A&K m249 upgrade parts list

Cuddlesworth

I'm expecting delivery of my A&K m249 para & mk2 next week and since there are quite a few mg's floating around HRTA at the moment I plan to turn my mk2 into a upgrade project. But this is something I have never really done before so I have a few questions to ask and a few things to run by.

I am aware of the problems with the A&K gearbox + hopup, so in the interest of having a sweet support gun capable of a high constant ROF for suppression I am considering a complete overhaul.


I have made out a list of parts I think will fit;

Systema M4A1 6.04 inner Barrell
Systema Spring Guide with Bearing for Gearbox Ver 2
Systema Air Nozzle for M16A2 / M4A1
Systema Short Type Turbo Motor
Marui Hop Bucking
Prometheus High Speed Gear Set
Systema Silicon Piston Head with Bearing for All
Systema Area 1000 Poly Carbonate Piston for Gearbox Ver 2/3
Systema 1Joule spring


I can't see anything wrong this list, but I am a little unsure as to the question on the tappet plate and selecter switch and if they need to be replaced as well. Or if some of these parts might not work, or would require as large amount of modifictaion to the actual housing in order to fit. Can anybody here see any obvious problems with this list?

The second option is a "PGC M249 Gearbox V3 MAX" details of which are below;

Package Includes:
* PGC Gearbox
* PGC Chamber Set
* PGC Hop Up Bucking
* PGC Cylinder Head
* PGC Nozzle
* PGC Bearing Piston Head
* PGC Spring Guide
* PGC Tappet Plate
* Pro-Win Enforced Fibre Piston ( Not Shown in picture ) * Motor pad
* M130 Spring


Understandibly the spring will be replaced with a 1 joule spring, and motor/barrel will be same as list above. Once againn, I can't seem to find out how much modification to the frame/gun itself will be required for this to fit, does anybody here have a idea?

Which setup do you think would offer better performance/longevity?

Ps; I will continue this thread as a work log when I get my parts.

kdouglas

i'll be doing the same thing with my m249 in about two weeks (have to wait until pay day to order parts )

the parts list you have looks good (infact i'd almost accuse you of stealing my parts list ) and you shouldnt have any issues with those parts if your happy enough to rebuild a gearbox

the PGC gearbox (with a 1J spring instead obviously) is a drop in replacement for the gearbox in the m249

tappet plate - if your going for a high speed setup, id upgrade this, having opened the gearbox, i wouldnt be hopeful of the stock tappet plate lasting very long at high rof

selector switch - there isnt one, m249 has two modes, safe and full auto, the fire selector is basically just a trigger safety

however, what you may have meant, is the microswitch that is pushed by the trigger, this i would replace, i've replaced them in two 249's already, they seem to be quite cheap and the metal inside arc's very easily, the switch gets burnt out and when it does, has a tendency to continue firing after the trigger is released, there is a replacement available in maplin which is similar, but will require removing the lever from the original microswitch and installing it into the new one, and either replacing the connectors on the wiring for bigger ones, or soldering the wiring directly to the switch

if you've little or no experience messing around with gearbox's, the pgc style gearbox is a good one to start with, the quick spring release feature allows you to remove the spring before opening the gearbox making it much easier to open

also, because the motor is mounted into the gearbox, you can test fire it without having to install it back in the gun first

Cuddlesworth

kdouglas wrote: »

i'll be doing the same thing with my m249 in about two weeks (have to wait until pay day to order parts )

Sadly, me too. Stupid need for food and rent money.

kdouglas wrote: »

the parts list you have looks good (infact i'd almost accuse you of stealing my parts list ) and you shouldnt have any issues with those parts if your happy enough to rebuild a gearbox

I think I will, I have no problem with doing it. Seems to be fairly straight forward, with a fair amount of standardisation in the parts needed for most guns.

kdouglas wrote: »

the PGC gearbox (with a 1J spring instead obviously) is a drop in replacement for the gearbox in the m249

I think I will leave it alone, mainly due to cost. Seems much cheaper to rebuild the current one

kdouglas wrote: »

tappet plate - if your going for a high speed setup, id upgrade this, having opened the gearbox, i wouldnt be hopeful of the stock tappet plate lasting very long at high rof

The tappet plate in the gun is one of the parts I am having trouble sourcing a replacement for as I'm still unsure as to what a tappet plate is, let alone what type the gun needs.

kdouglas wrote: »

however, what you may have meant, is the microswitch that is pushed by the trigger, this i would replace, i've replaced them in two 249's already, they seem to be quite cheap and the metal inside arc's very easily, the switch gets burnt out and when it does, has a tendency to continue firing after the trigger is released, there is a replacement available in maplin which is similar, but will require removing the lever from the original microswitch and installing it into the new one, and either replacing the connectors on the wiring for bigger ones, or soldering the wiring directly to the switch

That is what I was talking about and there seems to be a fix for that problem. I found it in a review on Arnies today.

http://www.arniesairsoft.co.uk/forums/index.php?showtopic=126293

kdouglas wrote: »

if you've little or no experience messing around with gearbox's, the pgc style gearbox is a good one to start with, the quick spring release feature allows you to remove the spring before opening the gearbox making it much easier to open

Meh, never been afraid to tear something apart, not going to start now.

kdouglas wrote: »

also, because the motor is mounted into the gearbox, you can test fire it without having to install it back in the gun first

Should be interesting, since I seems I'm going to need to whip out the dremel for the motor installation.


