forward into shooting position.

The hammer is sitting well inside the frame, it has a small amount fo space, to wobble left and right, but not much (2nd photo).

Do you know which part can be the reason the hammer isnt in the right position or could the cleaning have solved that issue?

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wyz2285

· #15 · Oct 13, 2021

Worn out hammer sear or hammer, so the hammer doesn't lock as deep as before.

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Marco

Discussion Starter · #16 · Oct 13, 2021

wyz2285 said:
Worn out hammer sear or hammer, so the hammer doesn't lock as deep as before.

I totally agree with you. The only problem is, that all parts look good to me. The Hammer has a 90° angle on the latch that locks with the sear. The sear is steel and seems in perfect shape.

Hamlet

· #17 · Mar 13, 2022

Did you find the problem?

Marco

Discussion Starter · #18 · Mar 14, 2022 (Edited)

Hamlet said:
Did you find the problem?

no, I sold iit and am trying my luck with the aap atm.

I assume the TM mags should be used with the TM Hi capa and the Army Armament Mags with the Army Armamaent hi capa. And the Army Armament Hicapa shouldnt be used in the dirt.

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