VFC AKS-74N bites the dust within an hour

Fiach Dubh

***More***

Just realised it's not a missing spring. I had the motor out again and the spring is indeed there, located below a bracket. So I'm back to square one of not having a clue what the problem is.

***Follow Up***

I've just figured out what's wrong, it's a quality control issue. I was looking through the exploded parts and disassembly diagram in the manual and I realised the spring that goes over the motor is missing, it wasn't in the AEG when I got it! If the spring is missing or is the wrong size there is nothing to prevent the motor moving out of position which will cause gearbox failure. This is exactly what was happening with my JLS FN SCAR. I've sent a follow up email to VFC so hopefully they'll sort this out soon.

***

My VFC AK arrived last Friday along with 3 VFC Mid-caps, a TLP fuzzy logic charger, 8.4v 2100 mAh stick battery and Kings Arms AK sling. The tax on the lot was 132.89 so the AK worked out at about 440-450 Euro. Brought it to HRTA yesterday and started playing. Once I got the hop set right, it's very sensitive, the accuracy was very good, power is about 310 fps wtih .2's. I put about two mags worth through it in the first two games, around 280 shots and we headed back to the safe zone. I went over to the firing range to show a couple of the lads what it was like on auto and after a short burst the thing jammed. When I pulled the trigger I could hear the gearbox moving slightly but the piston wasn't pulling through.

Paul took it inside, removed the motor and unlocked the gears (the piston was retracted) and the gun started firing again. Used it two more games firing about 100 shots and another Jam. We unlocked the gears again but this time it fired about 6 shots and jammed. We tried two other batteries (one from a clone and an Intelect one of the lads had) but that wasn't the problem, in fact the Intelect was putting out about 7v while mine was putting out 9.09v. Paul was also looking at the motor which was rated 1300 and he tells me for an AEG firing at that power it should be 3000, a 1300 would have trouble pulling the spring through. The Motor has a VFC stamp on it so I'm not sure if they've put the wrong one in or what. Paul said it could also be bad wiring not supply the gearbox with enough power. Also Paul sprayed the gearbox with silicone spray as it was bone dry out of the box.

I've sent an e-mail to VFC so hopefully they'll get this sorted. The moral here seems to be that spending a lot on an AEG won't insure getting a good one. I have to say I felt like a right chump yesterday when all the clones being used ran fine all day and my brand new VFC which is supposed to be a mark of quality craps out in an hour :mad:

Evolute

Sorry to hear that your newest purchase is not what you expected man hopefully you will be able to get it sorted

CrazyRabbit

That sucks. My Glock 18c stopped working on saturday as well. Less than a 1000 rounds fired from it since I bought it. Full auto setting still fires in single shot, and no bb's actually feed into the barrel at all. Not sure what's wrong with it.

Seen a lot of AEG's not working lately. Kinda making me worried about the general reliability of airsoft AEG's.

chalky

Hmm.
My M14 seems to be broken as well. Haven't had a chance to look at it properly yet. There might be some profit to be made in the AEG repair business.

Fiach Dubh

The thing that bothers me is I checked a few reviews before ordering it and didn't hear of any problems like this. I thought it would perform out of the box as it's more expensive then Classic Army

thecivvie

I was impressed with the look of it on Sunday but saddened by the faults. Hopefully you can get it sorted and next time we meet at HRTA, maybe I won't get shot as much by you

Fiach Dubh

tcob1 wrote:

I was impressed with the look of it on Sunday but saddened by the faults. Hopefully you can get it sorted and next time we meet at HRTA, maybe I won't get shot as much by you

Now that I've figured out the problem (I hope) I fully expect VFC to send me a spring for free. Beyond this failure everything about it is great, powerful accurate and a rock solid build. But I still enjoyed myself yesterday. Playing with a small group of people has it's own charm, being on your own a lot is fun

kdouglas

id ask vfc for a replacement if you can, or maybe a new gearbox, the gears may have been damaged by the absence of the spring on the motor
although considering you realised the problem after only a couple of hundred rounds went through it, you should be safe enough, but chance your arm anyway

o1s1n

Your VFC broke down on you that quickly!? ah! well, better now than 4 months down the line I guess. Still though, that's got to hurt.

Fiach Dubh

Only better if VFC steps up to the plate and gets it sorted. Since I have no idea what the problem is I don't even know what to ask for in terms of replacement parts. According to Paul it could be bad wiring, mistimed gears or the motor is too weak, the result would be a new AEG. I doubt VFC will just send me another one for free and I sure as **** aren't paying them anything.