Mrod Troubles (Updated-Something isn't right)

[SquirrelSniper25]

I couldn't believe it. While waiting for a fox that has been taking my rabbits, my .25 Marauder slipped off the windowsill and fell to the floor, MAYBE a 2 foot drop, tops. When I picked it up I realized something wasn't right. The shroud, and barrel I assume, were twisted to the side by the air tube.       I have never tightened or loosened the barrel band. I carefully tapped on the barrel band and got the barrel back the way it was supposed to be, as good as I could eyeball it. I resighted it in the next morning and thankfully my CenterPoint 4-16X was alright and still held zero. I went to refill the gun, but then realized I couldn't get the cover off the end of the air tube. I used pliers (not the smartest move ever) and tried to loosen it, but to no avail. It took some of the paint off the cap, but I can repaint it. My question is, what do you guys think the problem is and how do I fix it? Do I have to loosen up the barrel band or something? My second question is, do you guys think I should send the rifle back? I don't want to, but I was wondering if the barrel would be perfectly straight. I think just the shroud pulled down, but I'm not sure. I don't want to barrel to be pointed off to the side by 1/16" so it messes with my long range shooting (50+ yards). Thanks in advance. 

[MustangMike]

well you need to pull the barrel, id opt to be on the safe side and degas. heck id just do a strip down on the breech, barrel and shroud and give everything and its mounting hardware a look over a breech screw could be bent, the barrel could be bent, etc...

sadly if the barrel is bent thats a costly fix. 75 bucks through crosman or 185 to jim gaska for a lothar

my 2cents, this was kind of ur fault so returning isnt something id do. id just bite the bullet and strip her down, make a list of part numbers and place the order

[SquirrelSniper25]

well you need to pull the barrel, id opt to be on the safe side and degas. heck id just do a strip down on the breech, barrel and shroud and give everything and its mounting hardware a look over a breech screw could be bent, the barrel could be bent, etc...

sadly if the barrel is bent thats a costly fix. 75 bucks through crosman or 185 to jim gaska for a lothar

my 2cents, this was kind of ur fault so returning isnt something id do. id just bite the bullet and strip her down, make a list of part numbers and place the order

Alright. Thanks. I know it was my fault, but the drop shouldn't have been enough to do damage I would of thought.

[MustangMike]

well if a mrod with scope is 10pds and it falls 3ft thats a good little for a rifle. when i removed my fill adapter while the tube was under 1800-1900 psi because i thought it was empty due to a plugged guage and valve it looked and acted empty. neways when the loud boom came my discos butt stock was on the ground and i shuved it away from me and i dove off to the side of the chair. just shuving it and it hitting the ground, bent the barrel, spun both barrel bands on the airtube and cracked my stock.

so even a small fall could due some bad damage

[JSR:.]

...just set loose your barrel band (remove/loosen the barrel band allen set screws) and then try removing the fill cap again. Chances are initially you may need to kind of play with the loose band and the fill cap. You may inadvertently tighten the fill cap when tapping the barrel band back to place (the fill cap contacts the "face" of the barrel band).

JSR:.

[SquirrelSniper25]

...just set loose your barrel band (remove/loosen the barrel band allen set screws) and then try removing the fill cap again. Chances are initially you may need to kind of play with the loose band and the fill cap. You may inadvertently tighten the fill cap when tapping the barrel band back to place (the fill cap contacts the "face" of the barrel band).

JSR:.

I'm hoping that will be the only problem. I don't know how I will get the barrel perfectly centered again, or whether it moved at or if it was just the shroud. Thanks!

[Motorhead]

Bet all ya got is jammed up fill cap caused when the barrel band moved

Loosen the 2 allen screws on bottom of band, unscrew shroud at breach and pull it out of the way.
Now with plastic/ leather mallet TAP sideways on the barrel band rotating it the same direction fill cap unscrews, betcha dollars to donuts fill cap breaks loose !!

Reassemble everything, center barrel band and get back shooting ~~ 

[Bill G]

Did you shoot it at your normal zero range, and what was the outcome?  that barrle and shroud can flex quite a bit without ill effect.  once you do as motorhead has stated you'll probably be fine.  I wouldn't pull the barrel just yet.  lossen the set screw in the band and rotate ccw a hair to see if the cap and band are bound against each other.  if you really have to wrestle with it, degass it.  The end cap will unscrew from the tube if your not paying attention.  Get a pc of leather to grip the fill cap so you don't ruin the cap further.  you may want to look very closely at the cap and determine if it knocked the cap off the threads.  if it was loose then you could have knocked it off the trheads and now it is cross threading.  You can perhaps knock it back after removing the band.  Use a long pc of tubing that fits the cap just loose and tweek it back if this is the case.  Onece it is off inspect and touch up with a thread file or replace these parts with new. 

