The majority of the regular maintenance that must be carried out on a Nerve involves cleaning the main body and regulators only. There are other components that require infrequent maintenance as well however you need only clean those parts ever once in a while.
When cleaning your equipment, I suggest you have at least two lint-free cloths nearby (or equal substitute). You will use one to clean with and the other to set parts upon. Disposable paper towels, napkins, or other materials can suffice too.
Smart Parts recommends the use of Sleek lubricant (Dow/Corning 33 or Shocker Lube) with your equipment. Never use any gun oil, or Dow/Corning 55 grease.
Lastly, you must always de-gas any marker before it can be disassembled.
These are the things you'll need for the tasks listed on this page: assorted allen wrenches (0.05", 1/8", 1/16", 5/64", 3/16", 5/32", 3/8"), 9/16" wrench, q-tips, Sleek lubricant (aka. Dow33, Shocker lube, Molykote 33).
Bolt Cleaning:
Start by removing the bolt assembly from the rear of the Nerve body. This is done by twisting the bolt knob one-eighth turn clockwise, then pull it straight back. You can only remove the bolt when it is in the full rearward position, so you may need to push it back open from the front of the breech.
When the bolt assembly is removed, twist and remove the bolt itself from its carriage, and clean and wipe it all off to be sure it is clean and not covered with any dirt or debris, oil, or other substance. Use a squeegee to clean the main bore in the Nerve body as well.
Reinstall the bolt into the bolt carriage. DO NOT LUBRICATE THE BOLT WHATSOEVER.
LPR Maintenance:
The next step is to remove the LPR assembly from the front. This doesn't have to happen often, but it is a prime source for problems since the LPR is a small part and dirt/grease will accumulate there.
Please note that this guide is written under the assumption that you're using the newest set of factory parts, which include the new LPR extender and cap. To get these parts for your Nerve, visit the smartparts.com website or call them 1800-922-2147.
To remove the LPR, first unscrew the adjustment endcap from the front of the assembly. Use your 0.05" allen wrench to loosen the lock screws if necessary. Once the endcap comes off, out will come a small spring and a steel bearing (older Nerves won't have the bearing but work just the same).
You can now remove the LPR and extender from the Nerve body. To do this, use a large 3/8" allen wrench to unscrew the LPR body itself. When it unscrews, the extender may unscrew along with it, or it may not. If it does, pull the extender cap off the housing and set them aside. If the extender doesn't come off with the LPR body, simply unscrew it from the Nerve body using pliers and set the parts aside.
Tip the body down and the valve spring and poppet will fall out the front. Use a q-tip to clean any dirt or grease on the valve poppet, to make sure it provides a clean seal with the valve housing. Use a tool to gently push the LPR internals out the rear of the LPR body. Out will come the piston, base seat, and poppet all secured together.
At this point you can clean the poppet's base seal (the flared portion of the poppet) with a q-tip by pushing it into the available space and moving it around, or you can completely disassembe the poppet/piston. Disassembling them takes much longer and will require you not using the marker for a full day afterward. If not disassembling the parts, simply clean them with a q-tip then skip back down to the reassembly section.
To continue with the complete LPR disassembly, use a pair of 1/8" allen wrenches to unscrew the poppet from the piston. They are loctited together so some force may be required. It is not required that you fully disassemble the LPR.
To reassemble the poppet with the piston, place the base seal around the poppet so the two flared surfaces face each other. Apply a small amount of loctite to the threads on the end of the poppet and screw it into the piston. Lightly tighten it down using 1/8" allen wrenches and allow at least 24 hours for the loctite to cure.
Apply a coat of grease to the piston o-ring then push it back into the LPR body. Now take the LPR extender section and screw it onto the rear of the LPR body, with the poppet spring seated inside the extender. Use the provided diagram.
Apply grease to the two outside 16/70 o-rings around the LPR body and LPR extender respectively. Then slide the extender cap over the assembly, end with the depression first.
Push a 18/90 o-ring into the groove in the exposed end of the extender cap.
At this point you will want to disassemble your marker further if you wish to clean the piston. This is only required every once in a while so it is not necessary every time you clean the rest of the gun. Piston disassembly is described on the Infrequent maintenance page (see the Related Links section at the bottom of the page)
Reassembly:
The LPR is now ready to be reinstalled. Start by pushing the hammer forward from the rear of the marker. Insert the valve spring into the end of the LPR extender then push the assembly down into the Nerve body and move it around until you feel the poppet drop into the ram. Once this happens you can push the LPR into the body and screw it down.
The reason I don't suggest dropping the valve poppet/spring into the body first is because sometimes the spring doesn't seat itself inside the depression inside the LPR extender. If that happens you'll experience incorrect performance results. For this reason I suggest seating the spring in the extender first to be sure it's in position.
Use your 3/8" allen wrench to screw the LPR assembly down onto the Nerve body. Now you can drop the bearing and adjustment spring down over the piston and tighten the LPR adjustment endcap onto the LPR body.
At this point the maker itself is ready for use, however you may wish to clean the vertical regulator and/or the solenoid.
O-ring Diagrams:
(LPR with factory upgrade extender components)
Demonstrational Videos:
This video shows highlights from the above bolt quickstrip, and body cleaning.
Bolt quickstrip (16-MB)
The next video is a demo for LPR disassembly, cleaning, and reassembly. It covers both the quick cleaning and the infrequent rebuilding or total cleaning...
LPR maintenance (58-MB)
Related Links:
· Solenoid maintenance
· Regulator maintenance
· Infrequent parts maintenance
· Troubleshooting Leaking/Shooting