CZ 200S/AA S200 Tube Maintenance

[ezman604]

Just curious if anyone has cracked opened up the tube on one of these babies. I have a gauge leak and was told there is an O-ring on the bottom of the gauge that can be replaced. The end caps of this tube have two holes drilled in them for what I believe is the use of a spanner type wrench to unscrew the caps. I can't get mine to budge but confess, I do not have a specialized spanner wrench either. Anybody ever removed these caps? If so...tell me how.
Thanks AOT!!!
SAFE & Happy Shooting!!!!
Dave
 

[Sfttailrdr46]

Just curious if anyone has cracked opened up the tube on one of these babies. I have a gauge leak and was told there is an O-ring on the bottom of the gauge that can be replaced. The end caps of this tube have two holes drilled in them for what I believe is the use of a spanner type wrench to unscrew the caps. I can't get mine to budge but confess, I do not have a specialized spanner wrench either. Anybody ever removed these caps? If so...tell me how.
Thanks AOT!!!
SAFE & Happy Shooting!!!!
Dave
 

DEz if it anything like the end cap on my Rainstorms if you use a heat gun to heat the end cap             (Locktite) then use a piece of an old leather belt wrapped around the end cap and large channel lock water pump pliers it should spin off easily. Every PCP that I have removed the end cap had some kind of thread lock compound on it. Even if it is just an old age thing just from not being disturbed the heat will help to break or soften the bond. 

[ezman604]

Will try some heat. I have some strap wrenches also....will give them a work out.
LOL
Thanks for the suggestions. Guess I'm just weak.

[Sfttailrdr46]

Will try some heat. I have some strap wrenches also....will give them a work out.
LOL
Thanks for the suggestions. Guess I'm just weak.

Naaaa just getting old like the rest of us.

[ezman604]

Just in case things didn't turn out so well with maintenance on this tube, I have ordered a replacement. It just arrived. But will try to salvage the original for a backup.

[ssbn617]

My friend at New England Airguns did a repair on my AA mpr tube. It took a special spanner wrench and a lot (too much) of muscle.
Mitch

[Taso1000]

Dave,

I bought the tools from XTX Air anc Altaros when I swapped in an aluminum tube and regulator.  I have attached pics of both.  The original tube still has the gauge attached as it didn't come off but I wasn't reusing it as you have to front fill when adding a regulator.

Maybe you can make your own?

https://www.xtxair.com/s200-cz-firing-filling-valve-removal-tool-hex

https://www.altaros.cz/en/air-arms-czub/54-cz200-valvecap-spanner.html

Thanks,

Taso

[marty2]

Just curious if anyone has cracked opened up the tube on one of these babies. I have a gauge leak and was told there is an O-ring on the bottom of the gauge that can be replaced. The end caps of this tube have two holes drilled in them for what I believe is the use of a spanner type wrench to unscrew the caps. I can't get mine to budge but confess, I do not have a specialized spanner wrench either. Anybody ever removed these caps? If so...tell me how.
Thanks AOT!!!
SAFE & Happy Shooting!!!!
Dave
 

DEz if it anything like the end cap on my Rainstorms if you use a heat gun to heat the end cap             (Locktite) then use a piece of an old leather belt wrapped around the end cap and large channel lock water pump pliers it should spin off easily. Every PCP that I have removed the end cap had some kind of thread lock compound on it. Even if it is just an old age thing just from not being disturbed the heat will help to break or soften the bond.

I have 2 tubes for my CZ200 and have opened both of them up the same way but I have a small pipe wrench that I used with an old leather belt. Only I small scratch on the brass on one of them

[fivestar45]

The tube ends on the CZ/AA 200 that I've taken apart did not have any sealant or thread locker on them they were just super tight. When I took them apart I made a spanner just for those tube ends. I found the bigger problem was getting a good hold on the tube body, I wrapped it in some emery cloth rough side out and stuffed it into a 4 jaw chuck and hit the bar that went through the tool with a mallet. Like Taso, I swapped the OEM tube for a light weight extended Altaros aluminum one and later added a regulator.

[Ribbonstone]

They are made to be taken off with some kind of factory pin-wrench not unlike the ones shown above....I guess...as I've never seen a factory wrench, only the ones other folks and myself have made.   

Thinking about it after the fact,realized the front end plug was tighter than it really had a reason to be.  Doesn't promote sealing, the o-ring does that.  Likely it's so tight to keep it from vibrating loose over time....but when screwing it back on, keep in mind that some day you're likely to want to take it back off,so don't put it on bust-a-gut tight.

[fivestar45]

Forgot to add. There was a youtube posting that showed using two machine screws shortened to fit in the end plug holes and then using a pipe wrench set to grab just the screw heads. If I remember he had the tube body wrapped in sand paper rough side ought in a vise. 

[Ribbonstone]

MIght give you an outlook.




Oldest one (the bottom one..which is in .22) was born in 2003...it's  still going.  Does have this old-style fill nipple and "industrial"style female fitting to match (reminds me of a gas station air hose),but it's still working...still passes a yearly take-apart inspection (although see note #1 below)..



(look closely at the above pic. Can see the tube got a little lite chewing (more like "nibbling") on my first take down of that air tube without  the correct tool.)

Newest one (top one in .177)  has only been around for a few years (maybe 5? maybe 6?)and has a gauge on the factory tube.  So it has to have the tube unscrew and come off to fill.




My surprise...as I had preconceptions about unscrewing the air tube to fill....was that I LIKED removing and filling from the rear of the air tube.  Was easier to deal with just the air tube than the whole rifle laid down (likey kept the stocks from dents/scratches over the years) top fill.

So even though one of them can be filled without taking the tube off...I still take the tube off (even though there is no "plus points" for a gauge).

NOTE 1:

Yeah it passes both visual and caliper measurements.

But anyone that has bent a coat hanger back and forth enought times to find that it gets brittle and prone to cranking/snapping can figurte out that just becasue it is the same internal/external diameter DOES NOT mean that the air tube hasn't undergone some hardening from the expansion/contraction of being empty---full..empty...full.


So I suspect in the very near future, that old AA s200 will get a new tube....and will get a stanard volume/gauged tube without a fill nipple.