Good luck. 

[SquirrelSniper25]

Bet all ya got is jammed up fill cap caused when the barrel band moved

Loosen the 2 allen screws on bottom of band, unscrew shroud at breach and pull it out of the way.
Now with plastic/ leather mallet TAP sideways on the barrel band rotating it the same direction fill cap unscrews, betcha dollars to donuts fill cap breaks loose !!

Reassemble everything, center barrel band and get back shooting ~~ 

Thanks man! I'm hoping that's all it is. Haven't been on the GTA for a few days, but I am going to work on this tonight. I'll let ya'll know the outcome.

[SquirrelSniper25]

Did you shoot it at your normal zero range, and what was the outcome?  that barrle and shroud can flex quite a bit without ill effect.  once you do as motorhead has stated you'll probably be fine.  I wouldn't pull the barrel just yet.  lossen the set screw in the band and rotate ccw a hair to see if the cap and band are bound against each other.  if you really have to wrestle with it, degass it.  The end cap will unscrew from the tube if your not paying attention.  Get a pc of leather to grip the fill cap so you don't ruin the cap further.  you may want to look very closely at the cap and determine if it knocked the cap off the threads.  if it was loose then you could have knocked it off the trheads and now it is cross threading.  You can perhaps knock it back after removing the band.  Use a long pc of tubing that fits the cap just loose and tweek it back if this is the case.  Onece it is off inspect and touch up with a thread file or replace these parts with new. 

Good luck. 

It was shooting a bit to the left, maybe 2 -3 inches after it fell. I adjusted and shot until the poi started dropping. Thanks for the help.

[SquirrelSniper25]

Bet all ya got is jammed up fill cap caused when the barrel band moved

Loosen the 2 allen screws on bottom of band, unscrew shroud at breach and pull it out of the way.
Now with plastic/ leather mallet TAP sideways on the barrel band rotating it the same direction fill cap unscrews, betcha dollars to donuts fill cap breaks loose !!

Reassemble everything, center barrel band and get back shooting ~~ 

Alright, got the allen screws outta the barrel band. I'm getting ready to take off the shroud. When you tap the barrel band over, do you want to take it off completely? Thanks for the help.

[mtsheron70]

Bet all ya got is jammed up fill cap caused when the barrel band moved

Loosen the 2 allen screws on bottom of band, unscrew shroud at breach and pull it out of the way.
Now with plastic/ leather mallet TAP sideways on the barrel band rotating it the same direction fill cap unscrews, betcha dollars to donuts fill cap breaks loose !!

Reassemble everything, center barrel band and get back shooting ~~ 

Alright, got the allen screws outta the barrel band. I'm getting ready to take off the shroud. When you tap the barrel band over, do you want to take it off completely? Thanks for the help.

I would and reset everything.  You did remove the allen screws completely from the band???

[SquirrelSniper25]

Bet all ya got is jammed up fill cap caused when the barrel band moved

Loosen the 2 allen screws on bottom of band, unscrew shroud at breach and pull it out of the way.
Now with plastic/ leather mallet TAP sideways on the barrel band rotating it the same direction fill cap unscrews, betcha dollars to donuts fill cap breaks loose !!

Reassemble everything, center barrel band and get back shooting ~~ 

Alright, got the allen screws outta the barrel band. I'm getting ready to take off the shroud. When you tap the barrel band over, do you want to take it off completely? Thanks for the help.

I would and reset everything.  You did remove the allen screws completely from the band???

