Airsoft AEGs


AK47 Disassembly and Upgrade Guide

Well as a stock rifle, the AK is fairly boring. It's only fair to fit a Systema Power FTK (Full Tune-up Kit UK Level 1), so it was decided to buy and fit one. Again, as with much of our equipment. The Systems FTK includes:

  • new cylinder and cylinder head
  • new piston
  • M100 Spring
  • new spring guide rod
  • new gearbox end (the snap-on sheet that holds the two tops of the gearbox sides together)
  • 6x new metal bushings
  • new nozzle
  • 3 new helical gears
  • 2 washers (for the drive gear)
  • new non-return lever and return spring
  • valve movement lever (black plastic about 3 inches long)

You'll need these tools: philips/flat head screwdrivers, allen keys, torx bit set, long-nose pliers, silicon grease, tac hammer and a small torch

IMPORTANT: Please note, this article is correct to the best of my knowledge. Taking a gearbox to pieces, and upgrading it, is the most complex thing that you can do to an airsoft weapon. If you are not confident that you know what you are doing, I'd recommend that you consult someone who is, and get them to either aid you, or watch over you as you do it for the first time. This website, and it's members will not be held responsible or liable for damage to anyone or anything resulting from information or advice contained herein.

Please note that this is only the first draft of this guide, as such, it will be upgraded and updated regularly when I have the chance. The information has yet to be verified and proof-read, so they may be errors in the following text.

Part 1 - Stripping the rifle
The first thing to do is to remove the stock, and the magazine. To remove the stock, remove the but-plate, take the battery out of the stock, then, simply undo the 2 screws on the underside of the stock. Remove the stock, and set the hop-up on the rifle to zero, or the minimum setting.

When you get the stock off a few centimetres, you'll notice that there is an electrical cable passing through the join. Simply unplug this cable at the connection that you find as you pull the stock away from the receiver.

You should then remove the top cover (covers the battery). This can be removed by simply depressing the sprung button at the rear and lifting the cover up.
Next you should remove the pistol grip cover.

Unlike other AEG's such as the G3 or MP5 the screw on the bottom holds the cover on, rather than setting the gearbox pressure on the motor.

As you take the screw out you can just slide the grip off pulling it away from the rifle body.
 
The next task is to remove the top receiver cover, that holds the cocking handle, and the dummy battery cylinder. If you have an AK with a folding stock (the AK47s), this will hold your battery, rather than a dummy cylinder.

The top cover is held on by 2 screws, this is at the front left of the cover, it's tiny, with a philips head.

The other screw that should be removed is the hop-up adjustment handle, this is the piece of plastic that you move back and forth to adjust the hop-up. This is hidden behind the cocking handle. You'll need to hold the cocking handle back, and then remove the screw that holds this tiny piece of plastic on.
The final part to undo, to get the top cover off, bar that provides the spring action for the receiver cover button. This is a piece of steel (a long bar about 5mm in diameter) that runs the length of the top of the receiver.

This is located in the back of the metal button you push to release the top cover. To get the spring out, simply use a flat-blade screwdriver and pry the spring out.

The button won't go anywhere when you detach the spring, as it is attached to the gearbox in a enclosed slide. The button will come out later when you separate the sides of the gearbox.
The top half of the receiver simply slides back (towards where the stock goes), then it comes off upwards. This should leave you with the top of the gearbox exposed.

Please note at this point the position of the red wires. It is important that when the gearbox is placed back that all the wires go back to where they came from, and are not pinched by the sides. Position of the sling point that you can see on the side of the rifle, should also be noted. The clip is held in with an 'L' shaped piece of steel that will fall out the second you turn the rifle upside down. So watch out for it.

The piece of steel sits inside the plastic of the lower receiver shell, and stops the sling clip pulling out of the side of the rifle.
In order to extract the gearbox from the receiver there are a few things that need to be done. Firstly the fire-select handle needs to be removed.

This can be done at any time before the gearbox is removed. I actually removed it before the top of the receiver, as you can see in the photo.

The handle is held on by one philips screw. To get to the screw, simply pry off the steel cap that covers it with a sharp-ish flat-blade screwdriver. When the cover is off, simply undo the single screw and take the handle off.

The next thing to do is to separate the 2 halves of the rifle, the receiver and the barrel assembly You should be able to see the join, which is just behind the top backsight. Unlike the G3 the gearbox needs the rifle to be separated from the hop-up unit before you can take it out of the receiver case.

To separate the 2 halves is a fairly simple process, but should be done carefully as the hop-up mechanism is fragile, and any damage to the rubber 'O' ring inside it would be fairly expensive (for what it is), and fiddly to fix.

It's important to support the rifle as you take the four screws out. You do not want the weight of the rifle to bend the join between the two parts.
To take the 2 halves apart, locate the 4 screws on the underside of the rifle, between the trigger guard and the foregrip.

Two of them are recessed into the area when the magazine locates itself, near the bb entrance to the hop-up. The other 2 are located near the foregrip. You'll need a number 2 philips screwdriver to remove these 4 screws.

When all 4 screws have been removed, you can carefully pull the 2 parts away from each other. This will leave you with the 2 parts as is in the picture to the left, with the gearbox on the left and the hop-up on the right.

You can put the barrel assembly to one side, as it's not needed until you begin to reassemble the rifle after you have finished working on the gearbox.

Now, to remove the gearbox from the receiver housing, you will need to remove the four screws located on either side of the steel bracket that the butt was attached to.

When these screws have been removed you should be able to carefully slide the gearbox out of the casing. It might be a little tight, as the trigger will touch the case as you pull the gearbox out. Simply depress the trigger in a firing motion and the gearbox should come out easily.
 
 

NEXT - PART 2 - Disassembling the Gearbox
 
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