Speaking of nail guns ...

[Cliff Hartle]

I have a Stanley bostich bt200 18 gauge brad mail gun.

I had a bad nail jab a few years ago and ever since it leaks air out the exhaust in the handle.

I could deal with it as I use the gun very little but now so much air leaks out, my compressor can't keep up and just runs when I have it connected.

I've opened up the main cylinder housing and taken out the trigger valve and all the o rings are intact. For the amount of air that comes out one of the o rings would have to missing or not fitting in it slot right. Its not a little hiss but more like what you would get out of an air gun. Only one part looks out of place and its called the diaphram head valve.

I found the rebuild kit for it but its from 50 to 60 dollars. I think I only spent $80 on it 12 years ago and a new one is only $89. If I can't point to a simple part to replace I may just go to Harbor Freight and get their el cheapo one for $18. It would work better than the one I have now.

Not sure what to do. This is a tool a use rarely.

[dpb]

...

I found the trigger kit for a Bostitch framing nailer for only like $25 or so....can't think the brad nailer could be any more at most unless the kit also includes the hammer, etc., not just the air valve.

--

[Sonny]

You've probably already spent 2 hours messing with you "gun" (LOL). That time may be worth $50. Get the HB one.

Put the Bostitch on Ebay, with a note of air leakage in the trigger and you don't want to mess with it... see what happens

Sonny

[Puckdropper]

"Mike Marlow" wrote in news:bf4f8$4f1b62e1 $4b75eb81$ [e-mail]:

I've had some problems with the HF gun, mostly it wouldn't fire every time. That was using the included nails and oil.

Like many have said, however, you're Harbor Freight's QC. If it doesn't work, take it back.

Puckdropper

[Morgans]

I have a Stanley bostich bt200 18 gauge brad mail gun.

I had a bad nail jab a few years ago and ever since it leaks air out the exhaust in the handle.

I could deal with it as I use the gun very little but now so much air leaks out, my compressor can't keep up and just runs when I have it connected.

I've opened up the main cylinder housing and taken out the trigger valve and all the o rings are intact. For the amount of air that comes out one of the o rings would have to missing or not fitting in it slot right. Its not a little hiss but more like what you would get out of an air gun. Only one part looks out of place and its called the diaphram head valve.

I found the rebuild kit for it but its from 50 to 60 dollars. I think I only spent $80 on it 12 years ago and a new one is only $89. If I can't point to a simple part to replace I may just go to Harbor Freight and get their el cheapo one for $18. It would work better than the one I have now.

Not sure what to do. This is a tool a use rarely.

************************************************* Almost always, it the o rings are intact, a good o ring greasing will solve the problem.

Get the special o ring grease. It is different than normal; it will pull out in strings, if you stretch it out. I think it may have micro fibers in it.

Take the rings off, and lay some grease down in the groves, and then replace them and add some more around the top of them.

By the way, oil daily means to oil it after 8 to 10 hours of operation, not every day you pick it up and use it for 30 minutes. Too much oil washes the grease off the o rings, and the grease is vital.

-- Jim in NC

[Cliff Hartle]

OK after I posted this I found another parts site that had a Q&A for this gun. One question was my problem and they came back with an answer to replace the one part, the diaphragm head valve, that I said looked a little weird.

If it doesn't work I'll just get the HF one.

They had a cheaper shipping charge so I bought the part for a total of around $10. So we shall see.

[Cliff Hartle]

The kit includes all the O rings, seals, the cylinder, the piston and some other parts, that's why it's $50..

[dpb]

If it's just the air leak, I'd look for the seals kit some more; otherwise probably just bite the bullet and put the unneeded parts away until do need 'em.

[dpb]

...

Ah, didn't see this earlier (obviously).

Good, sounds more better... :)

I was trying to find the outfit I bought the trigger kit from; some little mom 'n pop place that shipped it in a hand-addressed 1st-class envelope for next to nothing. Seemed like a real place to keep on hand; I'm doing invoices for the year for taxes at the moment; when I come to it I'll post the url for future reference for others even though didn't come up w/ it in time for this specific thread.

[Cliff Hartle]

I only bought the one part. Like I posted, the rebuild kit included a ton of other parts I probably don't need and is 2.5 times the price of the HF tool.

Since I'm not installing kitchens anymore I only use the tool a few times a year. I may not even use up all the nails I have but its just one of those tools that you just have to have for certain situations.

I brought the cheap HF hammer SDS drill because I may only have to drill a couple of dozen holes in concrete but no other tool will do the job.

[Morgans]

OK after I posted this I found another parts site that had a Q&A for this gun. One question was my problem and they came back with an answer to replace the one part, the diaphragm head valve, that I said looked a little weird.

If it doesn't work I'll just get the HF one.

They had a cheaper shipping charge so I bought the part for a total of around $10. So we shall see.

******************************* Take the piston and the head valve parts apart and grease them. I swear, the problem will be solved.

-- Jim in NC

[Cliff Hartle]

The issue, now that I look at it, is the head valve is damaged just a little. I'll post picks when I get the new part.

[Cliff Hartle]

OK I got the part because the other one was damaged installed, it and did not help.

So I got some white lithium grease and greased up the head valve parts and thought it helped but I realized the compressor wasn't on and as the pressure in the tank went down so did the leak.

I fired it up and using enough pressure to drive a 2" brad into a 2x4 it still leaked. So the only thing I know is as the pressure goes up the hissing is louder. At around 50 psi its pretty much gone.

Off to Harbor Freight except I'm going to get a 16 gauge nailer which is better for trim. The 18 gauge was for kitchens that have a lot of thin small pieces.