I took off the shroud took the screws out completely, and started to tap the barrel band around and realized the barrel would be in the way. I stopped and figured I would wait and ask for help here before I tried anything stupid. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Bill G]

If the cap has imparted great force on the barrle band, you will most likely be turnonf the entire tube plug.  If you haven't done so , degas the rifle.  If the tube plug is turning then you'll have to think about this.  Removing the plug will leave you with a stuck cap and only soft aluminum to grip.  That soft aluminum has fine threads and will be easily damaged.  Have you closely inspected the filler cap to see if it has been knocked cross threaded?  if this is the case, you could try to tweek is back.  I'd use a piece of tubing that fit closely around the fill cap and manipulate it.  You'll be looking for a very small gap at the point where the end cap rests against the barrel band.  Try to manipulate the cap as to reduce that gap.  Once this is done the tread position will be restored but the damage will inhibit correct function of the thread.  Apply some penitrating oil to the cap in an attempt to lubricate the thread and reduce possilbe galling.  I would put the set screws back on to the barrel band and tighten them, so that you can use it as a handle.  Use a piece of leather and some channel locks to grip the cap.  Give it *(&^.  If your luck, once the initial tension is removed, the cap will screw of with slightly more torque requirement that it had.  If the threads developed any galling, you'll need new parts.  The end cap and tube plug.  You could possibly restore the threads to a useable state with a thread file and a tap.  Both can hed procured fro MSC, McMaster-Carr, local fastenall, or local Grainger ect..  Or a local mom and pop machine shop.  The key is to assertain as to if, the cap is just impact tightened or it the threads have been misaligned due to impact.       

[SquirrelSniper25]

Thanks Bill! Although I don't think I fully understood the first part, how do I check if it was just impacted too hard on the cap? That seams to be the simpler problem, so I figured I would check that one first. How would I fix that? Take the whole plug off? Sorry for being such a pain.

[Bill G]

You will inspect around the base of the cap.  You will be looking for a inconsistant gap. If this is the case, the threads will be deformed and ready to cross thread.  To avoid this you will have to tweek the cap back into its correct orientation.  At this point the threads are damaged but can be salvagable.  You can achieve the desired condition by using a piece of ridgid tubing over the cap.  It will need to fit closely.  apply force in the direction of the discovered gap.  you should feel it move back into the correct position.  From here you should be able to unscrew the cap.  Due to the damage to the threads, it may serve some difficulty.  Apply a penitrating lube to minimize galling of the threads.  Use a patch of heavy leather to minimize damage to the cap if you have to use vice grip or channel locks.  If the damage is light you may choose to recondition the threads.  This can be done with a thread file for the male threads and a tap for the female.  Those items can be procured from places mentioned earlier.  You can also go to a local Machine shop and they would probably help you out in just a few minutes. 

Sorry about the previous post, I kind of blended two seperate senerios.  The above mentioned senerio is probably the most likely.   The other senerio involves the cap just being extremely tight due to impact.  The best sign of this will be the oreintation of the barrle band. If the band is leaning to the left, then it would be plausable that the cap is over torqued.  Again, use a path of leather and hand tools to unscrew the cap.  You'll need to ensure that the set screws in the band are tight.  You'll have to use it as a grip point.  If you don't, then plug will simply turn until the band is in contact with the shroud opposite what it was.  The other option is to buy a new cap and reservoir plug.  That will require you to de-gas the rifle, remove the barrle from the breach and unscrew the old plug from the reservoir.  Then you simply replace them with the new parts and re-assemble.  I'd atleast investigate the first two before I went with #3.

Hope that helped
Bill

[Bill G]

FYI  with respect to visual orientation, I an viewing everything from the sending end of the rifle(butt stock) not the recieving end(muzzle).

[SquirrelSniper25]

UPDATE
Alright, took me 3 weeks to get around to it, but I got the vice grips out and managed to get the fill cap off. They weren't cross-threaded, just locked on there somehow. haha. So I thought I was good to go, started shooting, lined her back up at 28 yards, then move to 50. I noticed the groups weren't as good as I thought they should have been at 28 yards, but blamed that tin of JSBs, at 50, they got worse, worse than they were before the drop, around 2 inch groups from the usual .75" before. I moved to 75 yards. I had shot this far before, and it grouped rather well, but you could notice the velocity curve pretty well. Now it won't even touch the 3" Shoot-N-See target. It seems they are all flying to the right and slightly low. NO wind whatsoever, real calm right before the thunderstorm. What do ya'll think may be the problem? I took apart the shroud and cleaned it and checked the baffles. All good. Ran a cotton jag down the barrel. Not very dirty. Shroud isn't touching the barrel band. I'll try to shoot it some more tomorrow and update again. I was thinking maybe the barrel got bent?

[Rescue35]

You did re sight the rifle correct?

[SquirrelSniper25]

You did re sight the rifle correct?

Yes.