I recently bought a used .177 RWS 54 from a local gunstore, I was about to buy a refurbished RWS 52 from Umarex and this was just a few dollars more, looked in perfect shape and had a nice stock so I bought it right away. I chronied it and its shooting around 13fpe.
Its had the rear sight and the plastic front brake removed and replaced with the Universal Brake. It also has a T01 Trigger, but looks brand new with just a single ding in the stock which I'd think is from its time in the gunstore rack the way they were treating it when I asked to take a look. So the low power really bother me for the price and I have ordered Maccari guides and spring plus new seals anyway.
I've seen confliction information about what to use on the piston seal - Is Diver Silicone just on the sides and non infront of the piston the right way?
I was also wondering while I have it apart for the above changes is there anything else I should do such as lubing the trigger or the rails that the action slides on and if so, with what.
I am kinda starting just to learn about the inner workings of my air rifle, the RWS 54. Mine is made in 1992 and still shoots great (972 fps muzzle velocity with RWS Super Dome). Of course, that I haven't used it for the last 10 years until now, may be a factor.
After some research and good advice here and at other forums, I cleaned the rails of the recoil and used chamber oil to relube them. If I had something heavier, would have used that instead. However, it did fix my recoil problem. Needed to adjust the recoil with the allen screw as well. Great source of tuning/adjustments were:
Thanks for those links - I'd tried the search and it kept coming back with no matching so I need to learn how to use it better and see what I'm doing wrong with that.
The Kit is $75 and comes with Spring, 2 spring guides and Tar. Hasn't arrived yet but should be here tomorrow I hope. Its killing me having a new gun that I've only shot about 4 times in pieces - Opened it to check to make sure there wasn't anything mechanical wrong with it and figured there wasn't much point putting it back together for a few days just to take it apart again.
Please keep us posted on progress. I have a 52 I bought used and I've been battling a similar problem - I've put in Maccari spring, new guide, new piston seal and new breech seal - currently waiting for it to 'settle in' a bit before I get serious with the chrony. But, even in it's reduced (around 14 fpe) condition and with only a BSA 3-12x scope I did finish second in the state FT tournament.
Make sure that your cocking lever closes under at least a little tension. A small click as you close the lever tells you the breech is corectly closed.
That doesn't tell you if the breech seal is still good, but even a good breech seal won't allow full velocity if the round rod on the lever isn't adjusted for proper closing tesnion. You can use a small screwdriver and a two small adjustable wrenches to adjust the rod's length. Just remove the clip and pin ion the lever to free the rod for adjustment, screw it in or out (kinda-sorta like a turnbuckle), test for proper tension again, and tighten the nuts back up once it's set correctly.
With the parts you're buying, the one last item that could cause you lower velocity is a faulty breech seal. Umarex has them and they're cheap, and easy to install.
Not in a spring gun. Its not a metal-to-metal lubricant and can cause the piston to gall up the tube wall. Use a bit of moly paste on the edge of the seal, the sides of the piston and the outside of the guide. The tar is applied sparingly on the outside of the spring. Too much can really cut into your velocity numbers.
if you do not have a lathe, then some very light sanding while the piston rod is chucked in a drill at medium speed will do the trick. I usually sand off the edge, as I like to have some ease in changing the seals and extremely sharp piston edges usually do more harm than good.
Now, what REALLY worries me is the mention of dry - firing.
Under NO ACCOUNT should a spring-piston gun be dry-fired!
Even if you see GAMO and other manufacturers touting the resistance of their wares by dry-firing them, you should NEVER dry fire a Diana spring-driven airgun.
I have a Lathe (and a Mill) so I rounded off that edge ever so slightly.
Was harder getting the old seal off than the new one from JM on thankfully
And this is the JM Spring (Top) with the guide's that come with it alongside the stock spring
I lubed it according to the links that Tom kindly provided and have it back in the gun ready to go... except that I misplaced one of the rubber washers for mounting the action to the stock but I did test fire it without the stock and it was smooth.
Found the Purple washer and put the rifle back together. First few shots of CP Heavies were 800fps, no sign of dieseling. Straight shooters has them at 842fps which seems to be within reach once it breaks in a bit.
Just bear in mind that the JM kits usually fall just a little short of the OEM spring/guide sets. You can space them from the rear if you want more power from light pellets or up front, where the TopHat is if you want more power with heavier pellets.
It's good that you have good numbers, but the 54 is a STABILITY platform, not a power platform.
Enjoy your gun's smoothness and accuracy. As Warren Page once said: "Only Accurate rifles are interesting".
