Diana Need some help with an old RWS 54

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Rob MacRuger

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Oct 24, 2023
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Tampa Bay, FL USA
I have an old RWS 54 that I bought new about 15 years ago. It came with a RWS 4X scope. I want to get the 54 back to shooting good. I have only shot around 2 thousand pellets through this gun. Right now it shoots all over the place even with scope and pellet changes. The only maintenance ever performed over the years was lube using RWS spring cylinder and air chamber oil along with some gentle bore cleaning. I remember the average FPS used to be around 840 and was very consistant using 14.3 grain Crossman pellets. I'll chrono it again today when I have some time. Yesterday I took it apart for the first time. It was very dry but looked in good shape. I am wanting to replace the piston and breech seals and the spring.

Where I need help is finding the right parts. I looked at the JM kit but didn't completely understand what parts come with it. I also looked at the Vortex kit. I don't want to buy a kit and find out I need to order an additional part. I would appreciate some advise from some seasoned veterans on doing this right the first time.

Thank you in advance!
 
Is this a T05 or T06 triggered gun? I recommend using dummy pins in trigger as was recommended to me by Hector. Hillman #42611 5mm pins are what he said to use. Got mine at Lowe’s. ARH spring and breech seal are excellent. Vortek or OEM piston seal. There are several Maccari springs depending what power level you want. If it’s a .177 I’d stay away from the ZRT Kit. Link below to a great article on disassembly and reassembly of the Diana sidelevers. There also some articles by Nitrocrushr on this site and GTA about tuning the 54 that are worth looking at.
 
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Sqwirl57 said:
JM and Vortek kits are both spring, guide and top hat only. From there you would order both the piston and breech seals separately
Click to expand...
Here is what I ordered from Air Rifle Headquarters:
  • NEW-RWS Model 48-52-54 Breech Seal-SALE!
  • All New-Tesla Large Seal- Amazing Quality-RWS ETC
  • Apex Large Seals,Diana, RWS34-54,350,460,B21-22-SALE!
  • VRT Kit - RWS-Diana 48-52-54-56, Chinese Sidelevers-B21,22,30, SM1000
  • NEW-GRT RWS 31,34,36,38,40,45,46, 48,54,300 Spring-In Stock
I hope it covers everything I need.
The Vortek web sight didn't have security (HTTPS) so they lost my business.
 
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cjtamu said:
Is this a T05 or T06 triggered gun? I recommend using dummy pins in trigger as was recommended to me by Hector. Hillman #42611 5mm pins are what he said to use. Got mine at Lowe’s. ARH spring and breech seal are excellent. Vortek or OEM piston seal. There are several Maccari springs depending what power level you want. If it’s a .177 I’d stay away from the ZRT Kit. Link below to a great article on disassembly and reassembly of the Diana sidelevers. There also some articles by Nitrocrushr on this site and GTA about tuning the 54 that are worth looking at.

https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/thedianawerkcollective/detailed-step-by-step-48-52-54-tuning-instructions-t2878.html
Click to expand...
Thanks, it is the 22 caliber with T06 trigger.
Thanks for the link but it just indicated Royal delivery. ???
I was planning on building something to compress the 1.5 inch preload but found a large 42" C clamp I bought for a project years ago then never used again. It actually worked great.
 
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Rob MacRuger said:
Thanks, it is the 22 caliber with T06 trigger.
Thanks for the link but it just indicated Royal delivery. ???
I was planning on building something to compress the 1.5 inch preload but found a large 42" C clamp I bought for a project years ago then never used again. It actually worked great.
Click to expand...
You don't need a compressor for a 54. I installed the high power kit in mine by hand with relative ease. Just press the gun down into a block of wood with a hole drilled in it for the safety to remove and install the pins and thats it.
 
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Rob MacRuger said:
Here is what I ordered from Air Rifle Headquarters:
  • NEW-RWS Model 48-52-54 Breech Seal-SALE!
  • All New-Tesla Large Seal- Amazing Quality-RWS ETC
  • Apex Large Seals,Diana, RWS34-54,350,460,B21-22-SALE!
  • VRT Kit - RWS-Diana 48-52-54-56, Chinese Sidelevers-B21,22,30, SM1000
  • NEW-GRT RWS 31,34,36,38,40,45,46, 48,54,300 Spring-In Stock
I hope it covers everything I need.
The Vortek web sight didn't have security (HTTPS) so they lost my business.
Click to expand...
It looks like you ordered more than you needed. The kit came with a spring already and it looks like you ordered 2x piston seals. Those won't hurt to have a spare of so no biggie
 
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Sqwirl57 said:
You don't need a compressor for a 54. I installed the high power kit in mine by hand with relative ease. Just press the gun down into a block of wood with a hole drilled in it for the safety to remove and install the pins and thats it.
Click to expand...
I'm getting up in age. When I reinstalled the stock spring the C clamp came in handy.
I'll make a wood end cap next time with hole for the safety, thanks. The plastic piece end piece held up fine though.
 
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Sqwirl57 said:
It looks like you ordered more than you needed. The kit came with a spring already and it looks like you ordered 2x piston seals. Those won't hurt to have a spare of so no biggie
Click to expand...
I ordered the extra power spring just in case. When I first bought this rifle I used to shoot at 50 yards outdoors.
Now days my wife and I only shoot 22LR at 100 yards. I was thinking I may need the extra power if I try the 54 at 100 yards.
 
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Rob MacRuger said:
I ordered the extra power spring just in case. When I first bought this rifle I used to shoot at 50 yards outdoors.
Now days my wife and I only shoot 22LR at 100 yards. I was thinking I may need the extra power if I try the 54 at 100 yards.
Click to expand...
17-20fpe will do fine at 100yds on a calm day. A breezy day will test you. I have the full power kit in mine and its sitting at 23ftlbs which honestly is a bit more than I would like but I already have a lot of 17fpe springers and wanted a hammer.
 
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Rob MacRuger said:
Now you tell me LOL, I just don't want to provide my CC on an insecure site.
Click to expand...
I understand. He's 15 minutes from me, went in once just to meet him and chat, bought a couple seals while I was there and had to use my phone and order them from his website. Then he gave me cash back for the shipping.lol. he does not have a retail store only the website.
 
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cjtamu said:
www.tapatalk.com

The Dianawerk Collective-Detailed Step-by-Step 48-52-54 Tuning Instructions

RWS 48-52-54 - Disassembly/Reassembly, Replacing Springs, Guides & Seals - Step by Step How to Do It (this is very long!) I first wrote this sever
www.tapatalk.com www.tapatalk.com

Correct link. That was strange, no idea how that happened. Be sure to get cocking rod adjusted properly after you install new breech seal.
Click to expand...
I cut and pasted the link and got the correct website. Link got hijacked by https://www.royalmail.com/track-your-item
 
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