This page contain information for the stock bolt as well as any aftermarket bolt that shares the same overall shape as the stock parts. This includes just about everything except the Nano, L7, Hollowpoint, and scarce others.
These are the things you'll need for a complete overhaul of your Ion: phillips-head screwdriver, assorted allen wrenches (0.05", 1/8", 3/16"), Shocker lube (known as Dow/Corning 33, Molykote 33, Sl33k lubricant, etc.).
Ion Disassembly:
The battery must be disconnected prior to disassembly, so start by removing the grip panels from the frame (or at least the left side) using your screwdriver. Disconnect the battery from the battery snap and set it aside. Here are proper instructions for removal of the frame, which is the next step.
First, unscrew the three mounting screws holding the frame to the body using a 1/8" allen wrench (shown in the following diagram).
Push upward on the circuit board using your finger, allowing the body to separate from the frame enough to see the internal hoses.
Tilt the body sideways so you can fit a 1/8" allen wrench into the front air fitting. Unscrew it until the threads disengage.
You can now pull the frame away from the body portion, and lead the battery wires out through the top of the frame.
Care must be taken when separating the frame from body. You won't be able to pull the board all the way out without first disconnecting the front air fitting. This is a required step due to how the Ion is designed; please don't attempt shortcuts.
The next step is to remove the exoskeleton from the firing assembly. To do this, you'll have to remove the solenoid and hoses from the body. Start by unplugging the wire harness from the eye daughterboard, then use a 1/8" allen wrench to unscrew the middle and rear air fittings from the body. If you have a Clippard, Palmers/ANS, or Eclipse QEV installed, you'll have to remove the rear air fitting then unscrew the QEV to remove it. If using a SP 360º QEV, it will simply unscrew like the stock air fittings.
There's no need to remove any hoses from their respective barbs or air fittings. This is only needed during problem troubleshooting.
After the wire harness and two air fittings have been removed, the exoskeleton can slide off the rear of the firing assembly.
Remove the eye daughterboard (if it doesn't immeditely fall out on its own). Set the daugherboard aside. It's not necessary to remove hte daughterboard, but it will often fall out on its own so removing it now reduces the chances of breaking or loosing it.
At this point you have access to the bolt assembly, and will further disassemble it to service the o-rings therein.
Bolt Disassembly / Maintenance:
The fire chamber will unscrew from the breech section, in counterclockwise motion. Unscrew it and set the breech section aside. Note, when unscrewing the breech section past a certain point, you may hear a "pop"....this is normal. The popping noise is created by air pressure getting stuck between the two breech section o-rings when the gun was recently pressurized.
You can now access the bolt and boltstop. The boltstop usually remains inside the fire chamber, if this is the case then remove it using any tool you can. I suggest sticking your small finger in there and slowly prying it out.
Separate all four parts of the assembly (fire chamber, bolt, boltstop, breech section). Regular maintenance involves cleaning all the visible o-rings, paying special attention to ones that have dirty grease or other debris nearby. There are two inner o-rings: one located in the boltstop, and another located down inside the rear of the breech (it can be visible directly behind the feendeck, when looking down through it). Clean the rear of the breech as well, since this surface seals against the bolt's o-ring. Here is a diagram of the rings on the bolt and boltstop:
Once the o-rings are clean, it's time to reassemble the firing assembly. Below is my "quick method" for applying a new coat of grease onto the o-rings. This is my method that I've come to use after servicing literary dozens upon dozens of Ions since they were released...I believe it to be easiest and fastest.
1. Grease the following o-rings and spots marked on the bolt:
2. Push the bolt into the breech section. Feel free to pull it in and out a few times to distribute the grease well.
3. Slide the boltstop onto the back of the bolt, and push it up to the breech as shown in the picture. If the boltstop doesn't sit flush against the breech like in the picture below, it's on backwards. When in the correct position, apply grease to the o-ring around the boltstop and the one right next to it on the breech.
4. Slide the fire chamber onto the pieces and screw it down.
A frequent question I receive is how much grease should be applied to the bolt and components. To answer, I would suggest following the above pictures. A "good" amount of grease would completely fill the o-ring groove, with some on either side of the ring, as well as on top of it. Keep in mind that markers are more difficult to "overgrease" than people realize, but you should still be wary not to slop too much grease on there.
Reassembly:
Firstly, if you feel you should, you can now service the Ion's solenoid and vertical regulator as well.
Once everything is ready to be reassembled, you just have to follow the reverse order that is detailed above. With the bolt correctly assembly correctly put back together, just drop the Vision daughterboard back into its groove then slide the exoskeleton back over the body. Reinstall the banjo fittings to the body using your 1/8" allen wrench and plug the wire harness back in. Thread the battery wires down into the frame and align the board with the frame grooves, then gently reinsert the board/solenoid back into the frame. Once it's almost all the way in, move the body to the side as you did to remove the front banjo fitting, although this time you will be reinstalling it. You can then push the assembled body/solenoid tight onto the frame and reinstall the three screws holding them together. Reinstall the battery and grips, and you are finished.
O-ring diagrams:
If you need to replace any of the rings used in the marker, here is a diagram of the sizes and durometers:
Most aftermarket bolts following the same overall shape as the stock will use the same o-rings as the stock bolt (above). Some use internal o-rigns to seal the two separate pieces, such as the Firebolt (below).
