Ruger Air Magnum owners

[Skonion]

I have 2 Ruger Air Magnums, both refurbs. If I turn them up side down and look down into the slot at the forward cocking arm, right at the front and right at the rear, I see what appears to be the metal starting to crack. Mostly towards the front of the arm the cracking is more noticeable. The one with the serial number indicating that it is the older of the 2 and maybe had more use, has the bigger crack. I'm thinking that with more use this thing is gonna break in the middle of a cocking cycle. I'd like to get some feedback from some who have bought new, and see if the cracking is from the severe bend at that point to form the female end for the pivot pin, or is it metal fatigue from the load put on it through use.
Thanks for any and all help.
Gene

[JonnyReb]

  Wow that would not be good, i went and checked my refurb and it showed no signs of cracks, i'm assuming you mean where the cocking arm Y's on both ends?  I did take note however that the cocking arm is wobbly as can be and and since it's doublejointed with no truss to hold it still, it has quite a range of side to side play and it uses one side of the inner stock or the other to brace against    Looks like a good canidate for a mod. Seeing that reminds me that this is only a partial german copy, their chinese designers missed something here...

[Skonion]

Yep Jonny, There is quite a lot of side play in that setup aint there? I haven't taken it apart yet and I'm also wondering if the pivot pin is worn or the holes that it is in are oblonged, cuz there seems to be a lot of play as far as back and forth along with the side to side play. If I can, I'll try to get a few pics posted but I aint the sharpest knife in the drawer.   I've tried to post a few things but it didn't work. I'm using my girlfriends computer and it's new and new to me so maybe I have to learn the windows 7 stuff a bit more. I gotta blame it on something! LOL. Couldn't be just my dumb ^&* right? DUH!   OK, stay tuned.    

[Skonion]

Sorry for the poor quality of the pics but the clarity dropped off when I resized them.    At least I got a couple of them to post. I'll get the hang of it if I keep at it I hope.

[Kirk B]

Is it possible to observe that area while going through the cocking motion? If so, see if there's evidence of deflection or twisting of the cocking arm. If not, that crack may have occured during the stamping process.

[bluzjamer]

I was looking at the box end it came in the other night and saw the reman and the no warranty stamped on the label. Thought these had a 30 day warranty.

[Mark 611]

you can call Umarex and explain to them what is going on with the rifle and they'll probly take care of the problem if you haven't had it to long, explain you bought a refurb and have discovered this problem with the rifle and it should have been taken care of before it was shipped out as a refub, or they may already know that this is an exhisting problem with these guns and will take care of the problem, its worth the call to find out!

[ChucksTrucks]

I noticed that the cocking linkage guides that are molded into the stock are oversize by about 1/8 inch.  If (when) the mid point of the cocking linkage moves to one side the faces of the E clips holding the pivot pin and roller in place also serve as the "guides" and dig into the plastic on either side of the stock.

I am using one stainless steel washer on each side between the stock and E clip held in place with a dab of grease for assembly to reduce this side clearance, to help center the linkage and to provide a better sliding surface. The pin is oversize in length and once the action is installed in the stock the guides retain the washers well. 

[Mark 611]

Chuck don't forget to call me!

[Skonion]

Spook, I think you are right about the crack occurring during the stamping process.
Chuck, Thanks for the tip on the use of the washers. I'll be looking into that also.
Gene

[Volltreffer]

Took a look at my Refurb. Ruger Air Magnum that I received last week for cracks in the cocking arm. Sure enough, at the forward end of the cocking arm is a 1/4" long crack. Nothing on the other end. Called UMAREX and spoke with Ryan in the repair dept. He emailed me a product return form, said to ship it to them and that thier airgunsmith would repair or replace the part. Off it goes to Fort Smith, AR. I'll post again when I get it back.   Harlan

[Skonion]

Harlan, Are you shipping the whole rifle or just the cocking arm?
Gene   

[Volltreffer]

Gene, I shipped the entire rifle. UMAREX's airgunsmith can tear it down and put it back together. I also did not want to give them a reason to possibly void the warranty. Harlan

[Skonion]

Gene, I shipped the entire rifle. UMAREX's airgunsmith can tear it down and put it back together. I also did not want to give them a reason to possibly void the warranty. Harlan

Roger That Harlan

[Skonion]

Well Harlan, You must know somebody at Umarex. I've been waiting for about a week to hear back from them. I think my problem was leaving them a message describing the problem with the my rifles.  Finally I called them back again today after calling Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Got to talk to someone who told me that I would have to pay for the repair on my 2 Air Magnums because they were refurbs. Sounds like a Crock to me. You get a defective piece-0-crapp, that they put out and they want you to pay to have it fixed? Maybe I need the Consumer Products Safety Commision, or the Inspector General or sombody else helpin' me out. I'll probably have to fix them myself so at least I'll know they're done right.
Geno

[JonnyReb]

 Geno i looked closer at mine and sure enough it has a small stress fracture at the same spot as everyone elses. It looks like when they rolled the metal the crack results. I'm just going to keep an eye on it, if it never changes i'll leave it alone, if it gets bigger then it will be spot welded and ground smooth, then reblued. Might be the best inexpensive fix for this.  J

[Skonion]

JR I'm sorry that yours has the crack to.   Seems like SOMEONE! down the line should have caught this problem. Wether it was the quality control people or the refurb tech or the guy who inspects them before putting them out for the unsuspecting, or uninformed consumer. It just seems like that it's gonna be praying on one's mind to always be having to check that crack every couple of shots to see how it's doing. Hopefully your's doesn't crack farther and let go altogether just when the piston is about latch on the trigger. KABLAMMM! Barrel slams into the underside of the stock, piston slams forward with no resistance from a pellet not being in the breech. Could be an ugly outcome. 
I wonder who is liable for this? AGD? Umarex? Ruger? or all three.                 Does anyone know if there has ever been an Airgun recall?   

And yes Jonny, Me thinks your right about getting it welded yourself. I'm pretty sure that's what I'll do. And as you said, Probably be the best most inexpensive way to solve the problem. Shame on Umarex. They seem to be aware of this problem and are doing nothing that I know of to inform anyone of it. Well, maybe they will have to deal with it in litigation when someone, God Forbid, gets hurt from this factory defect. 
Geno

[supertech77]

yep got the exact 1/4 crack on mine and its 2 weeks old refurbished from agd,going to keep and eye on it ,weld it if it gets any bigger,but i love the gun and it is dead nuts accurate,why send it off and maybe get a gun thats not as good,awl,just fix it myself,but thanks for the info,

[JonnyReb]

 Hey Geno, Thank You for bringing this to all of our attention, you've warned a bunch of people and if maybe that keeps someone from getting hurt one day it was well worth the inquirey.. at least now we can do something about it, Thanks again for this post!  Jeff

[bluzjamer]

Ok for those that grabbed this from AGD you might want to talk with Scott from AGD he is usually very good with this sort of thing, also a call to Anna Dalton at Umerex might help she is very good on their end. Hope this helps.