Thanks for replying, makes it so much better knowing I'm not blowing away my money for something that won't work.

Do you happen to know if the feed on the mag can handle a much improved ROF?

kdouglas

oh yes, thats right, i forgot about the motor installation
i was just about to mention that review on arnies when i looked at the link you gave me, lol, i was waiting for that to be posted, last time i looked he was still writing it

tappet plate basically links the sector gear to the nozzle, causing the nozzle to move back once every revolution and allow another bb to be loaded, im reasonably sure it's a v2 tappet plate, like this one

Edit: just read the review, it's everything i could have said about the 249 and more, definitely agree with the hopup problems, had mine out at hrta yesterday and the range was pathetic, hopup was useless

ultrafazer

ok i'm looking to up grade my m249 can any body tell me where i can order an up grade kit from

Cuddlesworth

ultrafazer wrote: »

ok i'm looking to up grade my m249 can any body tell me where i can order an up grade kit from

Ultimately you can't. You used to be able to by pgc gearbox's(type the 249 uses) but they seem to be pretty much sold out. The A&K has pretty good internal parts for a clone. You can get away with just replacing the motor since it has way too much torque for what we need here. And a CA hopup unit.

I tried the fix, but even with it its too hard to adjust the hop-up without breaking the fix.

Beast ASI

Don't really need a tightbore in the M249 - Your not really after accuracy for a support weapon?

With a PGC gearbox an M80 will get you at approx. 330 - They're very good gearboxes.

deepimpact

Cuddlesworth wrote: »

Systema Spring Guide with Bearing for Gearbox Ver 2
Systema Air Nozzle for M16A2 / M4A1
Systema Short Type Turbo Motor
Marui Hop Bucking
Prometheus High Speed Gear Set
Systema Silicon Piston Head with Bearing for All
Systema Area 1000 Poly Carbonate Piston for Gearbox Ver 2/3
Systema 1Joule spring

So, in the interest of now setting up another M249 thread, I've decided to go all necro-thread and ask some questions here.

I'm just about to order a parts list similar to the one quoted, and I'm including a systema tappet plate, but what about the hop-chamber, does it need to be replaced or filed down like the arnies review?

I'm thinking something like this, but would it be compatable with the A&K? <edit> appears not. Must get a CA one from UNCo

Is there anything else I'm missing, bar the competency to dismantle and rebuild gearboxes? But I guess we all have to start somewhere...

Mr B. Wooster

I think you'll need the CA hop chamber - HERE

I've the A&K M249 MKII - great aeg, I did the following to make it work right:

Put a bigger nub (bit of a bic biro ink holding tube) in the hop
Systema ver 2 cylinder head
Area 1000 piston
Guarder bearing piston head
Element Bearing spring guide

Shoots at 315fps (+/- 2fps) using 0.2 bbs with its original spring (was doing 220fps when I got it!). not sure how well it works because I haven't got a chance to use it yet.

Don't think it needs a tight bore (its a support gun!).
The gear box is a joy to work with, I love the quick release spring, makes life much much easier.

Not sure you need to do anything else with it.

deepimpact

Mr B. Wooster wrote: »

I think you'll need the CA hop chamber - HERE

I've the A&K M249 MKII - great aeg, I did the following to make it work right:

Put a bigger nub (bit of a bic biro ink holding tube) in the hop
Systema ver 2 cylinder head
Area 1000 piston
Guarder bearing piston head
Element Bearing spring guide

Shoots at 315fps (+/- 2fps) using 0.2 bbs with its original spring (was doing 220fps when I got it!). not sure how well it works because I haven't got a chance to use it yet.

Don't think it needs a tight bore (its a support gun!).
The gear box is a joy to work with, I love the quick release spring, makes life much much easier.

Not sure you need to do anything else with it.

Thanks Mr. W
I don't plan to do anything else to it after those upgrades (might as well dive in at the deep end...you'd never know)
I might pick up a second CA box mag from UNCo, just so I get value out of the postage.

<edit> actually I found a video on the takedown of the M249. Seems alright, but I've no sound on this PC.
My confidence is increasing...

Mr B. Wooster

scanlant wrote: »

Thanks Mr. W
I don't plan to do anything else to it after those upgrades (might as well dive in at the deep end...you'd never know)
I might pick up a second CA box mag from UNCo, just so I get value out of the postage.

<edit> actually I found a video on the takedown of the M249. Seems alright, but I've no sound on this PC.
My confidence is increasing...

Yeah the take down is easy enough (just leave the barrel on to save wear and tear on its locking mech), the M249 gear box is a real joy to open and close again because of the quick release spring - no bits flying out of it! You'll need to remove the spring and remove the trigger/pistol grip if you want to remove the gear box without too much hassle. Anyway shouldn't be too much trouble.

As for the CA box mag (the 1200rd version) it's supposed to be brill, been thinking of getting one or two myself.